Bunq

bunq B.V. (colloquially named bunq — bank of The Free; ; ) is a Dutch fintech and neobank licensed in the Netherlands within the European Union and operating in 30 European countries. It was founded in Amsterdam where its headquarters are currently located.

The company was founded in 2012 by Dutch-Canadian entrepreneur Ali Niknam, who previously founded web hosting provider TransIP and team.blue.

Early history (2012-2015)
Much of bunq's early history is documented in the book BreakThrough Banking by Dutch author Siebe Huizinga.

According to BreakThrough Banking, much of bunq's early efforts went toward obtaining a European banking license from ‘De Nederlandsche Bank’, the central bank of the Netherlands. In 2014, bunq received a banking license from the Dutch central bank, after which the company launched its bunq app and became the first fully mobile Dutch bank.

Niknam has stated in interviews that “bunq is the only bank built by coders”. This seems to have resonated in bunq's early public perception, as the bank was frequently labeled “an IT company with a banking license”. At its launch in 2015, bunq was coined “WhatsApp for Banking” by Dutch newspaper NRC, further underscoring its product and technology-focused banking model as an alternative to traditional ones.

International expansion (2015-present)
As of 2019, bunq had been offering mobile financial services in 30 European countries. In the early 2020s, bunq began offering multiple currencies and IBANs on a single subscription, regardless of the account holder’s location or residency. Unlike other European neobanks, bunq has not disclosed how many people have an account with the company. In 2021, user deposits surpassed 1.2 billion euros. This figure increased to €4.5 billion by early 2024, as reported by bunq.

Bunq offers personal and business bank accounts and a public API that allows software developers to access their bank accounts programmatically and build their apps. By 2021, bunq became the first digital bank to offer mortgages. As a licensed bank, bunq account holders fall under the Deposit Guarantee Scheme of the European Central Bank.

Founder Ali Niknam was bunq’s sole benefactor until 2021, having invested over 120 million euros into the company. In 2021, bunq secured the largest Series A round for a European fintech company to date, bringing its valuation to 1.6 billion euros and granting it unicorn status. Later that year, it was valued at $2 billion in an investment deal.

In March 2022, bunq's CEO announced a creation of a special fund aimed to help refugees from Ukraine (resulted after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022) to come to the Netherlands. Bunq also stated that it would provide Ukrainian refugees with free bunq bank accounts.

In May 2022, bunq announced that they had acquired the Belgium-based fintech organisation Tricount. This acquisition saw bunq become the second largest neobank in the European Union.

In October 2022, bunq won a landmark court case against the Dutch Central Bank. bunq had taken the DNB to court over the central bank’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies. The court ruled in favor of bunq using a learning system based on Artificial Intelligence, rather than a rule-based system imposed by DNB. The ruling made it possible for other banks to modernize their own AML strategies as well.

Bunq’s European user base reached 11 million at the end of 2023.

Controversies
=== Dutch consumer platform Kassa reports high usage of bunq by criminals === In April 2021, Dutch consumer platform Kassa reported that bunq is getting used extensively by criminals, due to bunq not requiring a social security number to register a bank account and the ease of creating an API key.

=== Dutch consumer platform Kassa reports sub-par customer service and security === In April 2024, Dutch consumer platform Kassa reported that customers who were scammed due to e.g. bank helpdesk fraud could not get in touch with bunq quickly. Victims received automated answers through the in-app live chat, the only way to get in touch with bunq, even when trying their hardest to get in touch with real humans.

bunq does not offer phone support. In a response to Kassa asking why, Ali Niknam said this was to prevent phishing.

Additionally, Kassa also reported that, due to bunq's broader options for transferring moneys, it was way easier to lose a lot of money in the event of a bank helpdesk fraud. bunq includes features such as converting savings accounts to a bank account with a single tap, making it easier to transfer money away from a (previously) savings account.

The Dutch Consumers' Association placed a safety warning on its Savings Account comparator website.

=== Dutch consumer platform Radar addresses poor post-victim communication and bad security === In May 2024, the Dutch consumer platform Radar reported a case where someone lost 58,000 euros after falling victim to helpdesk fraud. The scammers requested over 80 debit cards without triggering any alarms within bunq's system, resulting in the victim losing access to their bunq app account as well as losing the 58,000 euros. bunq responded by saying they would reimburse a large part of the damages out of goodwill. However, they also mentioned that they weren't directly responsible for the damages.

=== NOS and NRC reports bunq gets targeted more with helpdesk fraud due to sub-par customer service and poor security === In May 2024, Dutch broadcasting company NOS as well as NRC, a Dutch newspaper revealed scammers more often target bunq customers over other bank customers, because security measures other banks have aren't present at bunq.

bunq does not offer features such as a cooling-off period after increasing a daily limit.

Whereas other banks usually compensate customers, bunq usually doesn't do so. CEO Ali Niknam reportedly said "It's like giving someone your car keys outside on the street, then your car is gone" to one of the victims. Half of the by NOS and NRC reported victims lost more than 50.000 euros.

An old employee of bunq mentioned data safety is not a topic that drives CEO Ali, he wants to offer the best possible product, which safety features do not fall under as those features may annoy the customer.

Dutch Consumers' Association criticises bunq for its strict policies and lax security in fraud cases.
In May 2024, the Dutch Consumers' Association highlighted concerns over bunq’s handling of helpdesk fraud cases. Unlike most Dutch banks that offer leniency and compensation for such fraud under specific conditions, bunq’s strict policies and poor security measures have left many victims of e.g. helpdesk fraud uncompensated.

The Consumers' Association deemed bunq’s practices "absurd" and "unacceptable," especially given the difficulties customers face in reaching the bank for assistance.