Disruptor UK Bank Atom Raises £50M

Atom, a banking startup in the UK that caters to millennials, has raised £50M ($62.4 million) in a funding round and is now valued at £530 million ($660 million), according to a report by TechCrunch.

The bank targets millennials with its slogan “It’s all about you, you, you,” and with digital friendly options like mobile-first savings accounts, as well as loans for small businesses and mortgages.

“What’s important to customers is good products, good service and good value so that’s where we’ve spent the majority of our time and energy,” said Mark Mullen, Atom’s CEO, in a statement. “We’re growing our team here in the North East and will add 50 new roles this year to help us expand the range of products and services we offer, starting with Instant Access savings in the autumn. More than ever we are convinced of the importance of Atom’s role to drive positive change in UK banking.”

The funding round was led by BBVA with participation from Toscafund, Woodford Patient Capital Trust and Perscitus LLP. Musician will.i.am also contributed.

Atom was co-founded by Anthony Thomson, who is responsible for Metro Bank, one of the first newer banks to challenge legacy banks in the country. Atom is part of a movement in Britain of banks taking on the established financial norms.

Other banks that are also seen as disruptors are Monese, Monzo, N26, Starling and Tandem.

Atom said that lending to both businesses and homeowners was up 76 percent in the last year. The company says it gets applications for about £20 million of business loans and £10 million for mortgages weekly.

In 2018, Atom revealed that it was teaming up with a fintech company called Thought Machine, to move its banking technology onto the company’s Blockchain platform called the Vault. Atom wants to move all its operations onto the cloud and modernize its infrastructure in a way that would reduce costs.