Gigs has expanded into France through a partnership with Qonto, bringing travel eSIMs directly into the Qonto app. On paper, it sounds like another product add-on. In reality, it signals where travel connectivity is moving next: away from standalone eSIM apps, and into platforms people already use. fintech travel eSIM QONTO GIGS

Qonto is not a small test case. The French-founded business finance platform says it serves more than 600,000 SMEs and freelancers across eight European countries. With Gigs, Qonto users can install a travel eSIM inside the app in under a minute, while admins can assign eSIMs to travelling team members, much like they issue company cards. The offer uses a “one eSIM for life” model, with coverage in more than 180 countries and in-app top-ups. To launch the service, Qonto users receive 1GB of free global data.

The pain point is familiar. Gigs says 42% of Qonto customers have at least one team member travelling for business, with the United States, the United Kingdom and Morocco among the most visited destinations. Business travel may start neatly in a finance app, but connectivity still often ends up as roaming fees, plastic SIMs, airport Wi-Fi and reimbursement screenshots.

Romain Goueffon, Head of Partnerships at Qonto, put it like this:

“At Qonto, our goal is to remove friction from our customers’ day-to-day operations, so they can focus on running their business. Business travel shouldn’t mean juggling SIM cards, roaming fees or additional apps. By partnering with Gigs, we’re making connectivity as seamless as managing payments or expenses in Qonto, giving our customers one less thing to think about before they travel.”

Fintech becomes the eSIM storefront

This is the bigger story. Travel eSIM is no longer only a category built by pure-play eSIM providers. Airalo, Holafly, Saily, Ubigi, Nomad eSIM, MobiMatter and other providers have educated the market, built demand, and made “avoid roaming bill shock” a simple message.

But fintech has something most standalone eSIM brands have to buy: distribution. Revolut launched eSIM access for EEA customers in 2024, with in-app data top-ups and no physical SIM requirement. 1GLOBAL later described its Revolut integration as bringing connectivity into a single app experience. Nubank has used Gigs-powered travel eSIMs as a loyalty benefit, while Klarna moved deeper into telecom with a Gigs-powered mobile plan in the US.

READ MORE: eSIM Technology and Fintech: Convenience or Control?

The consumer value proposition is clean: fairer roaming data, no surprise bill, installed in an app already trusted with money. It is not hard to understand. It is not even very hard to sell.

Arthur Decanter, GTM Lead for France at Gigs, framed Qonto as exactly the kind of platform Gigs was built for:

“Qonto is what we built Gigs for: a platform that 600,000 businesses already trust, with the ambition to give them everything they need in one place. Embedding eSIMs doesn’t just solve a travel problem, it sets a new standard for how French businesses and consumers access connectivity: directly from the apps they love and use daily. Gigs is here to partner with the France’s most ambitious platforms to raise the bar in mobile experience and distribution for millions.”

B2B is still the harder prize

For tourists, travel eSIMs have almost been cracked: compare destinations, data, duration, and price, then activate. For businesses, the story is more complicated.

In B2B, the user, decision-maker and payer are often three different people. The employee wants data immediately. Finance wants predictable costs. The admin wants control. IT may care about security and device compatibility. Procurement may ask why this is better than corporate roaming.

READ MORE: Gigs and the Rise of Embedded Connectivity Platforms

That is why the Qonto angle is interesting. Qonto already lives close to business travel spend: cards, expenses, invoicing, bookkeeping and financial controls. Adding eSIMs here is not just a travel perk; it turns connectivity into another controllable business expense.

The timing also makes sense. GSMA Intelligence says global eSIM smartphone penetration reached 5% at the end of 2025 and is expected to reach 10% by the end of 2026. Juniper Research estimated travel eSIM package revenue at $1.8 billion by the end of 2025, up 85% from 2024. The market is growing, but still early enough for distribution models to matter.

Where it fits — and where it may not

For small teams, founders, consultants and international SMEs, Qonto’s travel eSIM could be exactly the right kind of “quietly useful” product. No separate app. No airport counter. No awkward expense claim for a SIM card bought abroad.

But it will not be the right answer for everyone. Larger companies may still need deeper telecom governance: pooled data, role-based policies, country restrictions, reporting by cost centre, SLA visibility, MDM integration or voice and SMS. Those needs are closer to enterprise mobility platforms, corporate roaming or specialist B2B eSIM management tools.

There is also room to improve the category. Business users will need more transparency around network quality, throttling, hotspot use, expiry rules, tax invoices and what happens when several employees travel to the same destination. The winner in B2B travel eSIM will not simply be the cheapest data plan. It will be the provider that makes connectivity feel as manageable as payments.

Pure-play eSIM apps remain strong alternatives for individual travellers who want to compare prices, unlimited options or regional bundles. For businesses, the stronger alternative depends on whether the priority is convenience, compliance, cost control or traveller safety.

Conclusion

The Qonto-Gigs partnership is not just another eSIM launch. It is a sign that embedded connectivity is becoming part of fintech’s expansion playbook.

B2C travel eSIM is becoming a battle between deep-pocketed pure players and super-app distribution. B2B travel eSIM, however, is still open. It is fragmented, operationally messy and full of different buyer needs. If Qonto can make travel data feel as natural as issuing a company card, it will prove something important: business connectivity does not have to be sold as telecom. It can be sold as workflow. And that may be the real disruption.