Monzo hires former Amex exec as new COO

Digital banking giant Monzo has appointed the former head of global merchant services for Europe at American Express, Sujata Bhatia as its new chief operating officer.

The news, first reported by Tech Crunch, comes after an almost six-month gap in the position following the departure of Bhatia’s predecessor Tom Foster-Carter.

Foster-Carter left the London-based digital bank back in November to launch his own grocery-startup. 

Before joining Monzo, Bhatia spent 16 years at American Express in several senior management roles and previously has worked at Goldman Sachs and Ernst & Young.

Bhatia’s appointment, which was confirmed by a spokesperson for the bank, is the most recent reshuffle at the top for Monzo.

Early employee Simon Balmain, who started just after Monzo’s name change from Mondo, announced he was leaving the bank last month to join Nick D’Aloisio’s new startup.

Another high-profile employee to depart the fintech was Monzo’s chief technology officer Meri Williams who left in March after just under two years at the bank.

Pending regulatory approval, Bhatia will join Monzo later on this year and will help the bank navigate the current turbulence it is facing. 

At the beginning of April it was revealed that Monzo planned to furlough 295 members of staff and executives were to receive a 25 per cent pay cut as well as founder Tom Blomfield forgoing his salary entirely for the next year. 

Despite being on slightly shaky ground, Monzo became the most switched-to current account for the first time ever in Q4 2019 with 20,843 net switches.