Amsterdam-based financial technology firm, Bunq recently announced that the company has secured €193 million ($228 million) in the Series A Funding Round led by the UK-based Pollen Street Capital.
According to an official announcement, the latest financing is the largest Series A funding round for a European fintech firm. Additionally, the Founder and CEO of Bunq, Ali Niknam participated in the round with an investment of approximately €25 million ($29.5 million).
In addition to the latest Series A funding round, the Amsterdam-based challenger bank is acquiring Capitalflow Group, an Irish lending company, as part of the deal with Pollen. Capitalflow Group was previously owned by Pollen Street Capital.
“Everything has a right time. At the beginning of Bunq, it was important to get a laser user focus in the company. Having to also focus on fundraisers and the needs of investors distracts. Bunq now is mature enough to start scaling up significantly, so more capital is welcome,” Niknam commented.
Founded in 2012, Bunq has been self-funded by Niknam for several years. He invested a total of more than $100 million in the project.
Growth
Bunq has seen substantial growth in the last few years amid a jump in adoption. Earlier this year, the company crossed €1 billion in user deposits. Due to the recent growth and a rise in financial numbers, Bunq has received a valuation of $1.9 billion. "Bunq was founded to challenge what banking is and can do. By putting our users first, we have created a bank that is super focussed to make life easy in a sustainable way,” Niknam added.
The European Fintech sector attracted record VC funding during the first half of 2021. According to a research report published by Dealroom.co and London & Partners, the European fintech sector attracted nearly $14 billion in VC funding during H1 of 2021. London-based financial technology firms saw record investment as the city’s fintech companies raised nearly $5.3 billion in the first six months of 2021.
