The Most Powerful Women in Banking NEXT, #20, Bianca Zwart, bunq

When neobank bunq began in 2012 it had a simple, two-pronged plan: create a product people would pay for and love, and become profitable. As one of the first 30 people hired at the bank, Bianca Zwart has helped to craft and oversee both missions. 

The current chief strategy officer has risen from entry level to now oversee operations at bunq, the largest unit in the firm, and has helped to generate the kind of growth her larger peers on Wall Street dream of. 

As of late September, bunq had more than doubled its customer deposits to EUR 10 billion from EUR 4.5 billion in 2023; over that same period the number of users shot up over 100% to 22 million from 9 million. The Netherlands-based company is in its third consecutive year of profitability, Zwart said in an interview. 

So-called digital nomads have long been a key customer target, while plans to expand in the U.S. are underway.

"A lot of banking is designed around borders," Zwart said. "The people who we build a product for don't really fit neatly within those borders." She mentioned those who move between countries, who work remotely or have family in other countries that they're connected to financially. She gave the example of waiving foreign exchange fees as people move around the globe as one way bunq caters to its digital nomad clientele. 

Zwart, who oversees 312 of the roughly 650 employees at bunq, has also helped cut costs with AI. At the end of 2025 90% of the firm's operations were automated, saving EUR 34 million the process.  

While it now serves over 30 European markets, bunq is also making moves to operate in the U.S. In October it was granted a U.S. broker-dealer license, which will let it offer customers securities trading. Yet it faced a setback when its application to become a national bank was denied by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Aug. 4. 

"The main feedback from the OCC was that they want to see a plan that's more specifically built for the U.S. market, with more experience in the products that we want to offer," Zwart said. Previously, bunq withdrew its application for a banking license in 2023 under the Biden administration, according to Bloomberg News. 

The firm hopes to offer European expats in the U.S. an easier way to have banking in both regions of the world. "We want to make that experience as frictionless as possible. That's our sweet spot," she said. 

As for the OCC, "we're in close contact with them," Zwart said. "The American dream is still there." She added, "the question is how and when, and it's also not the first time in the history of bunq that we heard 'No.'"