Bunq increases activity in Germany, exceeds EUR 1 bln in user deposits

As well as deepening its involvement in Germany, Bunq also saw its customer deposits top EUR 1 billion, with the amount of money being deposited in Bunq accounts more than doubling for the second year in a row. In 2019, user deposits grew from EUR 211 million to over EUR 433 million, only to more than double again in 2020. 

By offering its customers the chance to get a German IBAN, Bunq is hoping to negate the recent spout of IBAN discrimination sweeping Europe. The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) regulation, published in 2012 and effective from 2014, states that businesses in the EU have to accept any bank account number, regardless of which EU country it is from. However, some IBANs are not being treated equally, with some companies illegally refusing to accept certain IBANs from SEPA-supported bank accounts, directly violating the law.

Bunq users will be able to use the German IBAN accounts for all payments, direct debits, and receive their salaries without worrying about IBAN discrimination. Earlier in 2021, Bunq joined the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement network developed by the European Central Bank. The move will give Bunq’s users access to instant payments with banks both in its native Netherlands, but also across Europe too.