Challenger bank Monese announced today that 1 million people had signed up for a bank account with the firm. Customer growth has tripled in 2018, and the company claims that over 3,000 people join the UK-based upstart bank everyday.
What's the big deal: While Monese's top-line numbers may not be as big as market leaders N26 or Revolut, its pan-European strategy is paying off. Demand for Monese across mainland Europe surpassed that of the UK in November 2018, and in March 2019, two-thirds of all sign-ups to Monese were in mainland Europe.
While challengers open plenty of new current accounts, many question whether people are using those accounts. Monese maintains that 70 percent of the incoming funds it sees are salary payments.
"Back in 2015, we launched Monese with two beliefs," said Norris Koppel, founder and CEO of Monese. "First, banking should be truly global. The second, technology should give everyone access to modern, convenient and affordable banking services. Today, we feel closer to both of these goals. The fact that we are used as a primary account by the majority of our customers tell us we are meeting a real need."