The U.K. challenger bank followed up on a similar amount raised in June.

The latest funding round valued Monzo, the U.K. neobank, at £1.2 billion, marginally lower than the £1.25 billion valuation in the June funding, according to TechCrunch.

Investors in the current round included new entrants Deliveroo and Stripe investor Novator,  Kaiser, and TED Global. Existing investor Goodwater also participated.

This round brings Monzo’s total raising this year to £125 million, at the cost of two successive down rounds.

Growth momentum continues

The bank has improved its growth metrics and now has more than 4.8 million customers. Importantly, business users are over 60,000, while more than 100,000 customers use its current accounts, Monzo Plus, and Monzo Premium products.

This is in the face of the economic downturn precipitated by the virus pandemic, which did not leave the bank unscathed. Revenues are down because of reduced card spend by customers, resulting in lower earnings from interchange fees. The bank also had to shut its Las Vegas office and lay-off some U.S.employees.

Nevertheless, CEO TS Anil struck an optimistic note when he said to Tech Crunch: “We’ve raised £125 million this year, achieved strong organic growth and are now nearing five million customers, all while becoming the most switched-to bank in the U.K. and the top-rated for overall service. This news demonstrates the confidence that both our customers and investors have in Monzo.”

Staff churn

Meanwhile, the reorganization of the bank’s top management continues. Lisa Nowell, its chief risk officer, stepped down last month after just one year on the job. The position had been vacant for 12 months before her appointment, according to Sifted.

She was replaced by  Iain Laing, who previously served with leading UK institutions including TSB Bank, Santander, and Nationwide.

Loan losses are a matter of concern at Monzo. Its last annual report said these could be as high as £20 million or about 7% of loans.

Last week, according to The Telegraph, Monzo was in the news for allegedly spamming customers with phone notifications exhorting the use of its new £180-per-year metal bank cards.

“Seriously, Monzo, enough with the push notifications,” wrote one user on social media. “I’m not interested in upgrading to a paid bank account. Not even for a silvery debit card.”

Related Story:  Monzo, The Poster Child of UK Fintech, Raises £60M in Down Round