Startups

Monzo Raises £85M As More Startups Take On Big Banks

Today, another personal banking startup raised a bag of money.

Monzo, a U.K.-based banking platform, has raised a £85m (about $108M) Series E led by General Catalyst. Accel and the company’s existing investors—Thrive Capital, Stripe, Orange Digital Ventures, and others—also participated in the round. The company is valued at more than $1.2 billion.

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The company is taking on traditional banks with its mobile-first bank accounts. According to its statement, since the beginning of the year, the company has introduced joint accounts, teen accounts, and other features. It also claims to have reached a monthly active customer count of 800,000. According to TechCrunch’s coverage, the company is planning to build out its financial service integrations within its app.

Monzo is one of many online banking companies in the U.S. and Europe that have raised since the beginning of 2018. With younger people more accustomed to using smartphones for payment transactions, savings tracking, and pretty much everything else in life, it’s not surprising that companies and investors are excited about the space. Between the brightly colored debit cards and the Instagram ads, it’s kind of difficult to keep track.

Here’s a quick look at a few companies in Europe that have raised funds in the mobile banking space since the beginning of 2018.

Of course, startups aren’t only interested in debit cards and personal banking. Brex, a San Francisco-based company tackling credit for startups, raised a $150 million Series C at the beginning of the month. Another credit player, New York-based Petal, is focused on providing people without credit histories with access to credit.

It’s not rocket science—more fintech startups are focusing in on the millennial market. It’s a generation that hates red tape and prefers convenience, transparency, and immediate gratification. And for kids born after smartphones and social media became the norm, that’s even more so the case.

Illustration Credit: Li Anne Dias

Editorial Update: A previous version of the title of this article stated Monzo raised $85 million. It has since been updated to reflect that it raised £85 million. 

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