Monzo Bank Ltd. is shuttering its US operations after years of failing to gain a foothold on the world's largest market, and will instead focus on the UK and Europe, according to a statement.
The London-based digital bank will stop on-boarding new customers and lay off about 50 employees, a person familiar with the matter said, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Existing customers can continue to use their accounts until June, the person said.
Monzo is "making a deliberate, strategic decision to focus on scaling in our home market and Europe and to step away from the US," a representative said in a statement.
Monzo first launched in the US in 2020, offering a debit card and an app. It then sought regulatory approval to hold a bank charter, which would have allowed the firm to lend and take in federally insured deposits. However, the bank withdrew its application less than a year later. At the time, the company said it still had "big ambitions" for its US operations.
The move runs counter to the efforts of many other European financial technology firms, which have been pushing for licenses in the US, seeking to capitalize on what many see as a looser regulatory climate under the Trump administration.
Wise Plc is moving its primary listing to the US from London and seeking to deepen its US business, while Revolut has applied for a bank charter to push into the region. Brazilian fintech Nu Holdings Ltd., known as Nubank, won conditional regulatory approval earlier this year to establish a US arm.
The decision also marks one of the first major changes in strategy from Chief Executive Officer Diana Layfield, who took the top post in February. Former CEO TS Anil stepped down last year after boardroom disagreements around Monzo's growth and listing plans.
The firm now plans to expand in Europe, on the heels of scoring authorization from the European Central Bank, and retaining more customers in the UK, where it currently has more than 15 million.
Monzo, founded by British entrepreneur Tom Blomfield in 2015, faces an increasingly crowded market in the UK. Revolut Ltd. recently obtained its bank license in the UK, with hopes of growing its 13 million customer base. Digital lender Zopa last year rolled out bank accounts with cash-back rewards, while Wise this week launched everyday bank accounts.
The mobile-only bank posted a pretax profit of £60.4 million in the year through March 2025, partly due to a surge in lending. In addition to payment cards, the fintech also offers budgeting pots, investment funds managed by BlackRock Inc. and savings products.