Dutch Unicorn Bunq reports a net profit for Q4’22

Neobanken with headquarters in Amsterdam bunq reached a profit before tax of €2.3 million in the last quarter of 2022.

Dutch challenger bunq, which offers a variety of personal and business digital-first banking services, is celebrating its first quarter results.

During the final quarter of last year, the challenger’s net fee income experienced a year-on-year growth of 37 percent, compared to Q4’22, as user deposits also increased during this time by 64 percent to €1.8 billion at the end of 2022. Bunq reported break-even for the first time at the end of December 2021.

The challenger’s first quarter profit will drive the fintech’s further growth and expansion, helping to build the first global neobank for location-independent people and businesses.

“I am incredibly proud that bunq’s service-oriented business model, just a decade since its inception, has proven to be profitable,” says Ali Nikamfounder and CEO of bunq.

“By aligning our user-centric philosophy with financial success, we were able to build a business that is only successful as long as our users are happy.”

The challenger was founded in 2012 and operates under a full European banking license issued by The Dutch National Bank (DNB). Niknam has subsequently spent the last decade developing the bank’s image and offering, including the launch of its open API and a gradual rollout across the European continent; financed through 98.7 million euros of the founder’s own capital.

A decade in the making

Bunq debuted its fourth major update last year as a means to help its growing customer base cushion the impact of rising inflation. In this way, the update, called ‘Update 21’, introduced features including easy budgeting, group spending and widgets in the app.

Around the same time, the challenger also settled an ongoing case with DNB, which initially questioned the adequacy of the bank’s anti-money laundering (AML) methods for its private customers. While DNB raised concerns over the process’ reliance on in-app evaluation, bunq eventually explained how the use of artificial intelligence in this area ensured compliance with AML rules.

The matter then came to a head The Business Complaints Board (CBb) ruled in favor of bunq and against DNB, deciding that the claimant had not demonstrated the inadequacy of the challenger’s screening methods.

As evidenced by its latest profit, bunq is only going in one direction, and its continued upward trajectory is bolstered by a series of new acquisitions, including the corporate expense management app Tricountand introduction of new investment proposals.

With the wind in its sails, the fintech unicorn’s position in the future of digital banking looks stronger than ever.