@Sander#97815 Interesting, I might start using one of my personal accounts then as business account.

Ridiculous in the sense that normal freelancers don’t have many more transactions that would justify additional fees over a private account. As a matter of fact I have less than IBMT personal accounts.

I'm pretty sure it was forbidden to use personal (premium) accounts as a freelencer when they were introduced for some european countries. However, I can't find the together topic anymore.

I asked about this in a private chat a while ago. They said that it is not allowed to use a normal consumer account for business. Not even as a ZZP’er/freelancer. But perhaps they changed their stance on this. I would ask it privately to be sure.

@AnDue#97923 I've double-checked this internally now, and I must confirm that it is not allowed to use a Personal account as a freelancer. In the past this was "allowed" (or not strictly enforced), but it seems we have some outdated topics on Together. Apologies for misinforming you. I will ask bunq to update the topics as soon as possible. 🙂

@Sander#98054 I see, thanks for the update

Ik wil een B.V. oprichten en ik heb begrepen dat ik een zakelijk rekening moet openen. Weet iemand of ik Bunq mag gebruiken voor mijn B.V. als zakelijk rekening? zo je welke abonnement?

@New-Mustard-Bunny-1707967036#240059 General information about opening business accounts: https://together.bunq.com/d/46581 As you can see, the Besloten Vennootschap is indeed one of the accepted legal forms. There are different plans to choose from for businesses, you can find an overview on the website: https://www.bunq.com/benefits Get the one that has the features that you need for your business.

@Jakob-Y#240066
Heel erg bedankt voor je snelle reactie.
Ik ga per januari 2023 toetreden tot vakgroep als medisch specialist. Vandaar ben ik aan het oriënteren wat het best is om een zakelijke rekening te openen.
Binnenkort ga ik een B.V. oprichten bij de kamer van koophandel. Daarna kom ik bij Bunq terug voor een zakelijke rekening.

@dansm77#269242 There are no "business" transactions going on, other than simply receiving an income once a month.

Either there is none, or there is some. In your case, you have business transactions. Maybe not many, but the case is pretty clear-cut.

However, I apparently do not meet the requirements to open a bunq business account. I have tried, but my application was rejected.

Yes, that might very well be the case.

So I'm left with no choice really, but to find another bank.

Yes. As of today, bunq does not cater to all kinds of businesses. Only to certain types.

don't really work in the real world. It's not a legal requirement in Portugal for freelancers to have a business account.

The bunq T&C is indeed not born out of Portuguese law. These requirements are set by bunq. Not being able to meet them does not mean that someone is doing anything illegal or something that is not allowed. It simply means that you cannot have a bank account at bunq, which is one single specific bank in Europe.

I think I'm more comfortable to take advice from my accountant on this topic

I would do the same.

I think it's absurd for someone in this kind of situation be told they are in violation of T&Cs

Again, the T&C of bunq are one thing. And laws are another thing. Nobody said anything about you not following the law.

and be offered no viable alternative

bunq is also just a business. They are a comparably small bank, and have to focus their efforts. Their legal teams are not of the size of the big European banks, and therefore they have decided to limit their scope to a reasonable subset of businesses. Of course, it'd be great if your business would also fall within that scope, as you seem like you really want to be a customer with your business at bunq. But, it seems like in its current form, it does not. That doesn't mean that anything is wrong with your business, it just means that currently, you are not able to have bunq as your banking partner.

It's extremely inconvenient to now have to find an alternative solution

It turns out that it's not inconvenient. Revolut offer exactly what I need with "Revolut Pro" - which is specifically for freelancers in my situation. It looks like their offering has improved a lot since I last looked at them. I'll be making the move across.

@dansm77#269799 Thanks for offering your opinion. Just one thing I want to really make clear here: This is a community forum. I do not work for or at bunq. I'm just a user like you are. That being said, I do try to keep up with all things bunq and would claim to have some more insight than the average user owing to that.

I do not think that the bunq business accounts are suited for every type of business and I do not use them myself. I'm happy with the personal account, though. But that's a decision that everyone has to make for themselves.

@Jakob-Y#269889 No worries. Also thanks for your opinion. I had not realised you didn't represent bunq - as your messages suggested that you might.

At the end of the day, it is what it is. I've now found a solution that works for me. It is a shame that bunq are not currently supporting freelancers like myself - but that is their decision to make as a business. They may want to change this in the future if they want to keep up with the competition - but that remains to be seen.

Cheers.

Can somebody state what the current situation is. Is a freelancer (zzp) allowed to use a personal account.

The terms & conditions do not state anything regarding this. So If it is not allowed I would expect it to be written somewhere

@New-Red-Addax-1540702123#275712 Sander clarified this in 2019 (see above). He used to be bunq employee in the past IIRC, and as you can see from his comment he asked internally about it. And nothing changed in the meantime.

Ergo: You are not allowed to use a personal account for your business transactions, even if you are only a freelancer / ZZP. You can use the personal account for personal transactions only, and you would need a business account for all transactions related to freelancing.

Maybe the policy at other banks is different. But this is the policy at bunq.

That’s the answer Finn gave me:

Hey! 👋 I'm Finn, your virtual assistant 🤖
I am still learning, so please rate my answer so I can improve and serve you the best way I can!

Hello Philipp 🌈,

Thank you for reaching out to us and for considering bunq for your freelance work. We appreciate your interest and are here to provide you with the most comprehensive information to help you make an informed decision.

Firstly, it's great to hear that you're enjoying your bunq Easy Money Personal plan. This plan indeed allows you to create up to 25 sub-accounts (Monetary accounts), which you can use to separate your personal and freelance transactions. This can be particularly useful for accounting and tax purposes.

However, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind:

1. Nature of Transactions: If your freelance activities are straightforward and limited in volume, using a sub-account under your personal account might suffice. However, if your business activities grow or become more complex, it might be more appropriate to switch to a dedicated Business account.

2. Account Features: The Easy Money Personal plan allows you to have a combination of up to 25 Savings, Joint Savings, Bank, and Joint Bank Accounts. You can use one of these as your 'business' sub-account.

3. Compliance: Ensure that your use of the personal account for business purposes complies with bunq's terms and conditions. bunq assesses activities based on their risk profile and acceptance policy.

4. Invoicing: Your recent invoices show that you have been on the Easy Money subscription, which includes personal banking features. If you require invoicing features specific to businesses, such as VAT handling or invoicing tools, a Business account might be more suitable.

5. Verification Status: Your personal banking bunq account has been successfully verified, so you're all set to use your account within the given terms.

6. Cards: You have several cards listed, most of which are cancelled. You have one active Debit Mastercard that you can use for business-related expenses if you decide to use a sub-account for your self-employment.

Remember, if your freelance work grows into a full-fledged business, you might want to consider opening a bunq Business account to take advantage of features tailored to business needs.

We hope this information helps you in making your decision. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out. We're here to help you bank with ease! 🚀

Best regards,
The bunq Support Team 🏦