Start earning daily returns on your business cash with Qonto's MMF Investment feature. This guide covers everything you need to know about managing your investments: from activation and placing orders, to understanding fees, tracking returns, and accessing tax documentation.
Your funds are invested in the BlackRock ICS Euro Liquidity Fund Core Acc, a Money Market Fund that holds low-risk, short-term assets. Returns are automatically reinvested to grow your balance, and you can move money in and out 24/7 through your Qonto account.
The service is powered by Concedus and Upvest (providing custody services). Both are BaFin-licensed investment services providers.
1. How do I activate investments and who can access them?
The investment feature is available only for German organizations that meet all of the following requirements:
Legal & Business Requirements:
This list of eligibility conditions is provided for general guidance only and is not exhaustive. Additional requirements may apply and cannot be fully disclosed for operational or regulatory reasons. Qonto reserves the right to assess eligibility on a case-by-case basis, and meeting the criteria listed above does not guarantee access to the feature.
- Your business must be registered in Germany
- Your legal form must be GmbH or UG (excluding i.G. suffix)
- Your organization status must be activated with an accepted KYB
- Your tax residence must be Germany
- Your business must not operate in financial services sectors (excluding legal sectors: 64 / 65 / 66)
Subscription Plan:
You must be on Smart, Premium, Essential, Business, or Enterprise plan (Basic plan does not include access)
To activate investments:
- Navigate to Business account > Investment in your Qonto account
- Complete the onboarding flow with required information
- Accept the terms and conditions from Qonto, Concedus and Upvest, our regulated investment partners
Access permissions after activation:
| Action | Role |
|---|---|
| Activate / Enable investments | Owner only |
| Buy / Sell | Owner only |
| View investments | Owner, Admin, Accountant* |
*Accountant can only view investments after an Owner has completed the activation flow.
2. How do I buy and sell MMF shares?
You can move money in and out of your investment 24/7, even when markets are closed. Execution occurs on the next fund dealing day.
Invest in MMF:
- Go to Business account > Investment in your Qonto account
- Click the Buy button
- Enter the amount you want to invest (minimum €1)
- Confirm with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
- Funds are debited from your main Qonto account immediately
- Units are credited after settlement (T+1 or T+2 depending on cutoff time)
Redeeming money FROM the MMF (Sell orders):
- Go to Business account > Investment in your Qonto account
- Click the Sell button
- Choose the amount to sell
- Confirm with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
Cash is credited back to your main account after settlement (T+1 or T+2):
-Up to 90%: Qonto suggests a coverage amount for any fees and taxes that may be incurred
-100% sale: Any applicable fees and taxes will be deducted directly, and you'll receive the net amount
Settlement timing (based on cutoff time: 13:00 CET / 14:00 Paris time):
| Order Type | Placed Before Cutoff | Placed After Cutoff |
|---|---|---|
| Buy | Executed same day, settled T+1 | Executed next day, settled T+2 |
| Sell | Executed same day, settled T+1 | Executed next day, settled T+2* |
*In rare cases, settlement may take until T+3.
Orders placed at night, on weekends, or on holidays will be queued and executed on the next fund dealing day. The NAV price used will be from the execution date, not the placement date.
3. What fees apply and how are they collected?
No entry fees, exit fees, or transaction fees. Two costs apply to your investment balance: the Qonto service fee and the fund's management fee, both already reflected in the yield you see on your dashboard.
The fee is based on your invested amount: a small annual percentage of your holdings in the fund, not a flat charge. It accrues daily and is collected quarterly directly from your investment balance. It is not touching your Qonto account.
The rate depends on your plan:
- Smart: 1.0% annually
- Premium: 0.8% annually
- Essential: 0.6% annually
- Business: 0.4% annually
- Enterprise: 0.2% annually
Example: On a Smart plan with €10,000 invested → Qonto fee = €100/year (~€25 collected automatically per quarter from your holdings).
Fund Management Fees:
The 2.03% gross yield displayed on BlackRock's fund page is already net of BlackRock's management fee — it's built into the NAV, not a separate charge you'll ever see.
When and how fees are collected:
- Fees are calculated daily but collected once per quarter (during the first week of the new quarter). You'll receive a treasury report showing the exact amount.
In practice:
- Qonto service fees are deducted directly from your investment balance and are visible in your Investments orders list
- If you redeem your full investment before a quarter ends, any accrued fees are collected at that point
- In rare cases where investment assets are insufficient, fees may be deducted from your main Qonto account
- Any residual cash after fee/tax coverage is credited back to your main account
4. What returns can I expect and how is yield calculated?
What does the APY shown in the app actually mean?
The APY (Annual Percentage Yield) displayed in your Qonto app is your net return after all fees, both the fund management fee and your Qonto service fee, and already includes the compounding effect of reinvestment.
| Layer | What it represents | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Fund yield | Net return from BlackRock fund (after deducting the ~0.20% fund management fee (e.g., 2.03% currently) | 2.03% |
| Qonto annual service fee | Depends on your plan | 0.2% - 1.00% (Smart) |
| = APY shown in app | Your actual net return — no hidden costs | 1.83% - 1.03% |
The APY updates daily based on the fund's performance over the last 30 days, annualised. It is variable and not guaranteed, it moves with ECB interest rates and market conditions.
How accumulation works:
The fund uses an accumulating structure, meaning earnings are automatically reinvested. Your return appears as a steady daily increase in the fund's Net Asset Value (NAV). As the NAV increases, your shares gradually become worth more. The fund's NAV is updated daily when the daily addition is ≥€0.01.
5. Where can I find tax documents and investment statements?
Investment-related documents are available in the Documents tab of the Investment dashboard, helping you keep the records you may need for tax and accounting purposes.
How MMF transactions appear in your account:
MMF transactions appear in your Qonto account's transaction history under a dedicated Investment transaction type:
- Buy orders: Displayed as debits from your main account when you purchase MMF shares
- Sell orders: Displayed as credits to your main account when you redeem shares
- Service fees: Deducted directly from your investment assets and not displayed as separate transactions in your Qonto account
All investment-related transactions can be filtered in your Transactions section using the investment transaction filter, allowing you to easily track and export your investment activity.
Documents available in your Investment Cockpit:
| Document | Produced by | Where to find |
|---|---|---|
| Terms & Conditions (T&C), KID, Cost Disclosures | Concedus / Upvest | Investment Cockpit - Documents Section |
| Tax Certificates (Jahressteuerbescheinigung) | Upvest (as custodian) | Investment Cockpit - Documents Section |
| Account Statements | Upvest | Investment Cockpit - Documents Section |
| Qonto Terms & Conditions | Qonto | Investment Cockpit - Documents Section |
| ExAnte Reports | Upvest / Concedus | Available as downloadable PDFs per transaction |
Note: All documents are currently available in German only.
Important information
⚠️ Deposit protection does not apply to MMF investments. Qonto's payment account deposit protection (Einlagensicherung) does not cover Money Market Fund (MMF) units. Unlike bank deposits, MMF investments are not covered by deposit guarantee schemes.
Qonto provides access to the investment service through regulated partners. Investment-related documents are issued by Upvest and Concedus, not Qonto.