Money with Monzo
Describing itself as “The bank of the future”, digital banking platform Monzo claims to be bringing a new kind of banking to the masses, asserting on its homepage “this is banking like never before.”
With a six week waiting list, fuelled by a massive 66,000 people waiting to sign up, there is no question that Monzo is causing a stir. Not dissimilar to the likes of Facebook and Uber, Monzo is looking to gather a cult following through its forward thinking, modern and accessible service.
A far cry from the white collar banking systems that we’re all used to, Monzo is looking to pave the way as an ultra-modern 21st century company, complete with self-proclaimed ‘Extensive use of emoji’. But what can we all really gain from a bank that comes complete with its own Spotify mixtape, jam packed with tunes from Taylor Swift to Daft Punk?
Monzo’s real selling point appears to be real time updates on spending, helping users with ‘Clear, intelligent budgeting’. The company prides itself on being a service for the computer and phone savvy – something that is reflected in its customer base, of which half of its users are under the age of 30.
The company also boasts the accolade of having the "quickest crowd-funding campaign in history", raising a massive £1m in 96 seconds. Monzo is planning for a big expansion in 2018, including looking to almost double the size of the team, and raising an additional £10m-£30m through crowdfunding.
In the spring of 2017 Monzo was able to begin offering full current accounts as UK banking licence restrictions were changed. A big year for the company, 2017 also saw Monzo raise an addition £71m in a crowdfund round headed by Goodwater Capital, resulting in a post-money valuation of £280m for the savvy banking start up.
CEO of Monzo, Tom Blomfield, explains about the future of the bank “What we’re trying to build is a web platform. Something like a Facebook or a Google, almost an Amazon even or a Twitter. A marketplace bank, where we don’t offer all of the products to our customers but we are the interface between them and their money.”
“So they use Monzo to visualise and control their money wherever it sits, and that might be in a Barclays savings account or their HSBC mortgage or their pension or their Isas or whatever. So all the products aren’t necessarily provided by us. In fact, most of them are not.”
Monzo is certainly one to watch, although it is yet to be seen whether or not this challenger bank can go all the way, or whether it’s simply being championed by millennials for its fresh and fun approach.
But, with the power of crowdfunding behind it, Monzo might have a real chance at revitalising the UK banking sector.
