The funding round valued Monzo at over $4.5 billion.

Monzo, the fast-growing digital challenger bank in the UK, has roped in Tencent Holdings (HKG: 0700) as an investor in its $600 million funding round that had its first close earlier this month. Existing investors Accel and General Catalyst participated in that round, which valued Monzo at $4.5 billion. (Bloomberg)

Though Monzo did not disclose the size of the stake assumed by Tencent, which is a Chinese gaming and social media giant, Sky News reported Friday that “Tencent was investing a minority of the $100m capital injection,” quoting a source close to the process.

“With the backing of some of the best names in the investment community, we’re going into next year with big ambitions — and we’re just getting started,” said Monzo’s chief executive TS Anil to FT.

Tencent has been a relentless investor in fintech, and its global portfolio includes names such as Argentine personal finance app Ualá, French start-ups Qonto and Lydia, and South African challenger bank Tyme.

“This round comes off the back of a fantastic year for Monzo,” said Anil earlier this month to FT. “We’ve seen record revenues, launched new products and tools and continued to top the charts for our services. We’ve hired some incredible talent.”

Monzo’s valuation has risen, phoenix-like, from £1.25 billion last February. So has growth, with revenues doubling in 2021 compared to the previous year.

Founded in 2015, Monzo currently has more than 5 million customers. It recently launched a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) offering and is mulling a potential introduction of cryptocurrencies.

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