Ali Niknam, born in Canada but from Iranian descent, grew out to be the de-facto innovator in the financial sector, bringing diversity to the banking industry. In 2012 he set out to radically change the banking industry and founded bunq, Europe's second-largest neobank.

Ali managed to get the first European banking permit in over 35 years and, as its sole investor, invested around €150M in bunq. In a deal with British private equity firm Pollen Street Capital, bunq has raised €193 million - the largest Series A funding secured by a European fintech at the time - and the company’s valuation soared to €1.6 billion, as of July 2021. As part of the deal, bunq acquired Capitalflow Group, a privately held Irish lending company with strong ties to the Irish community. In 2022, bunq acquired Belgian fintech tricount, a move that made bunq the second largest neobank in Europe.