Dutch fintech Bunq has officially entered the Irish market with the launch of an Irish IBAN nearly a year after its acquisition of Dublin-headquartered specialist business lender Capitalflow.
The company becomes the latest challenger bank to offer full banking services in Ireland at a time of great volatility in the market, with Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland preparing to exit later this year.
Bunq differs from established digital banks such as Revolut and N26 in that it charges fees for day-to-day banking services. The launch of the Irish IBAN will allow its customers in Ireland to have their salaries paid into their accounts and set up direct debits.
Neither Revolut nor N26 offer Irish IBANs (international bank account numbers), instead providing customers with Lithuanian (Revolut) or German, Italian or Spanish (N26) IBANs, which shouldn't be a problem, but some companies do discriminate despite rules against it.
"By offering an extensive range of financial products and services, Irish people can now finally experience the true value of fintech as an alternative to traditional banking. I'm very excited to see Bunq spearheading this development," said Gerald Gruber, COO of Bunq.
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Bunq had been available in Ireland and nearly 30 other European markets with its DutchIBAN, but with the launch of the Irish IBAN, the company said it could be "a veritable primary bank account for Irish users."
Ulster Bank and KBC have begun writing to their more than 1m combined customers to give them six months' notice to close their accounts, with the remaining pillar banks adding and redeploying staff to handle the expected influx of applicants in the coming months.
Capitalflow continues to offer equipment and vehicle financing as well as commercial property loans and cashflow facilities like invoice discounting to Irish businesses as part of Bunq.
"We are delighted to see Bunq strengthen its position in the Irish market following its acquisition of Capitalflow late last year," said Ronan Horgan, CEO of Capitalflow.
"This deal has enabled us to offer more competitive funding to Irish SME’s and to continue to grow our workforce. With its ‘customer first’ ethos, this launch is excellent news for Irish consumers, offering greater choice for day-to-day banking.”
Established by Ali Niknam in 2012, Bunq has grown its deposit base to over €1bn and last July closed a Series A funding round worth €193m, led by British private equity firm Pollen Street Capital, valuing the company at approximately €1.6bn.
Prior to the investment, Nkinam had financed the Bunq with €98.7m of his own money. The Amsterdam-based company has a banking licence from the Dutch Central Bank and received authorisation for its Irish IBAN from the Central Bank of Ireland last month.
Bunq aims to expand across Europe through mergers and acquisitions, and announced on Tuesday that it plans to buy Tricount, a mobile app for managing group expenses.
(Pic: Bunq)
