bunq launches ‘Local Currencies’ to enable global citizens to bank without borders

European challenger bank introduces multi-currency accounts as countries ease travel restrictions

Amsterdam, October 26, 2021: While international travel restrictions are being lifted, bunq announces the launch of its new ‘Local Currency’ account, allowing users to easily receive, convert, hold and spend multiple currencies. The move follows the addition of local European IBANs regardless of residency, making bunq the first bank to offer cross-border bank accounts for the ever-increasing number of digital nomads.

COVID-19 unleashed a new generation of digital nomads, causing the rise of a large group of travelling, remote workers who are choosing to break the link between place and paycheck. bunq is answering the needs of this new generation by enabling them to bank locally without a separate onboarding process. Where other banks require residency to register a local IBAN, the challenger lets users link the newly introduced-multi currency accounts to multiple European IBANs without having to leave the bunq app.

Ali Niknam, founder and CEO of bunq, commented: "We’re truly excited to launch our ‘Local Currency’ account today. This will bring huge benefits to all bunq personal and business users, giving them the freedom to easily use multiple currencies all in one app.”

Starting today, users can handle their finances in US dollars, British pounds, Swiss francs, Bulgarian Lev and Polish złotys. bunq will add more currencies to its offering later this year. In line with bunq’s history of closely involving its users in the development of new products, these currencies will be selected directly by bunq users, through feedback online and in the bunq app.

About bunq

Founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneur Ali Niknam, bunq has brought lasting change to the European banking industry. By having its users at the heart of the business and building a product rooted in their wants and needs, bunq quickly scaled to become the second largest neobank in Europe. Serving digital nomads across Europe, bunq makes life easy for location-independent people and businesses starting from the way they manage money: how they spend, save, budget and invest.

Pioneering many things considered impossible, bunq was the first bank to get a European banking permit in over 35 years, raised the largest series A round ever secured by a European fintech (€193 million), and was the first EU neobank to achieve structural profitability at the end of 2022. On its mission to build the first global neobank for digital nomads, in April 2023, bunq announced its bid to enter the US market by applying for a banking license.

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