• What inspired you to start using bunq?

At first I needed an iBAN for my newly born daughter as fast as possible and Rabobank kept failing so I googled a bit and found bunq, in 10 min I got her her own iBAN. I was immediately very impressed with the speed and looks of the app and when I learned there was no web interface I got curious as to the why and how of bunq and read all about the philosophy. This perfectly matched how I felt about traditional banks and I wanted to switch immediately but then the pricing model changed and I learned that Rabobank will cut my mortgage interest discount if I leave completely. So I enjoyed the classic/free bunq for a bit and started thinking about how to justify the price and a second bank next to Rabobank (the geek/tech appeal is there for me, but do I really need it...). But then I saw Ali on DWDD (dutch TV) explaining about the how and why of a DDOS and how to protect against them and I felt a bit of a man-crush coming on. Here was the CEO of a "bank" telling it how it is, no spokes person with convoluted techno-babble just a guy that knows his s..t. I decided to go all in mainly for the philosophy and by that time there was an API and a very nice desktop app already (which I don't use but I very much appreciate that it exists, I'm sure I will use it at some point).

Also, together is great and the near instant feedback is something that I appreciate a lot. Sometimes I don't agree with choices but the responsiveness of bunq make me very forgiving and it inspires trust (the price change was handled with grace by the employees on together, I remember specifically Koen). So, now I have much more ordered finances. And after killing my old account and downgrading my "samenrekening" bunq is only 2-3 euro's extra in cost which is nothing in comparison to what you get extra with bunq.

Also, things like using my card with a group of friends by setting a secondary pin linked to a separated iBAN topped up by easy to track requests thrown in a WhatsApp group is gold (although that flow changed a bit in v8, I'm confident the future will make is at least as easy as it was ;) ).
Edit 2018-08-02: And the request sharing is back, you see, bunq listens. I love it.

So, keep it up, I'm a happy customer and I look forward to what the future will bring! I don't mind changes in things I have gotten used to, I like how you experiment and make hard choices that not everyone agrees with immediately. So far everything turned out very well and I have confidence that bunq will only get better and better.

    Simpel de uitstekende Bunq app, perfecte support via de app (TOP KLASSE!) en natuurlijk Apple Pay, had via via gehoord dat dit zou komen bij Bunq. Vandaar gelijk voor een premium account gegaan.

      In 2015 I read an inspiring article in NRC Handelsblad about bunq being the ‘WhatsApp for banks’ and it made me curious enough to download the app immediately. At that time I had just transferred from Rabobank to Triodos, mainly because of the bad investments of Rabobank. And than all of a sudden there was bunq, all digital and innovative without the bad stuff.

      After spending a few years with the app – and much appreciating the growing number of features and the transformation into a grown-up user interface – it was the introduction of Apple Pay that finally made me switch from Triodos to bunq. And I’m glad I did it. Triodos may be the best of all the old dutch banks, but still did investments that weren’t my cup of tea. Also they sended an unnecessary printed and plasticized magazine periodically. And they have an app from the stone-age…

      In the four months that I’ve used bunq as my only bank it striked me that I have gotten a much better insight in my spendings through the notifications, the use of piggy banks and because I spend way more time in bunq's money app than I did with the others.

      And it’s no secret that I really love the request functionality :)

        One card to rule them all!!
        I seriously dislike wallets. And keys but that's another story :). The fact that I could have just one card and swap it between my own, my company and my shared accounts was all the incentive I needed. From 8 to just 4 cards in my wallet. All I need now is Apple Pay in NL and an on phone/wallet OV pass and digital drivers license an I can toss out my wallet permanently. #firstworldproblems ;)

        Thanks for that :)

        P.S. The app is amazing as well

          Coming from the UK where banking is free and where you get cashback on credit cards, it was a shock to learn that in Holland you have to pay for the privilege for banks to play with your money...

          I found Bunq as a service that will let me get what I need, without being charged, and allowing for ideal payments, something my English and German bank don't support.

          Now I'm only missing a free debit card, but here my German and British bank help me out.

          Who needs cash if you can do everything online and mobile!

            It was a sunny day in april (2017). I remember sitting in my room just searching the internet and looking on Facebook. Then I saw an N26 advertisement on Facebook. I looked at it and scrolled further. Later I realised that it would be fun to try a new banking alternative with fresh features and an open view to the future, because the Rabobank was annoying me. But I was forgotten the name from N26. So I searched Google and found bunq. The advertisement did not looked the same but the story did appeal me. So I did installed bunq and 3 months later (july 2017) my Rabobank bank account was closed.

