UK challenger Monument lands restricted banking licence

Monument, a UK challenger bank looking to tap Britain's mass affluent population, has landed an authorisation with restriction (AWR) banking licence from UK regulators.

An AWR banking licence offers start-ups an alternative route to becoming a bank. The start-up landed approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in just 18 months.

The early authorisation means Monument can do a limited amount of business until it's fully operational.

The licence will allow Monument to conserve capital it would have otherwise spent on a full licence, and get on with building its "lego-like" tech. The start-up plans to launch in early 2021.

Co-operative Bank's former chief executive, Niall Brooker, is chairing the venture. Mintoo Bhandari, a former managing director at Apollo Global Management, is leading the venture alongside Brooker.

The start-up evolved out of a belief that the mass affluent have gone "largely unaddressed by the [UK's] challenger bank boom".

In July, the fintech said it had raised £10 million in seed funding, and that it had working capital for around the next 15 months.

Since then, it seems Monument has raised a further £10 million in a Series A funding round, bringing total capital to date to £20 million.

The start-up is yet to reveal the identities of any of its investors. Though it does claim to have attracted new backers since its seed round.