Qonto referral code 2026: €160 for opening a business account

€160 each, but in two tiers

The bonus is not paid all at once. It unlocks in two stages, with the same scale for the referrer and referred customer:

1. €80 each once the referred customer has opened the account, ordered the physical card, paid for a subscription and spent at least €50 with that card during the first two months.
2. Another €80 each when the referred customer reaches €3,000 of spending with the physical card.

Two details require attention. First, only spending with the physical card counts towards the thresholds; virtual-card payments are excluded. Second, the referred customer must use the referral link when registering: opening an account directly on Qonto's website triggers no bonus.

Limited to professionals

Qonto is a business bank account, not a personal account. The referred customer must open it for a business or self-employed activity: setting up a company, sole trader, liberal profession, microbusiness or SME. If you have no professional activity to declare, the offer does not apply. For sole traders and freelancers, Qonto offers an account with a French IBAN and Mastercard.

What Qonto costs

Qonto is not free. The entry-level Basic plan costs around €9 excluding VAT per month and includes a French IBAN, a physical Mastercard One, a virtual card and SEPA transfers. A free trial of approximately 30 days lets users test the service. For higher payment and withdrawal limits, Plus and X Metal cards sit above One. The referral program does not turn Qonto into a free service: it adds bonuses to a paid product.

The advantage when setting up a company

This aspect of Qonto's referral program is often overlooked. When creating a company, Qonto lets you deposit share capital online and receive the deposit certificate in approximately 12 business hours, for a fee of around €69 excluding VAT. If you are registering a SASU, SAS, SARL or EURL company in France, opening the account through a referral link serves two purposes: it advances the formation process and triggers the bonus.

My honest view

Qonto's referral program is worthwhile if you needed a business account anyway, especially when setting up a company. The €160 is real, but requires genuine use of the physical card up to €3,000 of spending: it is not an unconditional sign-up bonus. An active business may reach those thresholds naturally. For a dormant project, aim for at least the first €80 tier before counting on the rest.