What Qonto is, in 2026

Qonto is a payment institution (ACPR-authorised in France, EU-passported) serving European SMEs, freelancers and self-employed professionals — customer base now at 600,000 count (TechCrunch, ). It is the largest dedicated business neobank in the EU.

Feature set: multi-user roles, expense management, invoicing, 100+ accounting integrations (including DATEV for Germany, which most competitors lack), local IBANs in four EU countries, and a physical card offering.

Safety and regulation

Qonto holds a payment institution licence — ACPR payment institution (France 2018) (ACPR / Banque de France, ) — not a banking licence. Customer funds are safeguarded at Crédit Mutuel Arkéa in segregated accounts. If Qonto fails, funds are in principle returned from safeguarding; there is no statutory DGS payout.

That structural picture is set to change: Qonto filed an ACPR banking-licence application filed (2025-07-02); EMI status until granted (TechCrunch, ) with the French regulator. Until the licence is granted, Qonto remains an EMI / payment institution and the safeguarding-only model above applies. Once granted, customer funds would convert from safeguarded-only to DGS-protected up to €100,000 per depositor under EU Directive 2014/49/EU — a material structural upgrade for the deposit-protection picture, particularly for SMEs parking operating cash above the trivial threshold.

For a business operating account (with funds in-out regularly), the current protection gap is acceptable. For long-term parked cash over €50k, consider splitting between Qonto (operations) and a full-bank business account until ACPR grants the banking licence.

Hands-on UX

The interface is genuinely SME-first: receipt capture, VAT tracking, auto-categorisation, and a team-permissions system that actually works. The accountant export flow is the most polished we've tested in the category.

Weaknesses: no credit lines or loans, no multi-currency accounts (Wise Business does this better), and pricing gets steep on the higher SME tiers once you add seats.

Who Qonto is for

Choose Qonto if: you run a solo business or a small EU team, you need proper accounting integrations with DATEV / Xero / QuickBooks, and you want local IBANs in multiple EU markets without opening separate accounts.

Look elsewhere if: you need true multi-currency (Wise Business), you want deposit-insured business cash parking (a traditional bank), or your business is fundamentally international (Wise or Revolut Business).

Premium plans

Our pick
Solo
€9 /mo
  • 1 user, 1 debit card
  • 30 SEPA transfers/month
  • Integrated invoicing
  • Receipt capture & accounting sync
Essential
€49 /mo
  • Multiple users and cards
  • Higher transfer limits
  • Advanced expense management
  • Multi-accounting integrations
Business
€99 /mo
  • Full team finance management
  • Role-based access controls
  • API integrations
  • VAT automation
Enterprise
€199 /mo
  • Unlimited users and cards
  • SLA-backed support
  • Custom integrations
  • On-site training

How it stacks up.

Revolut 91
Bank of Lithuania
The most feature-rich neobank globally — combining banking, investing (stocks, crypto, commodities), and travel perks in a single app, with the widest currency support (120+) and 65M+ customers
bunq 87
DNB
Europe's second-largest neobank by deposits (€8B+) with the most granular IBAN-per-sub-account architecture; first new fully licensed bank in the Netherlands in 38 years; strong sustainability angle
N26 85
BaFin
Full German banking license (BaFin) combined with a sleek mobile-only experience; one of the first fully licensed EU neobanks with €100,000 German deposit protection

Or compare side-by-side

Qonto vs Revolut → Qonto vs bunq → Qonto vs N26 →

Qonto in the news.

02 Jul 2025 company
Qonto Files for French Banking Licence with ACPR After Surpassing 600,000 Business Customers
Paris-based B2B neobank Qonto submitted a banking licence application to France's ACPR in July 2025, coinciding with an announcement that it had surpassed 600,000 SME and freelance customers. A full banking licence would allow Qonto to offer credit products and savings — services its current payment institution licence prohibits.
Risk warning EU consumer-finance disclosure

The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Since 30 December 2024, EU crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) require authorisation under MiCAR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114); however, cryptoassets themselves remain outside the scope of deposit-guarantee schemes. Always read the provider's risk warning before investing.