Short answer: yes. bunq is a fully licensed European bank, and your money is protected by law up to €100,000. But if you've ever hesitated before opening a new account, the license is just the starting point. Here's what actually keeps your money safe at bunq.

bunq is a licensed bank, not just an app

This matters more than it might seem. bunq holds a full European banking license issued by the Dutch National Bank (DNB), making it a credit institution. Your deposits are held as actual bank deposits, not pooled with other customers' funds at a payment institution.

That means your money is covered by the Deposit Guarantee Scheme, up to €100,000, for every user banking within EU countries, regardless of nationality.

How bunq protects you from fraud

While you go about your day, bunq does a lot of work behind the scenes to keep you safe.

Safety Shield

bunq's systems run around the clock, using AI (which processes thousands of transaction signals simultaneously, far faster than any human team) to catch suspicious activity before it reaches your account. When a payment raises a flag, like a large transfer to a new IBAN or an unusual charge in an unexpected location, Safety Shield pauses it for 24 hours. Your balance shows the transfer as done, but the money stays with bunq, giving you time to spot anything and cancel the payment directly from the app.

If bunq detects something that looks like an active account takeover or unauthorized access attempt, Safety Shield goes further. Outgoing payments are paused while bunq investigates. Once everything checks out, full access is restored automatically. Nothing you need to do.

Name mismatch alerts

When you send money, bunq checks whether the account holder's name matches the IBAN. If something doesn't add up, you'll see a warning before the payment goes through, giving you the chance to double-check or cancel before it's too late.

Protection against unauthorized access

One of the most common scams right now: convincing someone to install screen-sharing software, then using it to control their phone and move their money. bunq detects these apps before a fraudster can act on them. If bunq spots one on your device, it immediately restricts access to your account and alerts you in the app.

Leniency review

bunq reviews every fraud case for a goodwill refund, without you having to ask. Recovery depends on how fast it was flagged and whether funds can still be traced, but the review starts straight away and you're kept in the loop.

Card security features

Digital Credit Cards

Shopping on a new website and not sure it's safe to share your card details? Create a Digital Credit Card for that single purchase, then disable it the moment you're done. Your real card details never leave your wallet.

bunq Pro and bunq Elite users can have up to 25 Digital Credit Cards active at once, so you can keep a separate card for every subscription, every platform, or any site you're not fully sure about. If one gets compromised, nothing else is exposed.

CVC protection

Your bunq card doesn't show a CVC on the front or back. If it's ever lost or stolen, there's no code for anyone to use. You can view your CVC in the app at any time, reset it whenever you like, or set it to regenerate automatically every 5 minutes from your Cards tab.

Account control settings

Auto log-out

Your bunq app logs you out automatically after 5 minutes of inactivity. If you want more control, you can set this to 0 seconds so the app locks the moment you leave it. Find this under your Security settings.

Payment Limits

You decide how much you can spend without entering your security code, anywhere from €1 to €1,000. Set your limit in Security settings and adjust it whenever your needs change.

Freeze your card or account

If anything feels wrong, you can deactivate your card or your entire account in under a minute, directly from the app. It's always reversible.

Support when you need it

bunq notifies you the moment anything happens on your account. If someone logs into your account from a new location, you'll get a time-sensitive alert with the city, the device, and one tap to lock everything down. Before they can do anything.

bunq's AI, Finn, is available 24/7 in 38 languages and handles the large majority of questions the moment you reach out. No waiting, no explaining yourself twice. When a case needs a person, like a fraud recovery decision or a formal complaint closure, it's routed to a specialist automatically. Nine out of ten issues are resolved on first contact. When something does need a closer look, average resolution time is 4.5 hours, from start to finish.

For emergencies, call the SOS Hotline directly through bunq. Most problems never make it this far, so when you do call, someone picks up immediately. Zero wait time, day or night.

One thing worth knowing: bunq will never call you. If someone calls claiming to be bunq, it's a scam. We only reach out through our secure in-app chat.

What you can do to stay safe

bunq's security runs in the background automatically, but a few habits make a real difference:

• Never share your login details or personal information with anyone, including anyone claiming to work at bunq

• Use a strong, unique password for your bunq account

• Enable two-factor authentication for an extra layer of protection at login

• Review your push notifications. If something looks unfamiliar, act on it immediately from the app.

The bottom line

Most of the security at bunq runs without you ever knowing it was needed. AI flags suspicious activity before it reaches your account. Safety Shield holds unusual payments automatically. Leniency review kicks in before you have to ask.

When you want to be in control, the tools are there. Freeze your card in seconds. Set your own spending limits. Create a Digital Credit Card for a single purchase and delete it straight after.

Ready to open your account? It takes 5 minutes, directly from your phone.