            I have since the first time opening the app been so happy with bunq that I would never ever go back to the Rabobank or any other bank.

            Love,

            Hans

              I read some articles at nu.nl, and I was interested in the concept of bunq so I wanted to try!

              So I made myself an account and at first I thought "hmmm, not that cool"

              I used it next to ABN Amro, so I topped it up a few times and used it for Card Payments and I liked it very much! Instant notifications, I got a lot of compliments about the colorful debit card!

              I started to use it as my main bank and it is great, but when Bunq premium launched it took me 3 months of doubing if I wanted to upgrade my profile and now I'm so glad I did it.

              NO REGRETS AND BUNQ IS AWESOME!

              I LOVE THE FREEDOM ❤️

                Ik ben bunqr sinds 2015 en wat mij het meeste in bunq aantrok waren het betalen voor wat je gebruikt, de jeans/sneaker cultuur en de kleurtjes die helemaal passen bij mijn leven. Ik ben echt allergisch voor van die banktypes met hun stropdas die de klant wel even vertellen wat belangrijk is en wat wel en niet kan.
                Na verloop van tijd werd de bunq app steeds volwassener en stond alleen nog het niet beschikbaar zijn van de en/of rekening een overstap in de weg. Direct nadat bunq de en/of rekening heeft geïntroduceerd zijn we als huishouden overgestapt en kort daarna van het bunq more model overgestapt op bunq premium, puur en alleen omdat Apple Pay beschikbaar is.

                Dat bunq niet investeert vind ik eerder een nadeel dan een voordeel. Investeren is goed, daar is de maatschappij op gebouwd. Je kan discussiëren waarin geïnvesteerd moet worden, maar investeren zelf is niet vies/raar/eng/fout. Een beetje investeren zorgt ook voor betaalbare producten en de massa zal simpelweg gewoon spaarrente willen. Wil bunq groeien, dan zal er op dat gebied iets moeten gebeuren.

                  Thanks everyone for all your wonderful stories 🌈

                    • FMaster

                      I was looking around for a new bank because my then-favorite planet aware ASN was more and more starting to walk and talk like their big bad sibling SNS. And my previous fave Triodos somehow forgot about their app and had this enterprise (we lost our way but at least it looks professional) feel about them. I didn’t like where it all was going. Checking out all those lawyer proof bank websites, trying out apps, comparing plans. They all looked the same. Just one big dusty conglomerate of bureaucrats. Most of them caring only about their own credits, willing to bankrupt their clients for it. I got so tired of bringing in yet another form to get a IBAN, which is all digital anyway. Why go to some physical office to get a fully digital product? The search for an innovative bank seemed impossible, frustrating.

                      And then it happened. A post on Tweakers taught me new concepts: fintech, WhatsApp of banking, realtime payments, one card for all your accounts.. I couldn’t believe it, the answer to all questions, even those that had not been asked yet. I had to experience this thing myself. The signup was shocking good. First the free mode but it felt so good I had to upgrade. I had a chat (!) with an intelligent soul at a bank (!), that alone is an odd experience, and after exchanging some personal data I already had a new bank account. But in like 5 minutes and without any forms or visits to a branch office. Freaking amazing.

                      After playing around with the app for a couple of weeks and ordering cards, I decided to make bunq my primary bank. And then new awesomeness was added and still is. I haven’t regretted going Premium when it was introduced. One of my best choices ever.

                      Keep it up, bunqers!
                      I love you so much 😘☺️

                        I probably have the most weird story.... I bought a vps server from transip and you had to fill in your IBAN number. As example it says a random IBAN number with bunq in it. I didn’t know bunq and searched on Google, How this story ends you Can already guess....

                          @Karin-Violet-Bear#27265 My VPS story is actually pretty much opposite: I switched my VPS to transip after getting bunq cause I figured a large sum of the profit Ali makes on Transip is put back into bunq :)

                            Breken met banken Made me switch! And i like Bunq, like for real!!

                              I actually found bunq just briefly looking at the the bunq card of a nearby fellow shopper in a supermarket. I saw the "rainbow" design and the bunq ambigram. At first I thought it was some sort of LGBT-themed card (no offense!) but I found the name both unrelated to the main Banks of my country and very intriguing. So I googled it and... well, here I am :-D.

