Qonto appoints Anja Urlichs as VP Upmarket to lead its push into established SMEs across Europe. Qonto, Europe's leading business finance management solution, has appointed Anja Urlichs to lead its strategy for established and fast-growing SMEs - businesses that have outgrown basic banking and need more sophisticated financial tools as they scale. Urlichs takes the title of Vice President Upmarket, Qonto's internal term for this growing customer segment. Based in Berlin, Ulrichs brings together Product, Marketing, Sales, Customer Success and Operations to build the commercial strategy, customer experience and cross-functional operating model needed to serve these businesses as their needs evolve. Urlichs joins Qonto after 23 years at PayPal, most recently as SMB Marketing Lead for International Markets, and previously as Chief Marketing Officer for PayPal DACH. Across roles spanning Business Development, Go-to-Market and Marketing, she has launched new markets and led commercial and organisational transformation across Europe. Business Formation "Qonto built something exceptional for entrepreneurs and young businesses from day one. Many of those businesses have since grown, adding more people, processes and complexity. Our opportunity is to evolve with them while opening Qonto to more established businesses across Europe. Our ambition is not simply to win customers, but to continue earning their trust as their needs evolve. That is the challenge I joined Qonto for," said Anja Urlichs, VP Upmarket at Qonto. The appointment combines Anja's extensive international fintech experience with a real understanding of how customer needs change as businesses grow. Equally, it strengthens Qonto's international leadership team and reinforces its ambition to remain the financial partner European SMEs can count on at every stage of their journey. Get free weekly updates: Discover more

Qonto sets course for one million customers with a new flagship headquarters in the heart of Paris. Qonto has inaugurated its new headquarters on the Grands Boulevards in Paris. A huge 11,000-square-meter ocean liner to better embody the European conquest ambitions of the fintech, which intends to soon become a real bank. "Bonne-Nouvelle" for Qonto. The French fintech has moved to the Grands Boulevards area, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, this back-to-school period. While it had seen Swile move into brand-new 3,500-square-meter premises on Rue de Navarin, in Pigalle, a year ago, Alexandre Prot's company did not remain neighbors with Loïc Soubeyrand's for long. From now on, Qonto's headquarters is located in Impasse de Bonne-Nouvelle in a huge circular building that previously housed a post office. In this ultra-modern flagship to assert its ambitions, the French company has taken possession of 11,000 square meters over nine floors, with the highlight being a rooftop that offers a panoramic 360-degree view of Paris. In detail, the building houses 900 workstations, as many as the number of employees Qonto has in France, 55 meeting rooms, 90 phone booths and two conference spaces that can gather up to 425 people. More moderate growth. With this new headquarters, Qonto not only wants to provide its employees with the best conditions, but also to assert its power in its market to become the reference financial infrastructure for SMEs, very small businesses and self-employed people. To turn this ambition into reality, the French fintech had in particular completed a €486 million fundraising round in January 2022, which had propelled its valuation to €4.4 billion. With this operation, Qonto was then the largest French unicorn. When this funding round was announced, the company hoped to cross the one-million-customer mark this year, but that horizon has finally been pushed back. Indeed, Qonto preferred to slow its growth pace so as not to burn its wings in a tense economic and political context in France and Europe. Today, the fintech claims more than 750,000 business customers in 8 European countries (France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal). "Becoming a bank" Qonto's move into its new HQ thus marks a milestone in its quest for one million customers, but also a change in its status. During the short keynote to mark this inauguration, which Mayor of Paris Emmanuel Grégoire attended, Alexandre Prot, co-founder and CEO of Qonto, was very clear: "We are entering a new chapter to become a bank." In this regard, the fintech filed an application for a banking license with the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) in summer 2025. With this precious key, Qonto will be able to enter the long-term credit segment. In addition to loans, the company will have the possibility to launch savings and investment products. A major step forward to gain credibility and expand further in Europe. For now, it is with its business creation solution that Qonto is gaining market share. The fintech recently rolled it out in Italy and the Netherlands. In France, one in four companies is now created with Qonto.

French neobank Qonto unveils "milestone" new central Paris HQ. Qonto's new HQ is nearly double the size of its previous HQ, it said. French neobank Qonto yesterday unveiled its new headquarters in central Paris, a 11,000 square metre site, nearly double the size of its previous headquarters, in a move heralded as a "milestone" by its CEO. Qonto has more than 600,000 SME and freelance customers across Europe, where it takes on incumbent financial players. On top of its core business banking offering, it offers SMEs and freelancers corporate cards, bookkeeping tools, expense management and short-term financing in a single hub. Qonto's new headquarters mark a significant upgrade on its previous headquarters, which was in a Paris WeWork. Its new headquarters is spread over nine floors and includes three cafes and an on-site barista service provided through Qonto's partnership with Trèfle, a French inclusive workplace-catering company employing and training people with disabilities. It also has a gym and sauna room and a terrace with spectacular views across Paris. In an effort to help the environment, some of the office furniture is second-hand. On the walls there are portraits featuring entrepreneurs from across Europe, a meeting room is named after Qonto's first customer, a map shows its European footprint, and a listening point allows teams to hear customer recordings directly. Alexandre Prot, co-founder and CEO Qonto, said: "Today marks an important milestone for Qonto. Bonne Nouvelle is where we will build Qonto's next chapter. As we move towards becoming a bank, our ambition is clear: to become the AI-powered European champion of banking and finance management for SMEs." Follow the developments in the technology world. What would you like us to deliver to you?