Monzo, Britain’s biggest digital bank, is still synonymous with its neon debit cards, extensive use of emojis, and free spending abroad. But it’s no longer just trying to be cool; it’s trying to become a major financial institution.
That shift, from an upstart fintech beloved by millennials into a mature, sustainable business, is what makes this year a likely turning point. In a sit-down with this editor last week, despite signs that Monzo is preparing to go public – along with new reports that something is in the works – Monzo CEO TS Anil wouldn’t confirm that Monzo is listing this year. He suggested the building blocks are in place, though: profitability, product breadth, and just the right amount of AI.
The numbers help tell the story. Monzo posted its first annual profit last year. In its 2024 annual report, it claimed 9.3 million personal account holders and more than 400,000 business customers. It’s also no longer reliant on interchange fees and overdrafts; lending, subscriptions, and business banking are now meaningful revenue streams. All this comes after a period marked by regulatory scrutiny and leadership turnover, developments that forced the company to grow up fast.
Under Anil — a banking veteran who joined Monzo in 2020 and soon after took over as CEO from co-founder Tom Blomfield — Monzo is still flashy. Those hot coral cards remain a must for many younger banking customers. It has also become more disciplined about its growing product lineup. Monzo’s customers can now invest in mutual funds powered by BlackRock, for example, and track their existing mortgages from other lenders in their Monzo app.
They can also use Monzo in the U.S., though most Americans have yet to hear of the brand. The question is whether that’s a problem, considering Monzo started amassing beta customers in the country six years ago. Certainly, it seemed fair to ask if Monzo needs to penetrate the U.S. market to become the global powerhouse that Anil is envisioning.
During our sit-down, Anil suggested that’s not the case. He said that one in five adults in the UK now banks with Monzo – in other words, there is market share Monzo has left to gain in its own backyard. (According to Anil, Monzo added 300,000 new users in April alone.)
When questioned about U.S. expansion and the competitive landscape, Anil downplayed the challenge. “I think there are a few universal truths that apply,” he said. “Most people feel anxiety about their money, and that anxiety is independent of affluence . . . The second thing that holds true is that the incumbent industry has been built off of arbitraging customers and leveraging, in some fashion, customers’ ignorance. Those are the insights that are helping us create the best features that would make sense in the U.S.; that’s the way we intend to double down.”
During our talk, we also discussed whether Monzo could itself be construed as a legacy player in the not-too-distant future. After all, the company is now 10 years old, and AI is changing everything. We wanted to know whether Monzo worries about the rise of AI-native banks.
“Gosh no, we’re not a legacy player,” Anil said. “We continue to operate at the bleeding edge of technology.” What would worry him, he continued, is if he “saw signs of complacency in terms of adopting new technology, or at least a curiosity about it. Those would be like bright, flashing red warning signs for me, but that’s the opposite of the company that we are.”
As for the IPO that’s reportedly in the works, said Anil: “To tell someone in the media ‘don’t believe everything you read in the media’ is kind of like a dicey move to make, but yeah, please don’t believe everything you read in the press. We will be a great public company one day. We haven’t decided either when or where, let alone with whom.”
If you’re curious to learn more, including about how Monzo keeps its marketing fresh, how it’s using AI, and the ways its engineers handle the adoption of new tech, watch our full chat below.
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