Qonto, the French fintech startup targeting freelancers and small-to-medium businesses (SMBs), announced that it has officially filed for a banking license in France. The move marks a significant evolution for the company, which has operated since 2018 under a payment institution license that allows limited services, such as their recently launched buy now, pay later (BNPL) offering. Securing a full credit institution license would open doors for Qonto to introduce a diverse array of financial products, including broader lending, savings accounts, and investment services.
Since receiving its existing license, Qonto has enjoyed substantial expansion, recently surpassing 600,000 customers across multiple European markets. However, this current designation has limitations—holding back the company’s ambition to acquire 2 million European customers by 2030.
The decision to apply for a banking license underscores Qonto’s competitive positioning in an increasingly busy B2B fintech landscape. The startup operates differently from peers such as Memo Bank, which began with a full banking license, or Finom and Revolut, who leveraged varying forms of limited or regional licenses to cautiously experiment with lending products. Revolut in particular made headlines recently by announcing plans to establish its Western European headquarters in Paris, accompanied by efforts to secure a French banking license.
Qonto CEO Alexandre Prot insists the timing was not a reactive measure to competitor moves but rather driven entirely by internal strategic readiness. According to Prot, reaching profitability ahead of schedule in 2023 provided crucial stability, enabling them to pursue this major regulatory milestone without needing additional fundraising. Previously, Prot and co-founder Steve Anavi had considered applying earlier but postponed the move due to the substantial time and resources required.
Now financially solid, Qonto does not anticipate raising capital beyond the sizable $552 million round it closed in 2022 at a $5 billion valuation, unless a significant cash-intensive acquisition presents itself. Mergers and acquisitions, though rare, have been strategic maneuvers for Qonto. The company took over Germany’s Penta in 2022 and more recently acquired accounting and financial automation specialist Regate, reinforcing its product suite with invoicing and bookkeeping capabilities.
Though Prot declined to provide geographic details of customer distribution, he indicated Germany ranks second in customer numbers, after its home French market. Spain and Italy follow, joined more recently by Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal, which Qonto entered in late 2024.
According to Prot, becoming a credit institution would remove the hesitancy some customers currently have, who prefer the security guarantees and lending options traditional banks provide. Qonto’s own BNPL offering, demonstrating clear demand through €50 million in financed transactions so far, reveals how much further the company could go with enhanced lending capabilities. Their current solution restricts lending amounts and duration due to regulatory constraints.
Additionally, Qonto built a partner-based “financing hub” to help customers find loans through third-party fintech partners. While Prot stated that this hub would remain active for the near future, he acknowledges there are areas better served directly under Qonto’s full control.
Ultimately, becoming a fully licensed bank promises significant financial advantages for Qonto, with Prot pointing to new streams of revenue from credit margins and direct control over deposits for lending. Revenue grew 30% in the past year alone, but Prot stressed that the primary incentive behind the banking license move is deeper product integration and reduced dependency on third-party services. The firm demonstrated this philosophy recently by creating its own card processing infrastructure to streamline payment transactions and approvals.
At the same time, Qonto—with about 1,600 personnel—is expanding its capabilities in banking infrastructure, compliance, and risk management to meet regulatory expectations and facilitate new product releases. Prot is fully aware that obtaining full banking accreditation will be lengthy and complex, yet he sees it as a critical step forward in Qonto’s maturation.
Furthermore, several senior board appointments have been made as part of this broader governance and compliance initiative, potentially setting up the company for a future IPO, although Prot describes that scenario as longer-term. For now, Qonto remains focused on leveraging its increasing scale and profitability to secure the prized banking license that will enable it to compete even more effectively against established incumbents and formidable fintech peers across Europe.
