Mobile-only bank Monzo has agreed a £19.5 million investment round with Thrive Capital, Passion Capital and Orange Digital Ventures and announced plans for a further £2.5 million crowdfunding raise.
In January Monzo announced that it had attracted 100,000 users for its pre-paid Mastercard and accompanying iOS and Android apps. Like other smart mobile-first startups, the Monzo app enables users to track spending in real-time and view spending by category.
Chief executive Tom Blomfield says the new funding will be used to grow its 80-strong team to more than 100 staffers as it prepares to move into the current account market later this year.
The bank is also returning to Crowdcube, scene of its last community-led funding round which raised £1 million in a record-breaking one minute and 36 seconds. Pre-registration for the next round opens up on Tuesday 28 February.
Rumours that crooner Tom O'Dell was to join the latest round as an angel investor have not been confirmed by the bank. Likewise a similar prospective tie-up between rival Atom and rapper Will.i.am have yet to be substantiated.