Amsterdam FinTech startup bunq is expanding into 22 additional countries after successful launches in Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Ireland and Belgium, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday (Oct. 1).
The company also now accepts Apple Pay and Google Pay in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Ireland.
The FinTech allows customers to easily open their own full bank accounts online, supplying users with their unique International Bank Account Number (IBAN) as well as a debit card, for a subscription charge to be paid monthly.
The bunq Travel Card is a Mastercard without any foreign exchange fee, and bunq offers a true exchange rate on purchases in foreign currencies. Its travel card saves users up to 3 percent.
“We’re extremely excited to launch the Travel Card all across Europe. By offering the best card to travel the world, European travelers can now always pay with the real exchange rate and enjoy the benefits of a true credit card without the burden of debt or monthly fees,” bunq Founder and CEO Ali Niknam said in a press release.
The company also offers a way for users to “take the hassle out of settling group payments,” bunq says on its website. By setting a Slice Group in the app, people can easily track holiday expenses automatically.
The company said the bunq Travel Card is now available in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
The Netherlands was one of the most recent countries to implement the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) this year, and mandating the regulation in such a market — where consumers are already used to faster payments and speedy transactions — requires a different approach by banks and businesses.
Businesses that want to take advantage of open banking within the country will need to follow the guidelines set by the Dutch regulatory body, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB).
