(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 it disagreed with the decision.

Bunq is one of several finance apps to have emerged in Europe in the last decade. British fintech Revolut is also trying to expand in the United States.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)