Review: bunq Business Bank Account (2023)

bunq is The Netherlands' most recent unicorn and a mobile-first bank based in Amsterdam. Founded in 2012 by a tech entrepreneur Ali Niknam, bunq received a full-fledged banking license from the Dutch National Bank in 2015. The company has since grown into a leading European mobile bank available in more than 18 countries, reaching a grand total of over €1B in assets under management back in March 2021. bunq has since updated the plan structure and expanded their offering. Today, Dutch neobank offers a variety of plans for both individuals and business customers. This review will guide you through the advantages as well as drawbacks of getting a business bank account with bunq.

bunq offers online banking for both individuals as well as businesses via a simple, yet powerful mobile app available for both Android and iOS. bunq's full official banking license is granted by a regulator from The Netherlands, as such, companies registering a bank account at bunq automatically get a bank account with a Dutch IBAN (International Bank Account Number), however, businesses based in Germany, France and Spain get IBANs from these countries. A new feature introduced by bunq, "Local IBANs", allows your business to have bank accounts from multiple countries, which may come in handy for tax purposes.

Find out more about bunq and alternatives to bunq by viewing featured articles that mention this bank available at Fintech Compass:

• Best Bank Accounts in the Netherlands
• The Best Digital Banks of 2023
• Sustainability-first Banks & Ethical Banking
• Curated List: Top Joint Accounts for Banking Together
• Top Digital Banks for Students
• Best Online & Mobile-first Banks for Freelancers
• Top 6 Most Innovative Features in Bank Apps
• Finest Metal Cards by Leading Digital Banks

bunq's baseline plan, Easy Bank, is an inexpensive option that gives a good impression of what bunq is. Significantly less powerful than the higher-tier plans, Easy Bank is still a solid product that has an impressive array of niche features while performing very well in day-to-day banking, with high acceptance rate on cards all over the world and world-class security tech.

Easy Green is bunq's top-of-the-line plan at a premium pricepoint. The main advantage over lower-tier Easy Money plan is an ability to effortlessly offset your CO2 emissions thanks to automatically planting a tree for every €100 spent from your bunq Business account. On top of this, Easy Green features invoice scanning using your phone's camera, extended warranty and purchase protection.

Business bank accounts offered by bunq can also be found in our selection of "one-to-one" comparisons between the best plans currently available on the market. Please find these detailed comparisons below:

• bunq Easy Bank vs Qonto Basic
• Revolut Grow vs bunq Easy Money Business

Bank accounts for business banking by bunq vary quite significantly both in the range of features available, business types they target, and, of course, in price. Find a detailed breakdown of all bunq plans offered to businesses in our comparison table below.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Does bunq offer real bank accounts suitable for operating a business?

bunq B.V. holds a full banking license provided by one of Europe's most reliable and respected banking authorities, the Dutch National Bank. Essentially, this means that all the deposits at bunq (capped at €100'000 per customer) are fully insured via DNB's Deposit Guarantee Scheme and backed by the government of The Netherlands. On top of this, this license ensures that the challenger bank is subject to a high level of scrutiny and intense audits by regulators. So yes, bunq is a real bank.

Do my bank accounts get an IBAN from The Netherlands with bunq?

Despite being a Dutch bank, users residing in Germany, France and Spain would get local IBANs, which is a unique feature as far as mobile-first banks go. Users from other countries get a Dutch IBAN (which begins with "NL97 ..."). You can also get bank accounts in multiple countries at bunq, but that (admittedly, quite niche) option incurs an additional cost. In case you are wondering, IBAN is an abbreviation that stands for "International Bank Account Number".

Are there hidden fees at bunq?

Most of the "day-to-day" banking features cost nothing - these are already included in your bunq plan. In essence, this means a complete lack of fees (on Easy Money or Easy Green plans) for things like having up to 3 "physical" and 5 virtual bank cards active, bank transfers within the SEPA zone, having up to 25 sub-accounts or withdrawing cash from an ATM up to 4 times a month. However, there are still some exceptions: for example, executing SWIFT transactions, holding huge (more than €100'000) amounts on your accounts or ordering a replacement for your lost card (more than once a year, as the first one is also free) are examples of that. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the pricing document available on bunq's website so as not to have any unpleasant surprises when the monthly invoice comes.

How does bunq Pack work with businesses?

bunq Pack allows you to have up to four Easy Money personal (or 3 personal and 1 business) subscriptions for a reduced price of €24,99 (€6,24 per account). Which takes "The more, the merrier" to next level, saving you a total of €14 per month if you are a part of a full bunq Pack.

Does bunq offer a credit card?

The answer is not straightforward. While bunq does offer a Mastercard Credit card, there is no option to open a credit line or enable overdraft. Why? It is still convenient as certain vendors (most commonly, car rental companies, hotels and any other business that "freezes" an amount on your card prior to the actual payment) often require you to pay with a credit card specifically, and you would still have that option available to you. As an added bonus, credit cards from Mastercard have the best worldwide acceptance.

What about the bunq Travel Card?

bunq Travel Card is a deprecated product that used to be a standalone subscription. The card itself is now called simply "bunq Credit Card". This should not discourage you as all he benefits of the Travel Card (like ZeroFX, the "no exchange rate, save up to 3% on currency payments" offering) are readily available to all bunq users. The card itself also looks exactly the same.

How do I contact bunq?

bunq support can be contacted 24/7 via the in-app chat, in any of the six languages bunq supports. As an alternative, it is possible to email bunq with any questions you might have at support@bunq.com. bunq's address is 1043 BS Amsterdam, Naritaweg 131-133, The Netherlands. You can report bunq scam and fraud by bunq users on bunq's website.

Companies based in which countries can use bunq?

Companies based in these countries can use bunq: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The list is constantly expanding just like bunq does so make sure to check bunq's official website or app listing.

Does the feature set of bunq lack something you are explicitly looking for? Perhaps, you are looking for a company account in a different price range? Or do you want to find a more powerful solution for your needs? Below, we will provide you with three bunq alternatives other users found relevant.

bunq surely does not lack the features nor does it struggle to justify the price tag (which is more or less similar to what's offered by bunq's competitors). An abundance of "smart banking" features, all the "bread and butter" day-to-day functionality you would expect from your bank in a digital age and a commitment to ethical investment practices along with a focus on sustainability - what more could a business user want? However, the downsides (namely, overall cash-"unfriendliness" and a lack of a proper desktop app) might be off-putting enough to become deal-breakers for some business owners, especially when combined with some of the less significant drawbacks (e.g. confusing app UI or lack of Garmin Pay or Fitbit Pay). The company is also constantly innovating, and you can feel that nothing is truly "set in stone" at bunq in terms of UX/UI with the neobank always trying to improve the end users' experience, which can be a bit overwhelming at times.

However, greenwashing (bunq does like mentioning tree planting and going CO2-neutral... a lot) and the "social" banking experiments aside, bunq remains a really solid and high-tech neobank with a full-fledged banking license provided by a trustworthy regulatory authority in one of the most reliable countries in terms of the justice system and the strength of the economy. Often dismissed by businesses due to its flashy and "young" presentation and visual style, in its core, bunq is a very powerful bank that gets better the more you "settle in" and acquaint yourself with a wide range of possibilities to choose from.