Dutch neobank Bunq reapplies for a US bank charter

• Key insight: Bunq plans to leverage E.U. banking tech to target U.S.-based digital nomads.  
• What’s at stake: U.S. chartering could shift competitive dynamics among European neobanks and fintechs operating stateside.  
• Forward look: Prepare for cross-border credit portability if Bunq’s U.S. charter gains approval.
  Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

The Amsterdam-based neobank Bunq has reapplied for a U.S. banking charter, two years after withdrawing its previous attempt.

Processing Content

The Dutch digital bank, a competitor of the U.K.-based fintech Revolut in Europe, announced on Wednesday that it formally filed for a U.S. de novo banking license with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Bunq, a subscription-based service that allows users to manage multiple international accounts and currencies in one application, is aiming to reach European “digital nomads” residing in the United States.

The move comes as Revolut, Europe’s largest neobank at 65 million global customers, is also exploring being a U.S.-licensed bank. Bunq is the second-largest European neobank with 20 million users as of end of 2025, ahead of fellow European fintech competitors Monzo, with 14 million users as of late 2025, and N26, at an estimated 4.8 million users as of the end of 2024.

The filing comes shortly after FINRA approved Bunq’s broker-dealer license application in October of last year. Obtaining a bank charter would allow the neobank to offer savings deposits to users living or working in the U.S. alongside its other products and services.

The challenger bank first applied for a U.S. bank charter in 2023, but then withdrew that application in early 2024. Bunq called the withdrawal a “procedural” step due to a “difference of views” that arose between Bunq’s Dutch bank regulators and American bank agencies at the time.

“Our first application was a learning opportunity for us,” Joe Wilson, chief evangelist for Bunq, told American Banker. “When we approached this process in 2023, we assumed it would be similar to the European one, where you apply per license and work in stages with the regulator.”

In practice, according to Wilson, Bunq found that “there is no stop and start” with U.S. agencies. 

“We decided to work on preparing for our U.S. entry behind the scenes and kick off the process again once everything is ready,” he continued, citing the successfully acquired U.S. broker-dealer license as a starting element. “The application timing was entirely dictated by that preparatory work.”

Theodora Lau, founder of Unconventional Ventures, told American Banker that she has been following Bunq for a while as “one of the first ‘AI-native’ neobanks.” Bunq claims to be a generative AI-powered bank, and it presented a transaction monitoring system powered by NVIDIA AI for fraud detection at an NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference session in June 2024.

“I think [Bunq’s] offerings will be appealing for those looking for flexibility, especially the transatlantic digital nomads who don’t have an established credit profile in the U.S. and no Social Security number,” Lau said.  

Should Bunq’s charter application be approved, one preplanned product launch for the challenger bank is creating a way for consumers living in the U.S. to quickly build credit scores by accessing European financial records. Some users, if eligible, will also be able to open both U.S. and European checking accounts.

“We’re really excited about this service,” Wilson said. “It’s a pain point we have heard over and over again from our users traveling, working or living in the U.S. Once operational in the U.S., Bunq will be able to offer credit cards to eligible E.U. citizens, who often do not have a U.S. credit score, by leveraging their European credit history.”

The company declined to comment on how it is planning to connect to American credit bureaus to help expats build their U.S. credit scores.

“Our users are building their lives across borders, so they need a bank that is safe, secure and easy to use wherever they are,” said Ali Niknam, founder and CEO of Bunq, in a statement. “We want to give them the freedom to live the way they want, whether they’re heading to America, coming to Europe or moving between both.”

Bunq is planning to launch its services starting in “U.S. metropolitan and urban areas with large expat communities,” according to a statement on its website, but declined to comment on which cities the Dutch neobank would target in its U.S. rollout.

“I think identifying the market segment is key, more specific vertical and not mass market,” Lau said. “As they smartly pointed out in the press release, they want to roll this out for major metropolitan areas where there will be a higher concentration of Europeans and global citizens.”