UK challenger bank Monzo to launch business current account
Following in the wake of Starling and RBS’s digital entity Mettle, UK challenger bank Monzo plans to unveil a business current account.
“Hopefully launch something in the next year or two”
The bank will apply for some funding and if “successful” that money will give it the resources needed to make business banking a priority, and “hopefully launch something in the next year or two”.
This funding comes from the £700 million pot of money called the Alternative Remedies Package. Banks and fintechs can apply for some of the money, and use it to build or expand their own products for SMEs.
If it doesn’t get the funding, it will still build business accounts. It’ll just take longer.
As the UK challenger space gets more competitive, each bank is trying to stay ahead (or keep up with the pace) of its rivals.
Monzo says there are more than five million SMEs in the UK, and it reckons almost nine million people either run their own small business or work for one.
The bank explains: “That means there’s a big opportunity to bring Monzo to even more people, and help them manage their money better. And because the SME market is so big, it’s also a good opportunity for us to grow revenue and help build Monzo into a sustainable business.”
These are early days as its application will be in H1 2019. It is also doing research at the moment, and over the next few months it will work on designing a product.
In other news, Monzo says users can now pay cash into their account at any store that shows the PayPoint logo. The bank says people often use PayPoint to pay for their utilities, like TV licences or electricity bills. It’s available in more than 28,000 corner shops, convenience stores and other retailers across the UK.
Last month, Monzo closed a new funding round raising £85 million. This is part of its quest to reach a $1.5 billion valuation.
