Qonto
Global fintechNo DGS (EMI)Best for: Business bankingBest for: FreelancersBest for: SME
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Business accounts for freelancers & SMEs
- local IBANs (FR/DE/IT/ES)
- accounting tools
Cons
- Not a bank — no €100k deposit guarantee (funds safeguarded)
Rating breakdown
Foreigner onboarding67
USD handling20
Transfers75
Value & fees30
Licence & deposit protection
No DGS (EMI)No DGS — funds safeguarded (payment institution)
This is an electronic money institution (EMI), not a bank. Funds are safeguarded, but NOT covered by the €100,000 deposit guarantee. Convenient, but legally it isn't a bank deposit.
- Licence
- Payment institution · ACPR (Banque de France)
- IBAN
- FR, DE, IT, ES
- SEPA Instant
- Send & receive
- Verification of Payee (VoP)
- Rolling out
Editorial review
Qonto runs on an Payment institution licence: convenient, but your money is safeguarded rather than covered by the €100k deposit guarantee.
It is a global fintech licensed in FR supporting EUR. FX model: Market rate + markup (SWIFT/FX).
It tends to suit business banking, freelancers, sme.
Fees & terms
- Exchange rate
- Market rate + markup (SWIFT/FX)
- Card cost
- Paid business plans
- Currencies
- EUR
- Cards
- Global Physical, Global Virtual
- Transfers
- SEPA in/out, SEPA Instant in/out, SWIFT in/out
- Payments
- Apple Pay, Google Pay
- Licence
- Payment institution — ACPR (Banque de France)
- IBAN
- FR, DE, IT, ES
- Multi-currency account
- Local IBANs in FR, DE, IT, ES
- SEPA Instant
- Send & receive
- Verification of Payee (VoP)
- Rolling out
- FX model
- Market rate + markup (SWIFT/FX)
- Opening requirements
- No local address; business registration required
- English support
- Yes
- Remote opening
- Yes
- Headquarters
- France
Also consider
FAQ
- Is my money protected?
- No. Qonto operates under an Payment institution licence — funds are safeguarded but NOT covered by a €100k Deposit Guarantee Scheme. It is not a bank in the deposit-protection sense.
- What IBAN and transfers?
- Qonto issues a FR/DE/IT/ES IBAN. SEPA Instant: send + receive. Multi-currency: Local IBANs in FR, DE, IT, ES.
- Can I open remotely, in English?
- Opening is remote. English support is available. Requirements: No local address; business registration required.
Data provenance & verification
Every fact is checked against an official source and stamped with a date. We re-check fees quarterly and document requirements twice a year. Fields not yet independently verified are labelled honestly.
Updated: Dataset compiled: