Image credits: bunq
Amsterdam-based bunq, a challenger bank, announced on Tuesday that it has rolled out a new update, Update 21, at the DeLaMar Theater in Amsterdam.
Update 21, the fourth large-scale update to the bunq app, comes with features like Easy Budgeting, Group Expenses, Widgets, and more.
The latest update comes amid record-breaking inflation in the eurozone. A research carried out by the company reveals that:
- 94 per cent of millennials in the Netherlands, Germany, and France say they have been affected by the current economic downturn
- 40 per cent have cut their expenses.
- 38 per cent are delaying larger purchases for the future.
- Two-thirds of people see their long-term plans, such as moving or starting a family, being affected by inflation.
Ali Niknam, CEO and founder of bunq, says, “Most of our users are taking active steps to regain control over their finances: either by budgeting diligently or by paying better attention to large or impulsive purchases. We want to help them do that more efficiently and are introducing the fourth generation of our app, which is more simplified and powerful than ever. It will allow them to budget with zero effort and kick inflation to the curb.”
To help users maintain financial health and regain control of their finances, the company has introduced the new tools in the update.
Let’s take a look at the new tools:
Easy Budgeting: Users can set up dedicated sub-accounts for groceries, nights out, travel, or anything they like and budget from them automatically.
Widgets: With the latest update, the company introduced Widgets options, which can be added to the Home screen for instant access.
Wheel of Fortune: The app also introduced Wheel of Fortune, where users can spin a wheel and win prizes. Users get one spin daily and can earn more spins by using bunq.
Group expenses: This option automatically tracks and easily splits expenses with friends. Users can have as many Group Expenses as they want.
Green tab: It lets users find all the features that help them become CO2-free.
bunq Web: Users can access all the bunq features they need to manage their money on any device.
bunq: What you need to know
Serial entrepreneur Ali Niknam founded bunq in 2012 after he secured the first European banking permit in over 35 years. He was bunq’s sole investor until 2021, financing the company with €98.7M of his own money.
In April 2021, their deposits surpassed €1B for the first time.
In July 2021, the Dutch company raised €193M in a deal with British private equity firm Pollen Street Capital, valuing bunq at approximately €1.6B.
At the same time, the company also reported its first-ever profitable month. The Dutch unicorn also acquired Capitalflow, a Dublin-based company that lends to SMEs across a broad range of sectors in the Irish economy.
In May 2022, bunq welcomed 5.4 million new users to its community with the acquisition of Belgian fintech Tricount, which made bunq the EU’s second-largest neobank.
Catch our interview with Paul Down, Head of Sales at Intigriti.
