- ORIGINAL NEWS
British neobank Monzo boosts funding round to $610 million to crack U.S. market, launch pensions
- SUMMARY
British neobank Monzo has raised a significant amount of funding, totaling $610 million this year alone.
This latest round of $190 million raises their valuation to $5.2 billion.
The investment is intended for the development of new products and the acceleration of their global expansion plans.
Monzo aims to become a comprehensive financial hub, meeting all of its customers’ monetary needs.
Their focus is on building a customer-centric business model aligned with their mission.
In fact, they have recently entered profitability and seek to further increase revenues through ventures like lending and savings.
One of their upcoming innovations is the launch of a pension product, expected within the next nine months.
This will place them in direct competition with traditional banks such as Barclays and NatWest.
Additionally, Monzo plans to expand internationally, starting with the United States.
Their approach to the U.S. market involves building a high-quality product to compete with established incumbents like JPMorgan and Citibank.
They have hired an experienced executive from Block’s Cash App to lead their U.S. operations.
Expansion into Europe is also in the works.
Furthermore, Monzo anticipates introducing a mortgage product in the long term.
They’re currently exploring partnerships with lenders to offer this service.
The company is also mindful of the potential for an initial public offering in the future but believes it’s premature to discuss it at this stage.
Their current focus is on growth and strengthening their position in the financial market.
- NEWS SENTIMENT CHECK
- Overall sentiment:
positive
Positive
“Monzo told CNBC it raised another $190 million from investors including Hedosophia and CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund.”
“The latest funding boost Monzo’s total funding this year to $610 million and values the business at $5.2 billion post-money.”
Negative
“The U.S. has proven notoriously difficult for European neobanks to crack.”
“Revolut, meanwhile, has failed to formally file an application for a U.S. bank charter yet despite having earlier said it intends to file a draft application for a U.S. bank license.”