New digital bank for the rich Monument secures restricted UK banking licence

'Monzo for millionaires'.

Monument, a new digital bank for the wealthy, has secured its UK banking licence and has raised over £20m of its upcoming Series A funding round.

The news comes just four months after first reports of the new bank appeared, with the arrival of ex-Co-operative Bank CEO as chairman in July and news that the banking licence application had been filed.

Yesterday Monument was granted ‘authorisation with restriction’ by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority to begin acting as a fully-fledged bank, with restrictions usually being removed following the completion of a larger capital raise.

CEO Mintoo Bhandari said the newly-licenced bank had already exceeded its Series A target, and without relying on the Future Fund or any government support.

“The speed with which we have been executing our plans and progressing through the regulatory process are a testament to the exceptional quality of our team and the vote of confidence by investors in our strategy, in a world that is otherwise full of challenges,” he said.

“We now eagerly look ahead to completing the build of the Bank and launching for clients in 2021.”

Monument reiterated its aim of serving the 3.5m people in the UK who have a net worth of between £250k and £5m, excluding their main property.

It’s a market that the bank claims is worth up to £3.5 trillion with at least £200bn in liquid savings.

Earlier reports indicated that even just to open an account, Monument’s customers will need to have at least £25,000, which is around half what is needed to open a premier account with other private banks.