Monzo gently rolls out current account
Mobile-only challenger bank Monzo is taking it nice and easy with a steady roll-out of its current account.
The bank, which received its full UK banking licence in April, says it’s been using the current account internally and today (17 July) is now inviting some of its customers to join and “help put it through its paces”.
Its aim is to offer a current account to all existing customers by the end of the year. Towards that goal, over the next three months it will roll out between 10,000 and 20,000 current accounts to existing customers. As you probably guessed, users can register their interest on its site. Investors get priority access.
The current account contains the usual sort code and account number; Faster Payments; direct debits; standing orders; and Mastercard debit card.
Monzo says it is still working on some other parts of the account. These include Monzo to Monzo payments through its contacts tab; and topping up an account by debit card, Apple Pay and Android Pay.
What else?
As is often the case, there is always more to share on what banks have been up to recently.
Earlier this month, a whole swathe of fintech firms and challenger banks were hit by tech issues – with card payments failing. The names included Monzo, Revolut, Starling Bank, Curve and payments start-up Fire.
Also in July, Monzo reported a loss after taxation of £6.7 million in its latest financial results. Despite the lack of profit, Tom Blomfeld, CEO of Monzo, says it has had a “fantastic year” – citing its prepaid programme hitting 240,000 funded accounts, with more than £250 million spent in total.
In March, Monzo raised another £2.5 million from more than 6,000 investors – the highest-ever number of any Crowdcube campaign. This follows its crowdfunding record of £1 million round last year, which closed in 96 seconds.
