Monzo banks £19.5m, looks to crowdfund £2.5m more

London-based challenger bank Monzo is close to raising £22m in a new funding push.

The app-only bank has already closed £19.5m in a Series B round led by New York-based VC Thrive Capital and plans to raise a further £2.5m through crowdfunding.

Thrive’s previous exits include Instagram and Twitch with the firm counting $1bn-valued messenger service Slack and insurance disruptor Lemonade among its current portfolio.

Orange Digital Ventures became Monzo’s first corporate investor in also participating in the Series B round alongside existing backer Passion Capital.

The company has raised more than £40m in total and is now valued at $65m.

It will open take to Crowdcube to launch a crowdfunding campaign next month as it looks to raise a further £2.5m.

Monza previously picked up £1m in just 96 second on the platform.

Previously named Mondo, the startup received a limited banking license from the Bank of England in August.

The new capital will go towards fulfilling the requirements needed to become a full bank as well as expanding its team from 80 to 100 by the end of the year.

Monzo claims 100,000 users for its app who have spent more than £100m with its pre-paid cards.

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