UK digital challenger bank Monzo is raising more than $500 million at a $4.5 billion valuation - three times the £1.1 billion price tag it attracted in its last discounted capital-raise earlier this year.
Abu Dhabi Growth Fund led the round, with participation from Coatue and Alpha Wave Ventures, Accel and Goodwater. The first part of round, worth $475 million, has been closed, with a second close within two weeks set to bring the total to more than $500 million.
The funding comes as Monzo has doubled revenues this year, signing up around 100,000 new customers a month. The bank has more than five million customers, including 300,000 using paid accounts, with Business accounts recently topping 100,000.
Roughly 25% of revenues are coming from new products launched during the pandemic.
The good news comes after a tough pandemic for the bank, during which it suffered a series of damaging setbacks, including a warning about its ability to continue as a going concern after reporting a £115 million loss for 2020/21.
It also revealed that it is under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority over its compliance with money laundering rules.
TS Anil, CEO, Monzo, says: "This round comes off the back of a fantastic year for Monzo. We’ve seen record revenues, launched new products and tools and continued to top the charts for our services. We’ve hired some incredible talent.
"This investment means we’ll grow further and faster as we continue on our journey to reinvent banking, and become the one app that sits at the centre of our customers’ financial lives."