Challenger bank Monument is to launch after regulators the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority lifted deposit restrictions on its licence.
It can now operate as a fully-licensed deposit taking bank and is targeting the ‘mass affluent’ market of professionals, entrepreneurs, property investors and others.
It estimates that there are 4.8 million of these people who are seeking a bank to help them save and grow their wealth.
The Bank has raised £60 million in capital to date having successfully completed one of the largest Series A funding rounds in FinTech banking earlier this year, with an ongoing fundraising round set to close soon having exceeded £20m.
Monument has attracted investment from highly-experienced investors, including respected figures in venture capital, private equity, FinTech and real estate as well as a significant South American financial institution and S CUBE Capital, a fund managed by a Singapore based financial institution.
Mintoo Bhandari, CEO of Monument, said: “We are very pleased to share the news that the Regulators have given us the green light to proceed to commercial launch. We are ready and eager to serve clients, who we believe have been lacking a bank that is being developed to serve their needs and service requirements.
“While we never planned to build and launch a bank in the middle of a global pandemic, the timing could not have been more relevant as the demand for, and comfort with, digital finance has accelerated dramatically over the past 18 months.
“We are very excited to take our first steps of addressing the substantial, aspirational, hard-working, asset-rich but time-poor community which holds trillions in wealth in the UK and which lacks the right financial services partner.
“We will be entirely focused on understanding our clients’ needs and providing them with great service, enabled by technology, which we think will set a new standard.
“Our goal is to create an institution that truly understands this community, helps them save and grow their wealth, but which also recognises that there is more to wealth than money. Today marks an important step for us towards achieving that goal as we launch for clients as a fully-licensed bank.”
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At launch, the bank is offering clients buy-to-let and bridging loans to support experienced and busy landlords to manage and grow their portfolios.
Clients will be able to borrow up to £3 million for buy-to-let property investments. It will also soon offer various fixed-term savings products for individuals looking to save upwards of £25,000.
The bank’s executives and board have held senior roles in HSBC, Barclays, McKinsey & Co, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Apollo Global Management, PWC, Coutts and the UK regulators.