Bunq Launches Card Version for Travellers

The Dutch challenger bank Bunq unveils a payment card for limiting fees when spending abroad.

Goals: win new customers among travellers and boost sign-ups for Bunq
The card called Bunq Travel Card technically is a credit card, but doesn’t come with the credit function enabled: overdrafts are disabled. The associated Bunq account must be topped up before it can be used. Its credit feature still is of use, however, for all types of transactions abroad to be authorised, including deposits for renting a car.
This FinTech opted for a Mastercard solution without any foreign exchange fee. Their card is available for order from the “Cards” tab in-app.
Business Model: Bunq comes with no card fees (save for €9.99 issuing cost). The FinTech charges €0.99 per ATM withdrawal. The card can also be included in packages with 3 cards for Premium customers (€7.99/month).
This card also comes with several features including the ability to freeze and unfreeze the travel card with on-the-go, or be sent push notifications for each payment.

A strategy for capturing new customers. This card with no foreign exchange fee might help the Dutch start-up win new customers, especially young travel enthusiasts. Bunq believes that young globetrotters could find it useful and relevant to their needs.
Besides, this entry-level, fee-free card, may encourage their customers to choose the premium offer, charged €96 per year, for holding 3 cards, including the Travel Card.
Saving more for transaction fees abroad? Travelling outside of the eurozone often incur high transaction fees. Some banks charge 2 to 3% for foreign transactions. Bunq intends to address this issue, enabling their users to save on exchange fees as well as when withdrawing cash.

Bunq entered the French market in November 2018. They claimed they kept making progress and reported strong increase in deposits (+800% each year). They didn’t release any figures as to their number of customers.
Their German rival N26 –with 2 million customers– launched a relatively similar service to the Bunq Travel Card and also uses Mastercard’s exchange rate without charging additional fees.

Category : Alertes quotidiennes