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Monzo is preparing to take another run at a US banking licence, four years after it abandoned an earlier effort amid friction with regulators.
People familiar with the matter said the London-based digital bank is weighing a fresh application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in a move that could accelerate its American expansion. Executives believe the environment in Washington has turned more receptive to fintech challengers following a series of regulatory reversals this year by both the OCC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
The two agencies have rolled back guidance introduced under the Biden administration that critics said complicated merger reviews and slowed new charters. “It’s a return to a more predictable regime,” said one person advising several fintech applicants. “Deals that would have taken a year to get to the starting line are now moving again.”
For Monzo, a new licence would allow the company to lend and hold deposits directly in the US rather than relying on partner banks such as Ohio-based Sutton Bank. The UK group withdrew its original application in 2021 after the OCC signalled it would not approve it. At the time, Monzo had seen its valuation cut by 40 per cent and was under investigation over potential anti-money-laundering failures.
Since then, the picture has changed dramatically. Monzo has become one of the few British neobanks to turn a profit, reporting £1.2 billion in revenue and pre-tax profits of £60.5 million for the year to March 2025 — almost four times the previous year’s result. The bank now counts roughly 13 million users worldwide, including a growing US base reached through its app and card partnerships.
Still, any new push in America will draw scrutiny. In July, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority fined Monzo £21.09 million for historical deficiencies in its AML controls between 2018 and 2022. The regulator said the bank had “failed to put in place adequate systems to detect and prevent financial crime” — a point likely to attract attention in Washington.
Even so, Monzo is not alone in seeing renewed opportunity. Rival fintechs are racing to secure US footholds. Brazil’s Nubank, Latin America’s largest digital lender, filed an application last month for a national bank charter. Checkout.com, another London-based group, is pursuing a limited-purpose licence in Georgia that would let it settle payments directly for American retailers. Revolut and Starling, meanwhile, have explored buying existing US banks to speed up their entry.
The deregulatory tone in Washington has encouraged those efforts. In May and July, the OCC and FDIC scrapped their 2024 merger-policy frameworks, restoring earlier guidelines and effectively removing some procedural hurdles for complex transactions and charter bids. “It doesn’t mean the OCC will hand out licences easily,” said a former regulator, “but it does mean there’s less uncertainty about how applications are treated.”
Industry observers say Monzo must decide whether to pursue a full national bank charter — the same route taken by Varo Bank in 2020 — or acquire a smaller US institution. The first option offers control but is arduous; the second is faster but depends on finding a willing seller and regulators’ blessing.
The potential rewards are clear. The US remains the world’s most profitable retail-banking market, with deposits worth trillions and an appetite for digital services that traditional banks still struggle to match. For UK fintechs whose home market has matured, cracking America offers the next stage of growth.
Monzo declined to comment on its plans. But internally, executives see the current moment as their best chance in years to establish a true US presence — this time with stronger finances and lessons learned from the last attempt.
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