Neobank Xinja blames COVID for pulling plug on Australia We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Dismiss Neobank Xinja blames COVID for pulling plug on Australia Normal text size Advertisement Neobank Xinja has blamed COVID-19 and a tough capital raising environment for its decision to exit banking in Australia and focus on its US share trading platform. Xinja announced on Wednesday it would close all bank accounts, refund customer savings and hand back its banking licence after what has been a challenging year for the company. The bank's chief executive, Eric Wilson, told customers via email it had been an "incredibly tough call" to terminate banking services. "But after COVID19 and an increasingly difficult capital-raising environment affecting who is willing to invest in a new bank, we are convinced that the best thing is for Xinja is to pivot away from being a bank.