                                After the Dakota pipeline hassle with ING I felt quite guilty. And I knew I would feel this quilty feeling again when I stayed with the ING. So I was googling about the banking world and also googling about Knab (I held my business there). And there was a chance that they Then I found the banking promise of bunq that they wouldn't invest my (small amount) of money*. This felt so great to know where my wallet was used for. So then my private account was moved from ING to bunq.. and later on my business account from KNAB to bunq. Like many other users it felt painful after the update with the new pricing, but that's the price to be the boss of your own wallet nowadays. Now I'm a happy bunqer with a pack (business, private and trying to convince my girlfriend to transfer her ING to bunq).

                                Guys keep up the good vibes and I love all your great innovations with dual pin, bunq.me, connect and of course the together board!

                                *: I know that bunq has to invest a part to be a bank, but the transparancy about it is good enough to avoid feeling guilty in the future..

                                  You want the real story? Here you have it: I was registering a domain at TransIP, and there was a blogpost about bunq! Downloaded the app and started using it (still with e-money!). I have followed bunq from that time on. Switching to the one euro plan and the new logo. The release of the API and the introduction of Premium! Now I am fully into bunqing and recommend it to everyone, and already got some people to switch! Thank you Ali, for starting this "bunq, not bank".

                                    First things first: I'm an early adopter. I tried Neteller, Transferwise (about 2 years of increased usage), N26, Fidor, ...

                                    My story began a few years ago when my 'Volksbank' denied to let me pay cash into my bank account because it was registered with another bank branch. I changed my account to a private bank the same day. I've been quite happy with this new bank for a few years. One day i've seen an article about fidor bank. I liked their new approach and created an account with fidor. Didn't change my whole banking to fidor, though.
                                    After some time the service at fidor got worse. That's why I stopped maintaining my account there. The remaining money was transferred to my 'normal' current account. So much for the first 'Fintech' experience. Because I wanted to deposit my money sometime with a bank which is more transparent in its investments I switched my main account to the Triodos bank. The second 'Fintech' bank I opened a current account with was N26, where I kept my 'pocket money' account for some time. That went quite well so far. At some point N26 started to introduce further services and products. That was a little annoying, but it wasn't that bad. At the same time I opened an account with bunq. Originally just out of curiosity. And due to the fact that you can create very flexible standing orders here. I then filled my 'pocket money' account weekly. Once a month money to BUNQ, from there weekly to N26. cumbersome but okay. I really just switched to Bunq a little while ago. The main reason was a banner pointing to 'Premium'. Good advertisement ;) First of all, it was curiosity again. It wouldn't hurt to test it. Let's see what Bunq's cards look like. Liked the cards. Liked the increased bunq usage. Felt quite good. The fact that Bunq is not investing my money anywhere is okay. Fair in my eyes. Not quite social, but fair. The support is incredibly pleasant. It can stay that way. Feels human. I am currently in the process of moving my banking operations entirely to Bunq. If Bunq develops in the right direction, I will remain a customer. The price is perfectly okay - as long as the money is used for further development. Most of my money will stay at Triodos Bank. Because it rests here for good. It would be desirable that Bunq becomes as transparent as Triodos. Here you can really take a leaf out of your book as a bank. Apart from that, I can only say: Keep up the good work!

                                      With 3 shareholders from Turkey we started a new company which is a startup. The company developed a platform to book yacht chartering in several countries. We chose NL as the base and hosting is also done from here. When it came to opening bank accounts traditional banks were not even listening to me. So I looked for new style banking and came across with Bunq. The process went very smooth and I was impressed with the service of the team. I am convinced this is the future of banking

                                        @Ali#27107 I heard about a bank whose founder has a background in IT. He is interested in listening to what people want. Then I looked at the updates.. One had the cvc code that was not on the bank card. The other was the bunq.me. Then I saw the idea from someone about IFTTT rules. And that brought me over to bunq. It’s not implemented yet, but I am very excited about the possibility!

                                        I want to automate my bank account easily. If my bank account is above 1000€ at the end of the month, put the rest in my savings..

                                        That sort of stuff is ideal for money management.

                                          I don’t like the current financial/economic system a lot (I can go in depth on this but I feel that’s beyond the scope of this topic). Not even ASN or Triodos are fit for how I personally think about some of this stuff (but they’re at least a little bit better than the alternatives) But probably I’m just some control freak on money as none of my friends seem te care what their bank does with their money...(I‘m at the point where I don’t even like paying some bills knowing it goes to ING or Rabobank... But we somehow have to believe that the choices we make as consumers have an impact as well, even though that’s a tiny fraction of it all.)

                                          bunq is currently the closest thing to a deposito-bank, so that’s why.