The Challengers 15: Varo gets a charter, Monzo’s on the edge, and Intuit enters banking
- Varo finally gets its bank charter while Monzo struggles for its life.
- This episode of the Challengers Podcast also explores the new QuickBooks and Kabbage SMB accounts.
In this episode of The Challengers, Josh Liggett and Zack Miller explore what Varo Money getting a national charter might mean for the firm and for the challenger banking industry. We compare Monzo, which recently questioned its ability to survive as a going concern and Starling, which said it expects to break even in 2020 and reach profitability in 2021.
Lastly, your hosts discuss the new players in the challenger banking space: Kabbage and Intuit. Both recently launched accounts for SMBs.
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The following excerpts were edited for clarity.
Zack Miller: There’s been a lot of action in the space. I think probably the biggest move in the entire challenger banking world is Varo, one the first challenger banks in the US. It’s been going through the national charter licensing process for close to five years. Now, they have a charter.
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