Latest news with #Monzo
Business Insider
14 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
This pitch deck helped Gradient Labs, a London AI startup, raise a $13 million Series A funding round in one week
Gradient Labs, a London-based AI startup building customer operations AI agents for fintech companies, said it closed a $13 million funding round in one week, Business Insider has learned exclusively. The Series A round was led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from LocalGlobe, Puzzle Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Exceptional Capital. Gradient Labs was co-founded in 2023 by Dimitri Masin, Neal Lathia, and Danai Antoniou — all early employees of Monzo, a challenger bank based in London. BI asked Masin, who is CEO, how he was able to close so quickly and what his advice is for other founders who are trying to fundraise. He answered questions via email and also shared his pitch deck. It might look like it happened overnight, but the groundwork was laid months in advance. We'd been building relationships with investors early — sharing updates, listening to feedback, and staying in touch even when we weren't actively fundraising. So when we officially opened the round, we weren't just another cold pitch. We also came in with a strong foundation: the product was live, the traction was real, and the space we're focused on — AI for customer ops in regulated industries — is very specific and very painful. That specificity helped us stand out in a sea of generic AI pitches. And we were prepared: deck, memo, model — everything was ready to go. That made it easy for interested investors to move quickly. There's no silver bullet. A pitch deck can't make up for weak fundamentals. What helped was clarity: We didn't try to tell an overly broad story. We showed exactly why this problem matters, why we're uniquely qualified to solve it, and how the product is already delivering results. And it was delivering: We reached $1 million in annual recurring revenue in just the first 4 months. We also made sure to point out that we weren't riding the AI hype, but we leaned into specifics, such as traction metrics, real use cases, and product performance. Investors could see that we weren't just chasing a trend. We were building something that works today, and has the potential to reshape customer operations in industries that don't tolerate guesswork. Be brutally honest about your fundamentals. Is the product genuinely good? Is your team equipped to win in this space? Will what you're building still matter when the next big model drops? If not, a clever deck won't save you. Also, don't wait to build investor relationships. Start early, even before you need the money. When you finally do raise, it won't feel like a scramble. And finally, know your space inside out. Founder-market fit is what lets you move fast with conviction. I spent years building machine learning systems for fraud at Monzo — that gave me a real advantage in knowing what regulated companies actually need, and how to deliver it safely. That context is hard to fake. Here is Gradient Labs' series A pitch deck:
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Monzo dodges full FCA fine with discount despite crime control failings
UK digital challenger Monzo has been fined £21.1m ($28.3m) after a four-year-long investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found it had failed to implement adequate anti-financial crime systems and controls. While the digital bank could have faced a more substantial penalty of £30.1m received a discount to £21.1m due to its co-operation with resolving the found issues. GlobalData 2025 Financial Services Consumer Survey Monzo's rapid expansion from 2018–22 saw it acquire over 5.2 million new customers, and it now holds 2% of the UK retail banking market share, according to GlobalData's 2025 Financial Services Consumer Survey. With this rapid growth, Monzo's internal systems struggled to adapt accordingly. The investigation revealed that Monzo's systems for verifying customer identities were insufficient, as it was automatically accepting many customers who had limited information and were using implausible addresses, such as Buckingham Palace or, ironically, the bank's own headquarters. Alongside this assessment, Monzo failed to comply with the terms of an FCA mandate, onboarding over 34,000 high-risk customers from 2020–22. The bank's 'growth-first' culture, often celebrated in the fintech space, appears to have clouded strategic judgement, exposing regulatory and reputational risks. With profitability achieved in FY25, Monzo is no longer a scrappy start-up; yet this fine shows its governance frameworks lagged its commercial ambitions. FCA ramps up regulatory scrutiny This is the 10th fine the FCA has imposed on a bank for financial crime control failings in the last four years, with Monzo's digital rival Starling also being found guilty of lenient financial crime controls, landing it with a £29m fine in 2024. This highlights the heightened regulatory scrutiny across the UK