Dutch neobank Bunq goes on hiring spree, targeting digital nomads, as other fintechs slash jobs

Dutch challenger slope Bunq told CNBC that it plans to turn its planetary headcount by 70% this twelvemonth to implicit 700 employees, adjacent arsenic different fiscal exertion startups person decided to chopped jobs.

Bunq, which operates successful markets crossed the European Union, is looking to grow into caller regions including the U.K. and the United States, taking connected the fintechs already successful those countries, including the likes of Britain's Monzo and Revolut, and American neobank Chime.

Bunq said it needs corresponding endowment successful those regions to enactment its planetary enlargement ambitions. To that end, the steadfast said it plans to spot retired the twelvemonth with 735 employees globally — up 72% from its 427 members of unit astatine the commencement of 2024.

"Bunq focusses connected integer nomads who thin to roam the world," Ali Niknam, Bunq's CEO and co-founder, told CNBC via emailed comments.

So-called "digital nomads" are defined arsenic radical who question freely while working remotely, utilizing exertion and the net to enactment overseas from hotels, cafes, libraries, co-working spaces, oregon impermanent housing.

"We'd emotion to beryllium capable to work our users wherever they spell — fixed the regulatory situation we're in, this results successful america having to person a batch of other radical to marque this happen," Niknam added.

Bunq is presently successful the process of applying for banking licenses successful some the U.S. and U.K. Last year, the steadfast submitted an exertion for a national banking license. And successful the U.K., Bunq is awaiting a determination from fiscal regulators connected an exertion to go a licensed e-money institution, oregon EMI.

The integer slope said it was actively looking to prosecute crossed income and concern development, merchandise marketing, PR, affiliate marketing, and marketplace analysis, arsenic good arsenic idiosyncratic support, development, and prime assurance.

Many of these positions volition beryllium portion of a "tailored integer nomad" programme that allows unit to enactment from anyplace successful the world, Bunq said.

However, the steadfast stressed it's not closing down bureau abstraction and that galore caller hires would enactment successful its offices, including successful Amsterdam, Sofia, Istanbul, Munich, Paris, Dublin, Madrid, London, and New York City.

The operating situation for fintech firms has gotten tougher, meanwhile, with ostentation knocking user assurance and higher involvement rates making it harder for startups to rise money.

In January past year, cryptocurrency speech Coinbase slashed 950 jobs. It was followed by payments elephantine PayPal, which reduced its planetary headcount by 2,000 people successful aboriginal 2023, and past by different 2,500 jobs successful aboriginal 2024.

Meanwhile, immoderate fintechs are looking to artificial quality to instrumentality connected a increasing fig of roles.

Swedish bargain now, wage aboriginal steadfast Klarna, for instance, said past period that it was capable to trim its workforce from 5,000 to 3,800 implicit the past twelvemonth from attrition alone. It added that it is looking to further chopped worker numbers down to 2,000 done the usage of AI successful selling and lawsuit service.

"Our proven standard efficiencies person been enhanced by our concern successful AI, which has driven down operating expenses and improved gross profits," the institution said successful first-half earnings.

Klarna said that its mean gross per worker had risen 73% year-over-year, acknowledgment successful nary tiny portion to the interior exertion of AI.

Bunq's Niknam said helium doesn't spot AI arsenic a mode to assistance firms trim headcount, however.

"We've been deploying AI systems and solutions years earlier they became mainstream, [but] successful our acquisition AI empowers our employees to beryllium capable to bash amended by our users, much efficaciously and efficiently," helium told CNBC.

Bunq earlier this twelvemonth reported its archetypal afloat twelvemonth of profitability, generating 53.1 cardinal euros ($58.51 million) successful nett net successful 2023. The concern was past valued privately by investors astatine 1.65 cardinal euros.