New non-profit founded by Dutch tech entrepreneurs to offer Ukrainian refugees access to bank accounts

A few days back, Ali Niknam, founder and CEO of bunq, an Amsterdam-based challenger bank, posted a LinkedIn message in response to the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. 

The support through the message has quickly grown and far bigger than anyone could have expected, leading to the establishment of People for People, a non-profit organisation that provides aid for victims of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

The foundation was founded by Dutch tech entrepreneurs Ali Niknam (bunq), Joris Beckers (Picnic), and Robert Vis (MessageBird). Pieter Jan van Krevel, former CFO of TransIP, will develop and oversee the foundation in his role as director.

Free bank account

In the recent development, the People for People Foundation has announced that they will supply Ukrainian refugees with free bank accounts. 

Our team on the ground noticed that citizens fleeing the conflict in the region are in great need of a bank account. Online bank bunq made it happen. Ukrainian citizens are now allowed to open a free bunq account. For more info visit https://t.co/eucWMhlsiR #Ukriane

— People for People (@PeoplefoPeople) March 3, 2022

Consequently, the foundation, in collaboration with bunq, will supply Ukrainian passport holders with a free temporary bank account.

Those affected get an IBAN, a European bank account number, and will be able to make payments using a virtual card, says the foundation.

The announcement comes after the foundation has started processing its first visa applications for highly skilled migrants, extensions, and families in collaboration with iPermit.

Who is eligible?

Any Ukrainian citizen currently in the EEA that has had to flee Ukraine is eligible for a free Easy Bank account that’ll be operable for three months.

How does it work?

• Download the bunq app
• Sign up and choose an Easy Bank account 
• Once you’ve verified your identity with a valid Ukrainian passport, bunq will automatically open your free account

Previous development

Messagebird, a cloud communications platform, on Monday announced that it has launched MessageBird.org, a company NGO fund of $10M (approx €8.92M). Notably, MessageBird has also been part of the launch of a private NGO called ‘People for People.’

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