bunq applies for US banking license

NEW YORK, April 4, 2023 – bunq, the second largest neobank in the EU, has filed an application for a US banking license with the FDIC in the state of New York. By applying for a bank charter, bunq brings its proven and user-centered approach to banking to location-independent people and businesses in the US.

After successfully serving its European users for almost a decade, the neobank aims to introduce its transparent, value-based subscription model to a community of almost 5 million digital nomads – expats, international entrepreneurs, and professionals working remotely – who are EU or US citizens with deep ties on both sides of the Atlantic. Dedicated to making life easy for its users, the challenger bank will enable them to bypass banking bureaucracy by opening a fully fledged international bank account in just 5 minutes.

The bunq app, tailored to those who live an international lifestyle, enables its users to manage their finances from anywhere in the world. Through saving on foreign exchange fees, using multiple currencies, and automated budgeting, digital nomads will get full control over their finances. Designed to help its users maintain a financially healthy lifestyle, bunq has no hidden fees or minimum balances.

Ali Niknam, CEO and founder of bunq, says:

At the end of 2021, the number of European expats in America reached 4.9 million. As more and more Europeans are met with complexity and lack of transparency when it comes to access to financial services in America, bunq is poised to give its users in the US a product tailored to their wants and needs.

Having shown continuous growth thanks to a user-centered and service-oriented business model, bunq has rapidly expanded to 30+ European countries and, after the acquisition of Belgian fintech TriCount in May 2022 and welcoming 5.4 million new users, became the second largest neobank in the EU. In 2021, bunq was the first EU neobank to record an operating profit. In December 2022, bunq became structurally profitable and reported its first quarterly profit of €2.3 million.

bunq, founded in 2012, was the first bank to obtain a European banking license in 35 years. For nearly a decade the company was bootstrapped by its founder, serial entrepreneur Ali Niknam (1981), who deployed over $125 million of his own money into bunq. In 2021 bunq raised $228 million, at a $1.9 billion valuation, in the largest series A round ever raised by a European fintech.