# Monzo

> Monzo is a British licensed neobank known for its coral-coloured card and app-based current accounts.

Source: https://www.neobank.wiki/wiki/monzo
Last updated: 2026-08-11
Categories: Financial technology, United Kingdom neobanks, Licensed neobanks, Consumer neobanks, Companies founded in 2015

**Monzo** is a British [neobank](/wiki/neobank) founded in 2015. It holds a full UK banking licence and is known for its distinctive coral card, real-time spending notifications, and community-driven product development.[^monzo1]

## History

Founded in 2015 as Mondo, the company rebranded to Monzo in 2016 after a trademark dispute. It initially operated a prepaid card before obtaining a UK banking licence and migrating customers to full current accounts.

## Founders

[Monzo](/wiki/monzo) was founded in 2015 (originally as Mondo) by **[Tom Blomfield](/wiki/tom-blomfield)**, **Jonas Huckestein**, **Jason Bates**, **Paul Rippon** and **Gary Dolman**—a team that left early roles at [Starling Bank](/wiki/starling-bank) to build a community-driven UK [neobank](/wiki/neobank).

**[Tom Blomfield](/wiki/tom-blomfield)** is the best-known co-founder and early chief executive of Monzo. An Oxford-educated entrepreneur who previously co-founded payments company GoCardless (Y Combinator), Blomfield briefly served as COO at Starling before founding Mondo/Monzo. He became the public face of Monzo's coral card, crowdfunding rounds and transparent product culture, later receiving an OBE for services to fintech competition. Blomfield stepped down as CEO in 2020, left the company in 2021, and later joined Y Combinator as a partner.

**Jonas Huckestein** (CTO), **Jason Bates** (product and customer experience), **Paul Rippon** (banking, risk and regulation) and **Gary Dolman** (finance) co-founded Monzo with Blomfield, supplying the engineering depth and banking expertise required to obtain a full UK banking licence and migrate customers from prepaid cards to FSCS-protected current accounts.

## UK banking licence

Monzo Bank Ltd holds a full UK banking licence with Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection. After launching as a prepaid card under the Mondo name, it migrated customers to licensed current accounts—the path that defined mid-2010s UK [neobank](/wiki/neobank) regulation.

## Products

Monzo offers current accounts, savings "Pots", budgeting tools, shared tabs, overdrafts, loans and paid subscription tiers. It is frequently cited for its transparency and design.

## Infobox

- **Type**: Private
- **Founded**: 2015
- **Founders**: Tom Blomfield, Jonas Huckestein, Jason Bates, Paul Rippon, Gary Dolman
- **Headquarters**: London, United Kingdom
- **Licence**: UK banking licence
- **Model**: Licensed neobank

## Frequently asked questions

### What is Monzo?

Monzo is a British licensed neobank known for its coral-coloured card and app-based current accounts.

### When was Monzo founded?

Monzo was founded in 2015.

### Where is Monzo headquartered?

Monzo is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

### Who founded Monzo?

Monzo was founded by Tom Blomfield, Jonas Huckestein, Jason Bates, Paul Rippon, Gary Dolman.

### What type of company is Monzo?

Monzo is described as Licensed neobank in its neobank.wiki profile.


## References

[^monzo1]: Monzo holds a full UK banking licence and is a member of the FSCS deposit-protection scheme. — https://monzo.com/about/