Wednesday 04 September 2019 11:57 am  |  Updated:  Wednesday 04 September 2019 12:15 pm

Monzo beats Revolut to be crowned Linkedin’s best UK startup to work for in 2019

By: Alex Daniel

Challenger bank Monzo has been named Britain’s most-desirable startup for young professionals to work at, beating fellow challenger bank Revolut to the top spot.

Social media giant Linkedin put Revolut in second place, while Starling Bank and Tide were also included in the top 10.

Read more: Fintech firm Revolut leads list of UK’s top 100 startups of 2019

Libby Townsend, chief people officer at Monzo, said: “Our employees are essential to Monzo’s continued success and we are delighted to have topped Linkedin’s top startups list for the third year running. 

“Over the last year the number of employees at Monzo has increased from 400 to over 1300. They are based in our offices in London, Cardiff, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and remotely all over the world and help make money work for over 2.8m customers every day.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “London’s tech community boasts some of the most dynamic, innovative businesses in the world and it’s great to see this being celebrated.

“As the most pro-business mayor London has had, I want to make sure tech start-ups and entrepreneurs know that this city is the best place to base their business and that it will always be open to them.”

Monzo

Based in London, Monzo is fast-approaching the 1,000 employee mark in the UK, and became the first of the challenger banks to launch in the US in June.

However, it was also forced to urge half a million users to change their PINs after admitting a data breach allowed members of staff to access security information.

How to get a job at Monzo

Linkedin advised potential job applicants to impress chief executive Tom Blomfeld by reading Monzo’s tone-of-voice blog.

It added: “Show that you put customers first and be prepared to meet the office dogs” to land a coveted role at the digital bank.

UK headcount: 957
Most common skills: Finance, banking, software development

Last month it rolled out a range of new loans, as the bank ramps up its efforts to compete with its larger rivals on the high street.

The app-based group will charge interest rates starting at 3.7 per cent for loans higher than £7,500, climbing to a maximum of 24 per cent for smaller loans of at least £200.

Revolut

In second place, Revolut employs 500 people in Britain, and its most common job functions are engineering, business development and HR. It is transitioning from a payments company into a bank, and it also launched a US stock-trading platform for European customers in August. 

The fintech firm says it has over six million customers across Europe, adding 18,000 new accounts per day.

The company faced accusations of a “toxic” culture within the workplace and the resignation of its chief financial officer earlier this year.

But it also launched in Australia in a beta release last month as it expanded outside of Europe.

The fintech firm has also introduced a Revolut for Business arm in a bid to undercut forex banks charging expensive fees for foreign transactions.

Since being founded in 2015 Revolut now has more than 5m customers throughout the UK and Europe, largely thanks to its attractive spending options abroad and appeal to younger users.

The top 10 – ranked:

1. Monzo – digital, mobile-only challenger bank
2. Revolut – prepaid debit card, currency exchange and peer-to-peer digital bank
3. