Tencent takes stake in Monzo

Tencent joined a round that raised USD 600 million in new investments, led by the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund. A first close of the funding round earlier in 2021 featured existing investors Accel and General Catalyst. Monzo did not disclose details of Tencent's stake, but the Chinese firm was investing a minority of a USD 100 million capital injection.

Tencent has previously backed European banking startups such as Germany-based N26, which had a brief presence in the UK market but withdrew citing Brexit-related complexities.

Founded in 2015, Monzo is a neobank with more than five million customers, but has struggled to turn a profit, with annual losses widening in 2021 as it disclosed it was facing a potential civil and criminal money laundering probe.