Draft:Qonto
Submission declined on 24 May 2025 by Bakhtar40 (talk).
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Comment: Also needs to work to reduce promotional stuff. Bakhtar40 (talk) 10:23, 24 May 2025 (UTC)- Comment: period and comma before not after
<ref>...</ref>. —Anomalocaris (talk) 07:20, 26 May 2025 (UTC)
Qonto is the trade name of Olinda, a French fintech company that provides all-in-one financial solutions for freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and accounting firms.
Qonto became a unicorn in January 2022 after raising a €486 million Series D round at a €4.4 billion valuation.[1][2]. This was one of the largest fintech funding rounds in French history at the time.
Originally launched as a neobank focused on payments, Qonto has expanded its financial services since 2022 to include accounting, cash flow management, invoicing, buy now, pay later (BNPL), and—as of May 2025—payment terminals[3].
As of 2025, Qonto operates in eight European markets: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Belgium and grew its customer base to more than 500,000 SMEs and freelancers.[4]
Early years
[edit]The company was co-founded by Alexandre Prot, son of Baudouin Prot, former chairman of BNP Paribas, and Steve Anavi.[5]
In January 2017, Qonto secured €1.6 million in seed funding from Alven Capital, Valar Ventures, and several business angels.[6]
In July 2017, Qonto announced a second funding round of €10 million from its two main investors (Valar Ventures and Alven Capital) and launched its service.[7]
In July 2018, Qonto obtained its payment institution license from the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR)[8] and raised €20 million in funding the same year.[9]
The neobank launched its service in France in July 2016 and expanded to Spain, Germany, and Italy in 2019[10]
In January 2020, Qonto announced a €104 million funding round after securing investments from its existing backers, such as Alven and Valar, as well as new investors like Chinese giant Tencent. The company was then valued at €4.4 billion.[11]
In July 2020, Qonto announced surpassing the 100,000-customer milestone. Within a year, and amid the Covid-19 pandemic, its customer base had nearly doubled.
After a new €486 million funding round in January 2022, Qonto became France’s highest-valued unicorn, with an estimated valuation of €4.4 billion.[12]
Acquisition of Penta
[edit]In November 2021, French neobank Qonto announced its acquisition of Penta, a Berlin-based digital banking platform serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Germany and Spain.[13]
The deal, finalized in early 2022, marked Qonto's first major acquisition and significantly expanded its footprint in the German market, where Penta had over 25,000 clients. While financial terms were undisclosed, the transaction combined Penta's expertise in multi-user business accounts with Qonto's scalable banking infrastructure.[14]
Post-acquisition, Penta's team of approximately 100 employees merged into Qonto, and its services were gradually rebranded under the Qonto platform by mid-2022. The move aligned with Qonto's strategic goal to serve 1 million European SMEs.
Regate's acquisition and expansion in the accounting sector
[edit]In March 2024, French fintech unicorn Qonto announced the acquisition of Regate, a Paris-based accounting and financial automation platform, as part of its strategy to expand its all-in-one finance solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and accounting firms.[15][16]
The deal, finalized using Qonto's substantial cash reserves, aimed to integrate Regate's advanced features—such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, and bookkeeping automation—into Qonto's existing business banking platform.
Regate, founded in 2020, served 10,000 SMEs and 500 accounting firms, offering integrations with legacy accounting software like Sage and Cegid.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "France: Qonto lève 486 millions d'euros pour accélérer sa croissance en Europe". Challenges (in French). Reuters. 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "Notre levée de fonds record, racontée par nos fondateurs - Qonto". Qonto - Blog (in French). 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "Cette grosse nouveauté va faciliter la vie des clients pro de Qonto". moneyvox.fr (in French). 2025-05-20. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "French neobank Qonto expands to four new markets and eyes M&A opportunities". Sifted. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "Qonto veut conquérir les comptes de start-up". Les Echos (in French). 2017-01-10. Archived from the original on 2025-01-21. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "Qonto annonce une levée d'amorçage de 1,6 millions d'euros". Boursier.com (in French). 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ Dillet, Romain (2017-07-05). "Qonto launches its digital bank accounts for small companies". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "La néobanque Qonto obtient un agrément d'établissement de paiement". L'Agefi (in French). 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "Qonto lève 20 millions d'euros pour viser l'international". Entrepreneurs (in French). 2018-09-24. Archived from the original on 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "Qonto lève 20 millions d'euros pour viser l'international". Entrepreneurs (in French). 2018-09-24. Archived from the original on 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "Qu'est-ce que Qonto, cette start-up de Paris qui vient de lever près de 500 millions d'euros ?". actu.fr (in French). 2022-01-16. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ Riveline, Claude (2011-11-01). "Dans ce monde qui se fissure, qu'est-ce qui résiste encore ?". Le journal de l'école de Paris du management. 92 (6): 7. doi:10.3917/jepam.092.0007. ISSN 1253-2711.
- ^ "La néobanque Qonto rachète sa concurrente allemande Penta". Les Echos (in French). 2022-07-22. Archived from the original on 2024-12-04. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "French business bank unicorn Qonto buys German competitor Penta". Sifted. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ Fabrion, Maxence (2024-03-07). "Qonto va s'offrir Regate pour mieux répondre aux besoins financiers des PME". Maddyness - Le média pour comprendre l'économie de demain (in French). Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ "Qonto rachète la fintech Regate pour enrichir son offre". Option Finance (in French). Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ^ LaProfComptable. "Regate lève 20 M€ | La profession comptable". LaProfComptable (in French). Retrieved 2025-05-23.
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