UK challenger bank Monzo raised $430m in capital funding this Tuesday to prepare the company for a relaunch in the US market.
Fresh investment came from CapitalG – an independent growth fund by Google parent firm Alphabet – as well as Chinese venture capital company HongShan, Tencent and Passion Capital.
The $430m funding round has increased Monzo’s valuation to $5bn, cementing its position as the seventh largest retail bank in the UK.
But the UK is not the only market where Monzo is striving to grow in, as CEO TS Anil stated that fresh funding will signal the company’s relaunch in the US.
Anil stated: “With backing from global investors, we have the rocket fuel to go after our ambitions harder and faster, building Monzo into the one app that sits at the centre of our customers’ financial lives.
“Each milestone we’ve reached to this point has given us more strength and speed to make strides towards our mission — now we’ll scale to even greater heights and seize the huge opportunity ahead.”
Monzo’s initial attempt to break into the US was halted by the country’s regulators after a two-year process of obtaining a banking licence ultimately failed.
The British neobank had gained entry via a partnership with Sutton Bank back in 2019 and despite its first attempt to enter the US, Monzo is committed to forgoing the market entry following another successful funding round.
Monzo has even prepared for its second attempt, hiring former Cash App executive Conor Walsh as its US CEO to run operations in the country in October 2023.
