Bunq Accelerates Global Expansion With Mexican Banking License Bid

European neobank Bunq filed for a Mexican banking license, saying it aims to serve the growing number of global citizens within, and with ties to, Mexico.

With a full banking license, Bunq would be able to offer Mexican residents full-service banking, multicurrency accounts and protected deposits under the Institute for the Protection of Bank Savings (IPAB), the company said in a Wednesday (May 13) press release.

“Bunq is designed for people who live, work and travel across borders, and as a vital hub connecting the Americas, Mexico is a natural home for us,” Bunq founder and CEO Ali Niknam said in the release. “Our users are global citizens, so they need a bank that is safe, secure and easy to use.”

The company operates across more than 30 European markets. It was recently approved for a broker-dealer license in the United States, and it applied for a U.S. de novo banking license, per the release.

When announcing its filing for a U.S. de novo banking license in January, Bunq said it was targeting “digital nomads” who live and work between the U.S. and Europe.

The company said that once the license is approved, Bunq will launch services beginning with U.S. metro areas with large expat communities. It said it can help these users quickly build credit, often a challenge for new arrivals, by accessing European financial records.

Bunq received its approval for a U.S. broker-dealer license in October. The company said at the time that this license enables its users to invest in U.S. stocks, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and represents the first phase of its U.S. entry.

When announcing that approval, Niknam said that for many of the global citizens the company serves, the U.S. is an important part of their lives.

“That’s why we’re excited to bring Bunq stateside and make life easy for Americans and anyone who calls it home,” Niknam said.

Bunq announced in September that as it marked the 10th anniversary of its first app launch, it had 20 million users across Europe and was the region’s second-largest neobank. There, it offers bank accounts, savings accounts, cards, stocks and cryptocurrency.