(Reuters) -Dutch online bank Bunq said on Monday that it had received a licence to operate as a broker-dealer in the United States, part of a drive to expand outside of Europe.

Being a broker-dealer would allow Bunq, which has more than 20 million users in Europe, to sell U.S. stocks to American customers.

Bunq sought a U.S. banking licence in 2023, but withdrew that application and intends to restart it “once everything is ready”, a spokesperson told Reuters, adding that it sees the broker-dealer licence as the first step to becoming a U.S. bank.

Bunq aims to refile for a U.S. banking licence “as soon as we can”, the spokesperson added.

In August, the Dutch central bank said Bunq had received a 2.6 million euro ($3 million) fine for failures in its money laundering controls. Bunq said

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