- Dutch-based digital bank bunq has secured $31 million (€29 million) in new funding.
- The funding announcement came after the company reported a profit of $57 million (€53 million) for 2023.
- bunq added that it will re-submit its application for a banking license in the U.S. as part of its expansion plans.
European digital bank bunq has raised $31 million (€29 million) in new funding. The capital infusion from the company’s shareholders came in the wake of bunq’s announcement that it has achieved a net profit of $57 million (€53 million) in 2023. The funds will accelerate bunq’s development strategy, as well as ensure that the company satisfies Dutch Central Bank capital requirements.
The digital bank has credited interest income for its profitability, not just in 2023, but in 2022, as well. The company reported that interest income tripled in 2023, growing from more than €41 million to more than €127 million. In addition to its profit milestone in 2023, bunq also announced that customer assets climbed from $1.9 billion (€1.8 billion) to $7.4 billion (€6.9 billion).
Bunq plans to leverage the new capital to expand more in the U.K., as well as move into the U.S. market. To this end, the institution noted that it plans to resubmit its application for a banking license with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Bunq withdrew its application earlier this year citing issues between Dutch regulators, the OCC, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). In a statement, bunq noted that it was “fully committed to resolving all the differences between De Nederlandsche Bank’s, and the FDIC’s, and OCC’s supervisory expectations.”
That said, it has not been easy for financial institutions outside the U.S. to secure approval to operate within the U.S. For example, Monzo, a U.K.-based challenger bank, tried and walked away from the process in 2021 when approval seemed unlikely. Unfortunately, new U.S.-based firms looking for bank charters have only fared a little better. For every Savi Financial, there is a New Canaan Bank.
Bunq raised $111 million last July, boosting the firm’s valuation to $1.8 billion. The company ended 2023 with the launch of its generative AI financial copilot Finn. Fundamentally, Finn will help replace the search function on the bunq app. But the technology will also assist users as they plan their finances, build budgets, review transactions, and more.
“Finn will wow you,” bunq founder and CEO Ali Niknam said when the product was launched. “Years of AI innovation, coupled with a laser focus on our users, allowed us to completely transform banking as you know it. Seeing Generative AI make life so much easier for our users is incredibly exciting.”