digital banking sector as numerous digital banks face challenges in switching from e-money licences to banking licences. They must contend with significantly stricter regulations and the complexities associated with lending operations, which they are not used to. Therese Chambers, FCA joint executive director, emphasised that banks must have robust systems to combat financial crime, stating: 'Banks are a vital line of defence in the collective fight against financial crime. They must have the systems in place to prevent the flow of ill-gotten gains into the financial system. Monzo fell far short of what we, and society, expect.' As Monzo eyes an eventual IPO, its credibility will hinge on demonstrating that governance, not just growth, is embedded at its core. Hence, it is imperative that Monzo, along with other rising neobanks, handle its customers' assets responsibly to build trusting relationships while avoiding undermining market integrity. "Monzo dodges full FCA fine with discount despite crime control failings" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Finextra
21-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Monzo migrates investment accounts to Seccl
Monzo is to migrate its investment and pension product portfolio to Octopus-owned embedded investment platform Seccl. 1 Since September 2023, Monzo customers have been able to open investment accounts and access a range of multi-asset funds directly within the app. As well as a Stocks and Shares ISA and General Investment Account (GIA), Monzo also launched a pension tracing and consolidation service in July 2024. The investment proposition has so far attracted over 300,000 customers, whose assets will now be migrated to Seccl as it takes over the provision of custody, wrapper administration and investment services. BlackRock will continue to manage the funds available to Monzo Investments and Pensions customers. Monzo selected Seccl as its new technology partner in January and the first assets were placed on the Bath, UK-based technology provider's platform in May. By the beginning of July, new Monzo investment accounts were powered by Seccl. The migration of its existing investor base is scheduled for September. As part of the migration, Monzo is introducing a range of new features - starting with a fully digital accumulation SIPP (to which customers can make new contributions, as well as consolidate existing pensions) and the ability to trade ETFs. Andy Smart, CPO of Monzo says: 'In line with our mission to make money work for everyone, we've helped to demystify investing for thousands of customers, making it simple, transparent and affordable. Working with Seccl means we can go even further and introduce more exciting features and tools that help our customers grow their money, all within the Monzo app.'
Finextra
13-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Deep Dive: Monzo's Business, Explained: By Sam Boboev
Monzo has emerged as one of fintech's standout success stories – a digital bank that now boasts over 12 million customers and a profitable business model. In an industry where many challengers are still chasing sustainable unit economics, Monzo has redefined what banking can be – and where it's going. Launched in 2015 as a scrappy startup, Monzo set out to 'build a current account that lives on your smartphone and gives you control of your money'. A decade later, it has grown into Britain's largest digital bank and even reached full-year profitability – all while cultivating a devoted user base and an NPS around +70 (versus an industry average of 30). Monzo matters because it exemplifies how a relentless focus on customers can translate into both rapid growth and real revenues. This deep dive examines Monzo's evolution, from its early days and expanding product portfolio to the technology under the hood, its business strategy, international forays, and the financial journey toward profit. Monzo's trajectory offers a blueprint for fintech innovation: prove that 'mission, growth, [and] profit' can go hand in hand. By 'bringing together the best of technology and banking, and remaining customer obsessed,' Monzo has shown it's possible to delight users while building a sustainable bank. Let's explore how Monzo got here and where it's heading next. From Bold Idea to Banking License Monzo's story began in 2015, when a team led by Tom Blomfield founded the company (originally called Mondo) with the aim of creating a branchless, app-based bank. The vision was clear from the start: a bank 'that lives on your smartphone', delivering instant notifications, intuitive budgeting, and a user-friendly experience starkly different from high-street incumbents. Early on, Monzo launched Alpha and Beta prepaid debit cards to test the waters, rapidly gaining a waitlist of enthusiastic early adopters. This grassroots momentum was amplified by record-setting crowdfunding campaigns – in 2016, Monzo raised £1 million in 96 seconds from customers eager to own a part of the bank. By late 2018, Monzo had topped one million users, with 95% of its initial cardholders seamlessly migrating to its new current accounts once those launched. Growth came almost entirely through word of mouth, reflecting a passionate community that Monzo actively nurtured via forums and transparency reports. Regulatory milestones came quickly. Monzo obtained a UK banking license with restrictions in 2016 and, after rigorous testing, had those restrictions lifted in April 2017 – officially becoming 'a fully authorised, unrestricted bank'. This allowed Monzo to transition all customers from prepaid cards to full Monzo current accounts, each with a sort code and FSCS deposit protection. 