Fintech startup Viola Black is trading on the popular buzz surrounding hip UK challenger Monzo to promote its pre-paid card and mobile money management app.
Viola Black is running a punchy advertising campaign across London with the tag-line 'Move over Monzo. Download Viola Black: the new modern money management tool'.
The company is one a slew of tiny startups riding on the coat-tails of the fintech boom and the hype associated with the successful launch of bigger challengers such as Monzo and Starling.
But while Monzo has recruited over a million customers and earned a prized Unicorn status by launching as a fully-fledged bank, Viola Black emphasises its outsider status, proudly proclaiming "we are not a bank".
A product of the Viola Group, a privately held company that was first established in Vienna in 2012, Viola Black charges £4 a month for the benefit of its pre-paid debit card and associated money budgeting app.
The company seems unconcerned by than less than positive response to its slightly disingenuous advertising campaign on Monzo forums, stating: "It’s only been live in the English capital for a couple of days, but it’s already getting people talking - and that’s exactly what we wanted!"