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 the EU. Serving digital nomads across the European Economic Area, 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 2025, bunq announced it’s fast-tracking its entry in the US by applying for a broker-dealer license and planning to reapply for the full banking license later the same year.
Our Spokespeople
Ali Niknam, Founder & CEO at bunq
Ali managed to get the first European banking permit in over 35 years and, as its sole investor, invested around €150M in bunq. In a deal with British private equity firm Pollen Street Capital, bunq has raised €193 million and the company’s valuation soared to €1.6 billion, as of July 2021. As part of the deal, bunq acquired Capitalflow Group, a privately held Irish lending company with strong ties to the Irish community. In 2022, bunq acquired Belgian fintech tricount, a move that made bunq the second largest neobank in Europe.
Bianca Zwart, Chief Strategy Officer at bunq
As bunq’s Chief Strategy Officer, Bianca keeps the company laser-focused on its mission: building the first bank people actually love to use. She shapes bunq’s long-term strategy and steers the teams that keep the company centered on users’ wants and needs.
From entry level employee to CSO in less than 10 years – and all before the age of 33 – Bianca’s journey at bunq started in 2016 on the frontlines of user support. After rising to Head of PR & Communications, she left to launch and scale two successful companies – Black & White Communications, and Pioneer Academy – before rejoining bunq as its first Chief of Staff in 2022. Now, as CSO, she drives the strategy that powers bunq’s global growth and leads the company’s largest division, focused on making life easy for users everywhere.
Having lived an international lifestyle herself, Bianca brings the same borderless perspective as bunq’s users. That experience fuels her passion to redefine banking: so that people don’t have to slow down their international lifestyle to fit a bank, but have one that empowers it.
Joe Wilson, Chief Evangelist and former Board Member & COO at bunq
As bunq’s Chief Evangelist and former Board Member & COO, Joe Wilson helps define the company’s voice in the world: connecting its global mission to the everyday needs of real users. With over two decades as a frontline founder and senior executive across startups, scale-ups and big tech, he tells bunq’s story with the authenticity of both an executive and a user.
At bunq, Joe has done it all: scaled international growth, led the expansion in the US, and shaped the user journey end-to-end. Before stepping in as COO, he served on bunq’s supervisory board, giving him a front-row seat to bunq’s evolution and mission. Beyond bunq, Joe is a parent, spouse, expat, and lifelong digital nomad who has lived and worked in seven countries across three continents. Along the way, he’s built and exited companies, launched a sustainability fund, led global developer relations as well as other major business units at Microsoft, and directly advised 100+ Dutch scale-ups.
Whether it’s about bunq’s growth, product innovations, ownership-driven culture, the future of neobanks in a world without borders, or how AI is transforming finance into something simple, intuitive, and built around real life - Joe speaks with the energy of a founder and the clarity of a user.
Kris Wulteputte, Chief Risk Officer at bunq
As Chief Risk Officer at bunq, Kris builds and scales bunq's global risk and compliance functions, leading its regulatory expansion. To him, challenges are opportunities, and the future is digital-first, AI-driven, and all about effortless user experiences.
With a background in engineering, Kris spent decades turning risk into opportunity - starting on Wall Street, co-founding RiskMetrics, and leading risk and treasury teams at local banks and a SIFI. After stepping away from a regional CRO role to study AI, he found his way to bunq. Seeing how bunq was built by engineers, embracing innovation and responsible AI, he knew he belonged.
A global citizen at heart, Kris has lived and worked in multiple countries, experiencing firsthand the challenges of navigating global banking. This deep understanding of cross-border finance drives his passion for making banking seamless, secure, and accessible for all bunq users everywhere.
Thijs de Maa, Engineering Lead – Special Projects at bunq
Born and raised in the Netherlands, Thijs taught himself to code at 10, just to start building websites. He joined bunq in 2018 as a backend engineer and quickly became a driving force behind Europe’s first AI-powered neobank.
At bunq, Thijs built one of the strongest Frontend and QA teams in European fintech, delivering innovative, AI-driven features at record speed. Today, he leads the development of bunq’s most ambitious projects while shaping a dev culture where AI, speed, and user-first thinking come together to redefine what banking can do.
Tom Bilske, Head of New Products at bunq
Tom’s mission is simple: build products that solve real problems for real people. With a background in computer science and psychology, he brings a human lens to everything he designs - fast, simple, and intuitive. Whether it’s making investing as easy as splitting a bill or managing money on the go, he believes that if it takes more than three taps, it’s not done right.
Tom joined bunq in 2018 and was hooked from the start - spotting a bug during his first day, fixing it, and shipping the update that same afternoon. After a brief stint away exploring other roles, he returned to bunq for one reason: momentum. A user-first approach means fast decisions, no red tape, and problems get solved - not shelved.
A frequent traveler himself, many of bunq’s features reflect his own experiences, shaped by moments on the road where he thought, “This should be easier.” In his role as Head of New Products, he focuses on building features that empower bunq users to bank (and live) seamlessly, wherever life takes them.