'Today is a major step towards making [our] mission a reality,' CEO Tom Blomfield wrote at the time, crediting Monzo's community of users for fueling its early success. Throughout 2017–2018, Monzo rolled out core banking features like Monzo me (for easy P2P payments) and Targets (budgeting goals), while maintaining an ethos of openness – Monzo famously shared product roadmaps and engaged users in feedback through its 'Making Monzo' forum. By 2019, Monzo was solidifying its position as a mainstream player. It became the UK's most recommended brand according to YouGov and saw more people switching their primary accounts to Monzo than to any other bank. The bank introduced pioneering app features that competitors would later emulate – Salary Sorter to auto-budget paychecks, Bills Pots to segregate funds for expenses, and Get Paid Early to receive BACS payments a day in advance. All these innovations, alongside the vibrant coral debit card and real-time notifications, helped Monzo build a reputation for making money feel easy. Despite the challenges of 2020's pandemic (when lockdowns briefly dampened card spending), Monzo kept investing in its product. 'As the world shut down, we stayed focused on our customers... delivered new products and invested heavily in key areas of our business,' said TS Anil (who took over as CEO in 2020). That resilience paid off: customer growth remained robust – climbing 23% year-on-year in FY2021 – and engagement deepened even faster. Fast forward to 2023 and Monzo had swelled to around 7½ million personal customers (plus hundreds of thousands of business users) and was ranked as the 7th largest UK bank by customer numbers. It also consistently topped independent surveys for service quality, reflecting the loyalty of its base. Remarkably, 66–90% of Monzo's customer growth came organically via referrals in these years – a testament to its product-market fit and brand love. A typical Monzo user had 30+ friends on Monzo too, underscoring a viral network effect. Monzo's journey from a bold idea in 2015 to a fully licensed, multi-million-user bank within a decade is impressive on its own. But equally notable is how Monzo evolved its product lineup beyond a simple checking account to become a broad financial platform. Evolving the Product Portfolio Monzo's initial offering was a simple app-linked account, but over time it has broadened into a one-stop shop for personal finance. Today, 'Monzo's now a place where you can budget, spend, save, borrow, invest, track your mortgage, insure your contents, and combine your pensions.' This product diversification did not happen overnight – it was a deliberate expansion, year by year, often driven by customer demand and experimentation. Everything still 'starts with our personal current account,' as Monzo likes to say. The personal account (with its bright 'hot coral' debit card) remains Monzo's flagship, offering features like instant spend notifications, fee-free spending abroad, and easy money management. Monzo also provides joint accounts for shared finances, and in 2023 it introduced accounts for 16-17 year-olds, eventually followed by Under 16s accounts in 2025 to help the next generation manage money digitally. On the business side, Monzo launched its business accounts in 2020 after a period of testing. By FY2024, Monzo Business had over 400,000 customers (up from 200k the year prior), ranging from sole traders on free accounts to larger SMEs paying for premium plans. Monzo's business banking has been well-received – for the past two years it's been rated Britain's most recommended business account for overall service quality in independent surveys. To monetize its robust retail base, Monzo rolled out premium account tiers in 2020. Monzo Plus (re-launched in July 2020 after an earlier iteration faltered) and Monzo Premium (launched later in 2020) offer advanced features for monthly fees. Plus (originally £5/month) added perks like custom budgeting categories, interest on balances, and virtual cards, while Premium (at £15/month) tacked on benefits like phone insurance, higher interest, and a metal debit card. These proved popular with Monzo's power users: within the first year, over 134,000 customers signed up for Plus or Premium. By FY2022, Monzo reported 360,000+ combined subscribers across Plus, Premium, and paid business accounts. Subscription uptake contributed meaningfully to revenue – by 2021, 25% of Monzo's revenue was coming from new products (like Plus/Premium and business accounts). Notably, Monzo has continued iterating on its plans. In 2023, it even made some formerly paid features free for all (for instance, releasing its 'most powerful budgeting tools' to the entire user base) to drive engagement, while simultaneously enhancing the paid tiers with new benefits. The result: by FY2025 Monzo had 1 million+ customers on subscription plans, and subscription fee income grew 50% year-on-year. Helping customers grow their money has become a major focus for Monzo. Early on, Monzo pioneered the idea of 'Pots', sub-accounts where users can set aside money for goals. Over 300,000 Pots are created by users each month (as of FY2021-22), underscoring how integral this feature is to Monzo's experience. Initially Pots were just simple piggy-banks, but Monzo soon partnered with third-party banks to offer Savings Pots that paid interest. By 2019 it launched a 'savings marketplace' in-app, letting users open interest-bearing Pots provided by the likes of Investec or OakNorth without leaving Monzo. In February 2023, Monzo took this further by introducing Instant Access Savings powered directly by Monzo. This product, rolled out to both personal and business customers, ensures users benefit from every Bank of England rate increase – Monzo explicitly passes on the majority of base rate rises to savers. The response was tremendous: within a year, more than 1.3 million customers had opened Instant Access Savings Pots, collectively saving £7.7 billion in them. Monzo paid out over £130 million in interest to those customers in the first year alone. This strategy of sharing interest yields helped Monzo deepen trust – it's telling that as of 2025, customers have entrusted Monzo with £16.6 billion in deposits (up 48% from the previous year). Monzo is also dabbling in investments and pensions, making the app even more of a financial hub. In late 2023, Monzo launched Monzo Investments, allowing users to invest in curated funds with as little as £1. The user experience emphasizes guidance and simplicity, aiming to demystify investing for first-timers. Indeed, Monzo found that a third of its investing customers were investing for the first time ever – with women, in particular, embracing this (45% of female investors on Monzo were first-timers). On the pensions side, Monzo introduced a feature to 'combine your pensions' in 2025, likely through a partnership, helping users consolidate old pension pots into one – further embedding Monzo in long-term financial planning. And for homeowners, Monzo added a mortgage tracking tool in 2023 so users can link their existing mortgage and monitor repayment progress in-app. While Monzo doesn't (yet) offer its own mortgage lending, this integration keeps customers engaged and sets the stage for potential future offerings. Like any full-service bank, Monzo provides credit products – but with Monzo twists. It started with overdrafts (introduced around 2018) and later personal loans, offering eligible users quick cash at competitive rates via the app. In September 2021, Monzo unveiled Monzo Flex, a 'buy now, pay later' style credit option allowing users to spread purchases over installments. As Monzo put it, Flex lets you 'pay later for pretty much anything' – unlike other BNPL services limited to certain merchants. Flex was essentially Monzo's take on a credit card, but managed in-app with transparency. It attracted 35,000 customers in short order and later evolved into Monzo's credit card lineup: today Monzo markets 'Flex' as a credit card (with 19% APR variable) and has even launched a 'Flex Build' credit card aimed at helping those with thin credit histories build up their score. For a challenger that once eschewed lending, these credit products have become a key part of the portfolio and revenue mix. Monzo reported that by FY2024, total card spending volume grew 42% year-on-year to £47.8 billion – a clear sign that users are increasingly routing their everyday spending through Monzo's cards, generating interchange fees and interest income on credit balances. Source: Monzo Annual Reports (2021–2025); Monzo Investor and Press Releases; Monzo Blog and Web Pages. Disclaimer: Fintech Wrap Up aggregates publicly available information for informational purposes only. Portions of the content may be reproduced verbatim from the original source, and full credit is provided with a "Source: [Name]" attribution. All copyrights and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. Fintech Wrap Up does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the aggregated content; these are the responsibility of the original source providers. Links to the original sources may not always be included. For questions or concerns, please contact us at
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
How to avoid a payment fees sting while on holiday
