bunq is a digital bank that empowers users to manage their finances entirely through a mobile app. With no physical branches, the app experience is everything — and that extends to their developer documentation.

For bunq’s public API, which enables both customer integrations and third-party open banking providers, clear and accessible documentation is essential. We spoke with Emily Duraes, API Business Integration Specialist at bunq, about how GitBook transformed their documentation from a platform that was difficult to maintain to a tool that makes life easier for everyone.​

Why documentation matters for bunq’s API ecosystem​

At bunq, documentation serves a critical business function. Emily's role centers on enabling a wide range of integrations around bunq's public API to connect with third party providers.

This means Emily is constantly working with partners, clients, and users who depend on clear, accurate documentation to build their integrations. The documentation isn’t just a reference guide — it’s the foundation that enables bunq’s entire integration ecosystem to function.

A complete transformation from internal docs

A few years ago, bunq’s API documentation presented significant challenges. The team was using a self-hosted documentation system which was difficult to contribute to and maintain.

​“We had our internal documentation, and we were responsible for keeping everything up. It didn’t work well, and it was hard to update.”

The impact of switching to GitBook was immediate and dramatic. The platform didn’t just solve the technical problems with the old docs system. It transformed the entire documentation experience for the team and their users, by making the process of contributing to and reading the docs smoother and easier.

For Emily and her colleagues, this transformation aligned perfectly with bunq’s core philosophy.

​“After we started using GitBook, life became completely different. Here at bunq, our goal is to make life easy — and we don't only want that for our users, but for ourselves too. GitBook did exactly that for us. It made writing our public API documentation so much easier.”

Effortless security and hosting

One unexpected benefit came when bunq’s security team raised concerns about SSL certificate renewals for their documentation site. Emily discovered that GitBook handles this automatically. This automation impressed the security team and eliminated a recurring maintenance task.

​“Our security team came to me and said ‘we have a certificate that’s almost expired. We need to change that on GitBook — how do we do that?’ When I went to GitBook I quickly realized that we didn’t need to do anything! It was all handled automatically.”

Measuring success with insights

For their products and integrations, it’s also important that bunq have the data to understand how partners and customers are using their documentation. And GitBook’s built-in analytics makes this simple.

​“We want to understand how the companies that have access to our documentation are actually using it — how many are visiting, how frequently they're coming back, and whether it's been useful for them.”​

By tracking these metrics alongside questions from users, the team can continuously improve their documentation based on real usage patterns.

The bottom line

For bunq, GitBook has become an essential tool for delivering the same seamless experience in their documentation that they provide in their app.

“I’m a great advocate of GitBook. The product is great. It's made our lives so much easier here at bunq, and we really enjoy using it.”

After five years of using GitBook, the team has found a documentation platform that aligns with their values: making life easy, fast, and efficient — for both their team and their users.​

Ready to modernize your API documentation like bunq? Get started for free or reach out to our team to see how GitBook can simplify your documentation workflows.

→ How to create and publish API documentation

→ Using Git Sync for collaborative documentation

→ Understanding your documentation impact with insights