bunq, a neobank with 11 million users, ended 2023 with a net annual profit of €53.1 million, the company announced today (Tuesday). The Netherlands-headquartered neobank is now eying to enter the United Kingdom and has applied for an E-Money Institution (EMI) license in the country.

The First Profitable Year

The profitability of the company came as its gross income jumped 20 percent in the last quarter of 2023, while the gross interest increased 488 percent. The customer deposits in the neobank also escalated fourfold, from €1.8 billion in 2022 to about €7 billion at the end of 2023.

Although 2023 was the first year for the Dutch company to hit the profitability target, it first became profitable in the fourth quarter of 2022 when it generated a pre-tax profit of €2.3 million.

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— bunq (@bunq) January 24, 2024

A Strategic Expansion

Meanwhile, the entrance of the neobank in the UK markets is not the first. It operated in the country before Brexit and continues to serve its existing customers. The EMI license will enable it to onboard new customers again. The company additionally highlighted the estimated 2.8 million British digital nomads to be its potential customer base.

“The UK is home to the second-highest number of digital nomads globally, so naturally, we want to be there,” said Ali Niknam, the Founder and CEO of bunq. “We want to truly make their life easy, that’s why we’re excited to reintroduce bunq to the Brits and enable them to bank like a local all across Europe.”

“As a bridge between Europe and the rest of the world, the UK is at the forefront of European fintech and a hugely important market for bunq. As a true tech company, it only makes sense for us to pursue this market.”

Established in 2012, Bunq is headquartered in The Netherlands and operates across Europe with a banking license obtained from the home country. The neobank further applied for a banking license in the United States last year and is now awaiting approval.

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