bunq muscles in on trading boom with launch of investing feature

bunq has become one of Europe’s first neobanks to provide its users with a simple and sustainable way to invest their money. The Dutch fintech, recently valued at €1.6 billion, has launched its ‘Easy Investments’ feature as part of the latest upgrade to its app, bunq Update 19. Levels of retail investing in Europe are estimated to have doubled since 2020 but still fall well-behind those found in other advanced economies, particularly the US. With European consumers currently squeezed by low interest rates and record-high inflation, bunq hopes the new feature will give its users an easy and accessible way to get a return on their savings. ‘Easy Investments’ gives users the opportunity to invest in environmentally friendly companies and those working to achieve sustainable development thanks to a partnership with birdee. bunq users will be able to choose from three diversified portfolios to find the one that best meets their investment goals, allowing them to earn more effortlessly and removing the hassle of managing individual stocks and shares. bunq founder and CEO, Ali Niknam, hailed the company’s move into the investing space: “This is a really exciting development for bunq. With ‘Easy Investments’, bunq users can put their money to work and earn more effortlessly, all while helping to build a greener planet.” Other features announced in Update 19 include the addition of 10 more foreign currencies to the bunq app — all picked based directly on customer feedback — meaning users can now receive, hold, convert, and spend in 15 different currencies directly from their phone. An updated ‘Friends’ feature allows users to better share experiences and discover new places together, while the addition of bunq DigiCards means users can protect their physical card’s details by using a digital card for online payments