Monese Raises $10M To Expand Mobile Banking

London-based digital banking startup Monese has raised $10 million in a Series A, with investments coming from Anthemis Exponential Ventures, Korea Investment Partners and STE Capital, among others — as well as from previous investors Smartcap and Seecamp.

The Series A brings Monese’s total funding to $15.8 million. First launched in the U.K. in September 2015, Monese offers mobile banking services and enables money to be easily transferred from a bank account outside of the sender or recipients’ country of origin.

“Monese’s underlying technology enables the company to provide customers with a U.K. current account regardless of their citizenship. This will revolutionize banking for immigrants and expats as ‘residency restrictions’ imposed by traditional high street banks are one of the single greatest barriers to accessing the banking system when they arrive in a new country,” Monese founder Norris Koppel previously said.

The mobile banking service specifically caters to immigrant and expatriate customers who may need to send money to or receive money from back home. Monese plans to use the $10 million to launch services for customers in European markets and to introduce increased functionality such as direct debit and credit payment card services.

Monese’s banking app is available on Android and iOS. The digital banking startup claims new users are able to open a new account in under three minutes. Joining up provides users with access to current account information, low-cost international money transfers, deposit and withdrawal functionality in multiple currencies, and a contactless Visa debit card.

The startup values its revenue model, which relies on a monthly fee of £4.95 ($6.07) per account for almost all of its services. The digital banking firm has signed up over 40,000 customers from over 179 different countries. Since launching, Monese reports its customers have made 1.8 million transactions, moving some £150 million ($184 million).