London-based challenger bank Mondo has received a restricted UK banking license.
UK financial regulators granted their approval approximately 18 months after the company was first founded in early 2015.
Tom Blomfield, CEO of Mondo, said in a statement: “This is how the banking market changes, not with 800 page reviews from public bodies like the CMA, but with technology bringing new ideas to the table. We’re creating something that will completely revolutionise the way people think about their money.
“The bank for people that hate banks – and let’s face it, that’s just about everyone – is officially a bank!
“The licence is a big achievement, the result of a lot of hard work from our team. But we don’t have time to dwell on it. We’re releasing new features every couple of weeks for our beta testers, and in the background we’re building our current account product,” he added.
The approval comes after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said earlier this week that British high street banks should embrace technology in order to promote better competition across the sector.