Bunq Raises €44.5 Million Worth Of Growth Capital At A €1.65 Billion Valuation
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Bunq, which is the second-largest neobank in Europe, has raised an additional €44.5 million worth of growth capital. The raised amount has brought the total capital injection at the neobank in 2023 alone to nearly €100 million.
Bunq raises €44.5 million
The neobank said that the fresh capital injection would allow the mobile banking platform to accelerate its global expansion and focus on growth. The existing investors at the company, Ali Niknam, Pollen Street Capital, and Raymond Kasiman, participated in this funding round.
The capital injection has been done at a valuation of €1.65 billion. The valuation is also the same as when the company closed a €193 million Series A funding round in 2021. This valuation is remarkable, given the downturn that has been seen in the market.
The funding round also comes at a time when the bunq has been recording a positive year. The neobank recently reached a record of nine million users in Europe as it doubled the number of user deposits within four months. The deposits on the platform have also surpassed €4.5 billion.
The founder and CEO of bunq, Ali Niknam, said, “It’s been truly a magical year for bunq: we’re rapidly expanding and have seen massive deposit growth. With more and more people entrusting their money to us, we’re convinced that we should double down on our momentum and cement the way forward for future growth.”
Bunq plans to expand to the US
While speaking to TechCrunch, Niknam said most of the customers at the neobank are based in Europe, but there were opportunities in the US. In April this year, bunq started the process of securing a license in the United States. The initial goal of the company was to target expats from Europe that had moved to the United States.
He noted that there was an opportunity in the US because of the challenges that come with securing a bank account in the country. He also believes that providing services to residents in the US that had moved to Europe was also an opportunity that was worth exploring to ease the process of opening local bank accounts.
Niknam said that the first funding round happened at the peak of the market, and while the company had witnessed considerable growth, the market had not witnessed the same level of growth. However, he has assured that the company has been comfortable maintaining its current valuation.
He has also said that the company was healthy and sustainable, having maintained profitability over the last few years. The company did not heavily rely on the fees paid on transactions. Instead, it relied on the monthly subscription fees for user accounts across different tiers. The company is also planning to become more profitable by the end of the current year.
Bunq was founded in the wake of a financial crisis. Niknam said that in 2012, he identified an opportunity to create a new bank that he believed was more durable and offered the services that were really needed by consumers.
