Bunq announced it applied for a banking license in the UK and hopes to reenter the country by the end of the year. The Dutch neobank operated in the UK from 2019-2020 when Britain’s Brexit shift forced Bunq to suspend its operations in the country.
Touting itself as “the Bank of the Free,” Bunq earned its $1.8 billion valuation by focusing on the “digital nomad” market. Digital nomads live and work in multiple countries, and the neobank estimates there are 2.8 million of them in the UK.
Bunq applied for an electronic money license in the UK last year, but cutting through the red tape hasn’t been easy. Unfortunately, a banking license approval could take even longer. UK fintech competitor Revolut has sought a banking license for years and has yet to make headway.
Technology’s Forefront
In the years since its departure from Britain, Bunq has become one of the largest digital-first banks in Europe. With 12.5 million users and deposits around €8 billion ($8.6 billion), it has continued to expand its reach. Its offerings now include a Mastercard-backed credit card, travel rewards, and zero fees for foreign currency transfers.
However, with cross-border payments comes heightened risk of fraud. To address this, Bunq turned to Nvidia for an AI-powered financial fraud solution. The neobank uses Nvidia’s GPUs to beef up its transaction monitoring systems, and reported that AI increased the training speed of its model by 100 times.
Separately, the neobank also announced its generative AI assistant, Finn, has become fully conversational. While Finn can assist users with financial questions, it can also operate as a virtual travel guide.
Journeying Further
The travel-centric philosophy has served Bunq well. The neobank announced its first full year of profitability, with profits of €53.1 million in 2023.
Though the UK might be the next target, the company’s ambitions don’t end there. The challenger bank hopes to be an integral part of the U.S. payments transformation over the next few years, having filed for a U.S. federal bank charter in 2023.
