Neobank Bunq hits profitability

Amsterdam-based Bunq has just reached quarterly profitability.

Having reached break-even for the first time at the end of December 2021, the neobank has steadily worked to profitability since.

The challenger reached a pre-tax profit of €2.3m for the last quarter of 2022 and says it expects to continue to turn a profit throughout 2023.

“I’m incredibly proud that, just a decade since our inception, bunq’s service-oriented business model has proven to be profitable,” Bunq founder and CEO Ali Niknam said.

“Truly aligning our user-centred philosophy with financial success, we were able to build a business that’s only successful as long as our users are happy.”

Describing itself as a neobank for “location-independent people and businesses”, the fintech said the profit will fuel its further growth and expansion.

It acquired group expenses app Tricount last May, adding another 5.4 million users to its platform and making it the second largest neobank in the EU.

In 2022, Bunq also launched investments, relaunched its free savings account and introduced real-time budgeting to help customers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

It had seen losses narrow for 2021 as deposits reached €1.1bn, with a 16 per cent improvement on its 2020 bringing losses to €13.4m.

In the last quarter of 2022, Bunq saw its net fee income grow by 37 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2021, with user deposits growing by 64 per cent to reach €1.8bn by the end of 2022.