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Monzo is considering a new application for a US banking licence four years after backing out of a previous attempt when it reached an impasse with regulators.
The UK-based fintech is exploring reviving its plans to become a licensed lender in the US to accelerate its expansion there, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Executives at the neobank believed that a fresh application would be more likely to be accepted by the US banking regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, following the deregulatory push spearheaded by President Donald Trump, the people added.
Both the OCC and the other US bank regulator, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, have rescinded guidance that had made deals harder to complete.
Monzo would join several other fintechs pushing into the US. London-based Checkout.com said last Friday it planned to “double down” on its US expansion plans after being granted a limited purpose bank charter from the state of Georgia, which will allow it to settle payment transactions for retailers.
Nubank, the Brazilian neobank giant, also started an application for a US national bank charter last week.
The US offers access to new customers and significant deposits at a time when many large UK fintechs are finding it harder to win new customers in their home market.
The Financial Times previously reported that Revolut, the UK’s biggest fintech, and smaller rival Starling were drawing up plans to buy an American bank so that they could lend across all 50 states.
Monzo scrapped its previous application for a US banking licence in 2021 after the OCC indicated that it would be unlikely to win approval.
At the time Monzo had shed 40 per cent of its value in the wake of the pandemic and was subject to an investigation over potential breaches of anti-money laundering rules.
The company decided to retrench and focus on growth in the UK. In the year to March, the bank increased revenues by 48 per cent to £1.2bn and posted pre-tax profits of £60.5mn — almost four times the previous year’s figure.
Monzo, which has 13mn users globally, currently operates in the US through a series of partner banks.
Monzo declined to comment.
