Adding to the 215+ banks that call Britain home, Fidor Bank launched in the U.K. last week after applying for a banking license in January 2015. This makes Fidor the country’s first new retail bank in five years.

The Germany-based bank, which was founded in 2009, has set itself apart from traditional banks in multiple facets:

• Was among the first banks to enable its customers to buy and sell bitcoin on its platform (with partnerships such as Ripple).
• Has a community page that serves as an open forum, where users and bank representatives discuss bank products.

• Is heavily involved in Facebook and Twitter, offering increased interest paid on savings accounts if users Like or Tweet certain content.

• Has an open platform it developed in-house, which enables developers to access 25 different services through a set of open APIs.

Fidor’s U.K.-based bank is off to a somewhat more cautious start. It doesn’t offer bitcoin services, although it is exploring interest among the U.K. community. Similarly, it has not opened up its U.K. system to developers, although Fidor’s existing Euro APIs can be used until the bank launches a wider integration.

Fidor is currently focused on developing a current account and savings-bond service, and will soon launch additional features, such as a debit card and mobile app. Additionally, the bank soon plans to roll out other fintech partnerships.

Fidor is among the 60+ companies that will present at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 on 6/7 October. Fidor’s presentation will focus on teaching developers how to leverage its APIs and European banking license to set up their own digital banking services. There’s still time to register for the event, which will be held at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco.

iBroker AG, a subsidiary of Fidor Bank, demonstrated StockBattle, a social platform that enables users to bet on stocks or capital market indices, at FinovateEurope 2012.