Dutch digital bank Bunq plans to re-enter the UK to tap into a “large and underserved” market of around 2.8 million British “digital nomads”.
Pavlo Gonchar | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Dutch rival bank Bunq told CNBC it plans to increase its global headcount by 70% this year to more than 700 employees, even as other fintech startups have decided to cut jobs.
Bunq, which operates in markets across the European Union, is looking to expand into new territories, including the United Kingdom and the United States, taking on fintechs already in those countries such as Britain’s Monzo and Revolut and US neobank Chime.
Bunq said it needs matching talent in these regions to support its global expansion ambitions. To that end, the company said it plans to start the year with 735 employees worldwide — a 72 percent increase from its 427 staff at the start of 2024.
“Bunq focuses on digital nomads who tend to roam the world,” Ali Niknam, CEO and co-founder of Bunq, told CNBC via email.
So-called “digital nomads” are defined as people who travel freely while working remotely, using technology and the internet to work abroad from hotels, coffee shops, libraries, co-working spaces or temporary accommodation.
“We’d like to be able to serve our users wherever they go – given the regulatory environment we’re in, that means we have a lot of extra people to do that,” Niknam added.
Bunq is currently in the process of applying for banking licenses in both the US and UK. Last year, the company applied for a federal banking license. And in the UK, Bunq is awaiting a decision from financial regulators on an application to become a licensed electronic money institution, or EMI.
The digital bank said it is actively looking to hire in sales and business development, product marketing, PR, affiliate marketing and market analysis, as well as user support, development and quality assurance.
Many of those positions will be part of a “custom digital nomad” program that allows staff to work from anywhere in the world, Bunq said.
However, the company emphasized that it is not closing office space and that many new hires will work in its offices in Amsterdam, Sofia, Istanbul, Munich, Paris, Dublin, Madrid, London and New York.
A contrast to job cuts at other fintechs
Over the past couple of years, one of the biggest stories in both fintech and the broader tech industry has been companies cutting jobs to cut the massive spending spree incurred during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
Meanwhile, the operating environment for fintech companies has become tougher, with inflation hitting consumer confidence and higher interest rates making it harder for startups to raise money.
In January of last year, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase cut 950 jobs. The payments giant followed PayPalwhich cut its global workforce by 2,000 people in early 2023 and then another 2,500 jobs in early 2024.
Meanwhile, some fintechs are looking to artificial intelligence to fill a growing number of roles.
Swedish buy-now-pay-later company Klarna, for example, said last month it had managed to reduce its workforce from 5,000 to 3,800 last year from attrition alone. He added that he is looking to further reduce the number of employees to 2,000 through the use of artificial intelligence in marketing and customer service.
“Our proven efficiency at scale was enhanced by our investment in artificial intelligence, which reduced operating expenses and improved gross profit,” the company said in its first-half earnings.
Klarna said its average revenue per employee had increased by 73% year-on-year, thanks in large part to its internal implementation of artificial intelligence.
But Bunq’s Niknam said he doesn’t see AI as a way to help companies downsize.
“We develop AI systems and solutions years before they become mainstream, [but] in our experience, AI empowers our employees to do better than our users, more effectively and efficiently,” he told CNBC.
Bunq earlier this year reported its first full year of profitability, generating 53.1 million euros ($58.51 million) in net profit in 2023. The business was last valued privately by investors at 1.65 billion euros.
