OREANDA-NEWS. Mondo, the mobile-first challenger bank, today announced a £6 million fundraise that will give its customers the chance to invest in the bank alongside top venture capital firms. £5 million has already been committed by Passion Capital, one of Europe's leading early-stage VC funds, which previously invested £2 million in the company last year. The new funding will enable Mondo to kick-off its public launch with an accelerated roll-out of its services.

Mondo has turned down additional investment offers from notable international investors in order to include its customers in this investment round. It will reserve £1 million of the fundraise exclusively for everyday investors via the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.

"We've been called a bank for people who hate banks," explained Tom Blomfield, CEO of Mondo. "We're using the power of the smartphone to put our customers back in control of their finances. You can see exactly what you're spending in seconds, from anywhere in the world. Sending money to friends or splitting bills is as easy as a single tap."

Currently awaiting regulatory approval for its UK banking licence, Mondo has involved its users in its development from the outset - with 1,500 currently testing the bank's services and 30,000 registered on the waiting list to open an account.

"Early on, we decided that openness and transparency was the only way to ensure that Mondo was solving real customer problems. Our early users have helped us shape the bank as it's grown and we're enormously grateful for their help. Now we want to give them a chance to own part of the bank that they've helped to build."

"We've reserved £1 million for crowdfunding investment via Crowdcube in this round, and we're planning to include a crowdfunding element in future funding rounds," he added.

This is the second round of fundraising for the bank as it seeks the capital it needs to launch publicly later this year. The investment will open to the public through Crowdcube on Tuesday 1st March. Users are invited to pre-register their interest at www.getmondo.co.uk/invest to gain exclusive access to the investment 24 hours earlier, at 10:00 am GMT on Monday 29th February.

Along with owning shares in the bank, investors will get an exclusive "Mondo Investor" Mastercard(R) Prepaid Debit card and access to the Mondo iPhone app, skipping the 30,000 strong waiting list.

Luke Lang of Crowdcube added: "Mondo is disrupting the finance world through its smart use of technology and by leveraging the power of people to help build a bank that everyone can love. We're delighted they chose Crowdcube for this funding round."

Eileen Burbidge, Partner at Passion Capital, commented: "Mondo is Passion Capital's single largest investment and we're delighted to be supporting Tom and the team as they tackle a market that's an order of magnitude larger than that of most other companies. Consumer expectations have shifted; they expect to be able to do everything from their mobile in a matter of seconds. We're very excited that Mondo will bring that experience to banking."

Notes to Editors
About Mondo:
Mondo was founded by Tom Blomfield, the entrepreneur behind one of the hottest startups in Europe, GoCardless, in 2011. Passion Capital invested £2 million in the company in March 2015 and agreed a further £5 million investment in February 2016. Mondo is not yet a bank; it is currently applying for a full UK banking licence and expects to be fully authorised later this year.

About Crowdcube:
As the world's first and most successful investment crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube enables entrepreneurs to bypass the traditional business angel, venture capital or bank finance routes, giving them more control and access to more investors. For investors, Crowdcube provides them with a way to cherry-pick a stake in an innovative business that traditionally would have been restricted to corporate investors. In addition, they can now benefit from a fixed return per annum by lending money to more established companies offering a bond on Crowdcube.

Since 2011, Crowdcube's 245k savvy investors have raised £138 million for 359 successful pitches including JustPark (raised £3.7m), Sugru (£3.5m), Camden Town Brewery (£2.8m), easyProperty (raised £1.4 million), River Cottage (raised £1 million) and Eden Project (raised £1.5 million in just 20 hours).