Collaboration type: Long-term retainer
Timeframe: April 2025 – February 2026
Vertical: Fintech / Neobanking
Startup HQ: Amsterdam, Netherlands 🇳🇱
About bunq
bunq is one of Europe’s leading neobanks and the continent’s second-largest digital bank by number of users. Founded by entrepreneur Ali Niknam, bunq has built a loyal following among digital nomads, expats, and internationally-minded consumers across Europe. With a focus on user experience, AI-powered banking, and sustainable finance, the company has grown into a European fintech unicorn that’s now taking on the US.
Objectives
Black Unicorn PR (BUPR) was engaged as bunq’s international PR partner with the following core objectives:
- Support all major company announcements with media strategy, pitching, and press execution, particularly around regulatory milestones
- Build proactive executive visibility for bunq’s leadership team beyond product news, establishing Ali Niknam (CEO & Founder), Bianca Zwart (Chief Strategy Officer), and Joe Wilson (Chief Evangelist, US) as thought leaders
- Secure speaking engagements and high-profile event opportunities for bunq’s leadership
- Strengthen bunq’s positioning in tier 1 international business media as a credible global player, not just a European challenger bank
Context and strategic approach
bunq came to us at an inflection point. The company had strong brand recognition within Europe’s fintech ecosystem, but its next chapter demanded a different kind of media presence.
Our approach had three pillars. First, we anchored a drumbeat of milestone-driven announcements around bunq’s US regulatory journey, giving international business press a reason to cover the company at regular intervals. Second, we invested in atemporal, proactive media outreach, building thought leadership profiles for bunq’s executives across topics like AI in banking, founder-led company culture, and scaling across borders. Third, we leveraged events and conferences as accelerators, using on-the-ground presence to open doors with key journalists and secure face-to-face briefings that wouldn’t have happened through email alone.
Results overview
Over roughly a year, BUPR delivered a comprehensive, multi-pronged PR programme that significantly expanded bunq’s media footprint, breaking into new tier 1 international titles, building the personal brands of three executives, and creating sustained visibility through a mix of announcement-led and proactive editorial work.
Below, some of the highlights. But the testimonial from bunq’s Head of PR, Giorgia Muirhead, puts it best:
“Black Unicorn PR brought real fintech expertise to the table from day one. They understood our space, moved fast, and consistently delivered. From securing tier 1 coverage in Reuters, CNBC and more to building executive visibility through BBC and Fortune. Their media network is genuinely impressive, and their ability to adapt to shifting priorities made them feel like an extension of our in-house team. I’d recommend BUPR to any fast-moving fintech looking for a PR partner that can keep up.”
Media highlights
Tier 1 business and broadcast media
The US expansion narrative opened doors with globally significant outlets that went well beyond fintech trade press:
- Reuters — coverage of bunq’s US broker-dealer licence, including a Q&A secured by BUPR
- CNBC — live broadcast interview with Ali Niknam discussing AI and the future of fintech
- Fortune — profile feature on Bianca Zwart as one of Europe’s youngest banking executives
- BBC — Bianca featured extensively (with headshot) in a piece on the convergence of HR and IT departments
Executive visibility & thought leadership
We built distinct media profiles for each executive, tailored to their expertise and audiences:
Ali Niknam (CEO & Founder)
- Live CNBC broadcast interview on AI and fintech
- Fintech Blueprint podcast: “Building the €8 Billion Neobank”
- Fintech One-on-One podcast
- Panel slot at a World Economic Forum side event
Bianca Zwart
- Fortune magazine profile
- BBC online feature with extensive quotes and headshot
- Sifted Summit 2025 panel: “Hiring: How to find, attract and keep the right talent” — which led to a further Sifted feature: “Pizza tests, Dungeons & Dragons, karaoke songs: The unlikely questions leaders use to screen for culture fit“
- Support at events – background briefings at VivaTech
Joe Wilson (Chief Evangelist, US)
- Fintech Business Weekly: in-depth interview on US expansion strategy
- Now We Build podcast: bunq’s growth story and Joe’s entrepreneurial background
- Various fintech media interview articles
- Let Fintech Grow podcast
Announcement support
BUPR supported all major company milestones with full press office execution, including:
- US licence intent announcement
- Crypto partnership with Kraken
- US broker-dealer licence
- US banking licence filing
On the consumer side:
- Tricount festival data report (including coverage across Reach’s 20+ regional UK titles)
- Working Abroad Index 2025
- Tricount Wrapped (including Reach regional coverage)
Events & on-site support
- SXSW London: On-site support and journalist briefings
- VivaTech: Organised background briefings with journalists
- Sifted Summit: Secured speaking slot for Bianca; facilitated background briefing with journalists
- World Economic Forum: Secured panel slot
- Web Summit: On-site support
Want to see more case studies from Black Unicorn PR? Check these out!
