Neobank Monzo Will Be Profitable in 2023, CEO Says 

British neobank Monzo will soon become profitable, CEO TS Anil said. 

Speaking at a Financial Times (FT) event, Anil said, “We will be profitable in the next financial year,” FT reported Thursday (Dec. 1). 

The report noted that Monzo has faced several challenges, including auditors questioning its ability to stay in business in 2020 and 2021, U.S. regulators telling the neobank in 2021 its application for a banking license was not likely to be approved, and the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigating it for possible violations of anti-money laundering (AML) laws. 

Anil’s statement also comes at a time when FinTechs have been taking cost-cutting measures and laying off employees, the report said. 

“In the tech space you saw a lot of companies who built business models out of free or cheap cash,” Anil said, per the report. “We’ve never been one of those companies who have a bloated headcount when things are good and panic when things get worse.” 

Anil also said Monzo is still looking at the U.S. as the next target for expansion. The company withdrew its banking application in the country in 2021 but now serves the market via a partnership with U.S.-based Sutton Bank, the report said. 

“We’ve chosen to double down on the U.K. and not spread ourselves thin,” Anil added. “This is a market we’re poised to win in and a geographic expansion will come on the back of that.” 

As PYMNTS reported in July, the neobank’s 2021 annual report showed that its losses were just shy of £130 million (about $160 million today) in the 2020-21 financial year, but that didn’t stop investors from injecting more than $500 million in the company in December 2021 to put its valuation at $4.5 billion. 

“We’re building a responsibility, investing smartly, not just trying to burn large numbers of dollars on marketing, acquiring customers,” Anil told Bloomberg at the time.