The summer holidays are fast approaching and millions of Britons will be jetting off into the sun. But many will unwittingly lose hundreds of pounds to overseas charges by making costly payment mistakes even if they think they are prepared. Some providers and retailers can add up to £5 extra per transaction abroad. British travellers lost around £2.5million in foreign exchange fees last year in this way, research shows. Whether you opt to use your debit card for holidays this summer or want to take out cash, we reveal what you need to know to not get stung on fees when making payments abroad this summer debit card might NOT offer the best rate More banks now offer fee-free spending abroad as a perk. Standard debit and credit cards often levy 'non-sterling transaction fees' on transactions in foreign currencies, normally in the region of 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent of the purchase amount. First Direct, Monzo, Starling, Chase and even high street giants Lloyds and Nationwide count themselves among the banks which allow customers to spend abroad as they would at home with their debit cards But even customers using a fee-free debit card could find they pay less by using a specialist travel debit card like Currensea, Wise or Revolut. These cards remove bank fees and can be more than 0.5 per cent cheaper than fee-free cards and over 3 per cent cheaper than high street banks' debit cards. Jamie Melzack, 47 from North London used a Currensea travel debit card to pay for hotels, shopping and food and drink while on trips in America, Abu Dhabi and Spain. He found he saved £400 by using a Currensea travel debit card rather than his NatWest high street debit card. He said: 'I could see my total savings in the app and saw I saved £400 on trips using the Currensea card instead of my bank card.' Typical fee-free accounts, for example from Monzo, Starling, and Chase, rely on fixed card scheme rates that are set once a day. However, the real FX market changes throughout that day. The card scheme rates therefore need to be set with substantial margin to protect against adverse market movement - meaning consumers may not always get the best rate. 2. Avoid prepaid cards Prepaid travel cards are chip and pin cards, much like a debit card, you load up with foreign currency before you go on holiday, thereby locking in a set exchange rate. They are offered by firms including the Post Office, Sainsbury's, Travelex and Mastercard. They have their benefits, allowing you to budget on holiday more effectively, as well as locking in one foreign exchange rate when you load the card, instead of a different rate every time you spend. But here's the snag, if you don't spend all the money on the card you will be faced with costly fees to withdraw the remaining cash. And many will simply forget about the leftover funds on their card after they return home. For this reason, the average traveller using a prepaid card returns from trips with £89 left while close to half of those with school-age kids return with more than £100, with the average at £109 left on prepaid cards. 3. Always pay in the local currency Never pay in pounds sterling if the option is offered when overseas. Whether paying the bill at a restaurant or buying something in the shops, you should always pay in the local currency. Andrew Hagger, of personal finance website MoneyComms, explains: 'If you pay in GBP this allows the overseas retailer or ATM to use an inferior local exchange rate which can prove way more expensive than the normal Visa or MasterCard exchange rates – this is known as Dynamic Currency Conversion.' 4. Don't withdraw small amounts of cash If your provider does charge fees when using your card abroad, making multiple, smaller purchases or withdrawals over the trip can really add up. Therefore you might be better off withdrawing a larger amount of money once at the start of the trip, and setting a daily budget. More than half of travellers say they don't know how much they're charged when withdrawing cash abroad, with some providers adding up to £5 per transaction. If you withdraw the cash in one go, you won't be hit with as many fees if your card provider does charge fees. The airport has some of the most expensive rates for exchanging money 5. Dodge the airport for exchanging money Exchanging money at the airport is one of the most expensive ways to get foreign currency. Probably the biggest mistakes you can make when buying foreign currency is to do so at the airport bureau de change, where currency rates are normally extremely poor. Yet 27 per cent of travellers still exchange the bulk of their cash at the airport despite getting the worst rates and facing high fees. Andrew Hagger says: 'Never buy or sell your currency at the airport. You'll lose around an extra £10 for every £100 you spend – just don't do it unless it's an absolute emergency.' Laith Khalaf, of AJ Bell says: 'Effectively buying money at the airport is a hefty tax on your holiday for not planning ahead. 'The same principle applies to getting travel money from the post office, which is another popular choice. 'Individual post offices will usually have their own currency rates but if you order online beforehand, you'll almost certainly get a better deal.'
