Monzo

2015–2017: Early growth

Monzo Bank was founded as Mondo in 2015 by Tom Blomfield and his team.[8][9][3][10] The team originally met whilst working at Starling Bank. In February 2016, Monzo set the record for "quickest crowd-funding campaign in history" when it raised £1 million in 96 seconds via the Crowdcube investment platform.[11][12][13]

On 15 May 2016, Monzo was named the 59th top startup in Startups.co.uk's annual Startups 100 ranking.[14]

On 13 June 2016, a company blog post announced that the "Mondo" trademark had been legally challenged by an undisclosed company with a similar name.[15][16] As a result, a naming suggestion contest was organised and the new name, "Monzo", was registered at Companies House under the legal name "Monzo Bank Ltd" in August 2016.[17]

On 16 May 2017, Monzo announced that over £250 million had been spent through its prepaid card, between 200,000 customers.[18]

2017–present: Scaling up

In April 2017, Monzo was granted its full banking licence by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, having previously operated under a restricted banking licence.[19] The full licence allowed Monzo to provide its customers with current accounts, who up until that point were only able to be offered pre-paid debit cards.[20]

Monzo's full current account was launched in October 2017, with its pre-paid card users being asked to move to its new current account.[20] By April 2018, it was reported to have 500,000 current account customers.[20]

In October 2018, Monzo reached one million customers, and was also named the best tech startup to work for by LinkedIn UK.[21][22]

In August 2019, the company announced that it had inadvertently logged 480,000 customer personal identification numbers, making them accessible to Monzo's internal team of engineers. The issue arose because PINs were transmitted in the query string of a HTTPS request.[23][24] That month the company also launched its loan products for customers.[25]

In March 2020, Monzo announced the creation of two business bank accounts for sole traders and small-to-medium sized businesses.[26] This was followed by Monzo's first loan products for its personal current account customers in April 2020.[27]

In May 2020, Blomfield announced that he was moving from CEO to president of the company and TS Anil would become the company's CEO.[28][29] He left the company in January 2021, citing personal pressures heightened by the coronavirus pandemic among other reasons.[30]

In March 2023, the company announced that it had become profitable for the first time.[31] The following year, Monzo was named to the 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50 list.[32]

Monzo reported its first annual profit of £15.4 million for the year ending March 2024, compared to a £116.3 million loss the previous year. The company also announced to open an office in Ireland to expand into Europe. Revenue more than doubled to £514.4 million due to increased lending and savings products, though provisions for loan defaults nearly doubled to £204 million.[33]

On 30 October 2025, Monzo announced that its CEO T. S. Anil will be stepping down from the position, after serving in that position for nearly 5 years.[34]

In December 2025, it was announced that Monzo had agreed to acquire the online mortgage broker Habito, which at that time employed 100 people.[35] The transaction, subject to regulatory approval and expected to complete in spring 2026, aimed to integrate mortgage advice and broking services directly into Monzo’s mobile banking platform.[36] The company also received a full banking licence from the Central Bank of Ireland and the European Central Bank, enabling expansion into Ireland with personal and business accounts.[37]

U.S. expansion

Monzo announced on 13 June 2019 that it would begin offering services in the United States. The company said that it would distribute about 2,000 debit cards to prospective members who attended events it held in major U.S. cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City.[38]

In February 2021, Monzo announced Carol Nelson as the new US CEO, taking over from TS Anil who became Monzo's global CEO after temporarily holding both titles.[39]

After it was told by US regulators it was unlikely to be approved for a banking licence, Monzo announced that it had withdrawn its banking licence application in October 2021.[40] Shortly after, Carol Nelson stepped down as US CEO.[41]

Monzo US exited beta and was fully launched on 1 February 2022.[42] Without a US banking license, Monzo operates in the US market through a partnership with Ohio-based Sutton Bank.[43]

On 31 March 2026, Monzo announced that it would be exiting the US market.[44]

Partnerships

On 25 June 2018, Monzo announced their team-up with Wise to provide international money transfers from within their Monzo app.[64]

On 28 January 2019, Monzo announced a partnership with Flux to add itemised receipts and loyalty points.[65] In addition to this, the API to create receipts was published by Monzo.[66]

Monzo Flex

In September 2021, Monzo launched Flex, a buy-now-pay-later product.[67] Later in the year, they announced a virtual credit card that can be used to make Flex transactions directly.[68] Since 2023, physical Monzo Flex cards have been available to be ordered through the Monzo app.[69] As of 2024, Monzo Flex is marketed as a credit card.[70]

Monzo Plus and Monzo Premium

In July 2020, Monzo introduced Monzo Plus,[71] a paid subscription service that attracted 50,000 sign-ups in its first month.[72] In 2021, Monzo launched Monzo Premium. On 23 April 2024, Monzo discontinued the Plus and Premium plans, with users no longer able to subscribe to these services, however, current subscribers are able to keep their subscriptions.[73]

Monzo Extra, Monzo Perks and Monzo Max

In April 2024, with the discontinuation of Monzo Plus and Monzo Premium, Monzo announced three new subscription services, Monzo Extra, Monzo Perks and Monzo Max. With Monzo Perks and Monzo Max replacing Monzo Plus and Monzo Premium, users are able to upgrade their subscriptions to one of the new plans, or keep their current subscription.[74] Unlike Monzo Premium, Monzo Max will not offer a metal debit card.[73]

Pensions

In July 2024, Monzo announced they plan to introduce Monzo Pensions. The feature will allow customers to combine their current pension schemes, both workplace and personal, in the app, as well as open a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) with Monzo. The features will be available to all Monzo customers.[75]

Contents Insurance

Monzo became the first UK digital bank to launch contents insurance in 2025.[76] Research showed 50% of UK renters lack contents insurance, with average belongings worth £12,140.[77]

The product features:

• Coverage for damage and theft inside and outside the home
• Simple 5-question application process
• No-fee policy changes or cancellations
• Optional coverage for high-value items[78]

List of former chairmen

• 1) Baroness Kingsmill (2015–2018)[91]

List of former chief executives

• 1) Tom Blomfield (2015–2020)[92]
• 2) TS Anil (2020–2026)[92]