Europe’s second-largest neobank bunq continues to expand in the US after being approved as a broker-dealer on October 27.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) approved bunq’s application filed in April 2025. The broker-dealer licence will now enable bunq to offer US customers stocks offerings, self-directed investing, mutual funds and ETFs, among other products.
bunq is also aiming to bring its other digital payment products to US users after confirming it has now completed the first phase of its two-phase strategy to become a registered bank in the country.
“Our users roam the world – they live, work, and travel across borders,” said Ali Niknam, founder and CEO of bunq.
“For many, the US 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.”
Not just US as part of global expansion
The neobank is expanding to bring its user-centric approach to the millions of digital nomads, expats, international entrepreneurs, and remote professionals with ties to both sides of the Atlantic.
The broker-dealer licence comes as bunq continues to build momentum globally, having recently announced its user base surpassing 20 million users across Europe. The company has also set its sights on the UK, applying for an Electronic Money Institute (EMI) licence as part of its ongoing international expansion.
Based out of Amsterdam, bunq has a predominant focus on the European market, active in countries such as Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, etc., with users required to be part of a European Economic Area (EEA) country to open an account with the digital bank.
bunq had previously withdrawn from the UK market during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2020 due to regulatory uncertainty surrounding Brexit, as users were unable to open new accounts although their current accounts were still active.
With plans to receive an EMI licence from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, bunq has shown a willingness to walk back and forth from potential markets due to various macroeconomic and regulatory contingencies.
Plans for the US?
The broker-dealer licence comes timely for bunq as the US continues to diversify its stock market, introducing Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 and many fintechs, including Robinhood, rolling out tokenised stock options in recent months.
Under certain plans, bunq enables in-app crypto trading to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
The broker-dealer licence enables bunq to perform trades on behalf of clients while also trading securities from its own account. It remains to be seen which securities bunq will have on offer for its US customer base.
