Amsterdam-based challenger bank Bunq raised $228m – a funding round it touted as the largest Series A round for a European FinTech company.
The round led by Pollen Street Capital, also saw Bunq founder Ali Niknam participating. He invested $29.5m while Pollen Street Capital financed the rest of the round.
As part of the deal, Bunq is also acquiring Capitalflow Group, an Irish lending company that was previously owned by Pollen Street Capital which is pending regulatory approval. Capitalflow provides flexible finance options through its digital platform to firms looking to grow and scale their business.
Founded in 2012, the firm has – until now- been bootstrapped by Nikam who poured $116.6m of his own capital into Bunq — that doesn’t even take into account today’s funding round.
Today, the company expects to break even on a monthly basis in 2021. It crossed €1bn in user deposits earlier this year.
the company expects to acquire smaller companies to fuel its growth strategy. Challenger banks have also represented a highly competitive market over the past years in Europe.
Bunq offers bank accounts and debit cards that you can control from a mobile app. Customers can start an activity with their friends. It creates a shared pot that helps users share expenses with everyone. When living with roommates, one can also create subaccounts to pay for bills from that account. Users can even use it to send money, share a bunq.me payment link with other people using Bunq, split payments and more.
The company offers different plans that range from €2.99 per month to €17.99 per month — there’s also a free travel card with a limited feature set. By choosing a subscription-based business model, the startup has a clear path to profitability.
Copyright © 2021 FinTech Global
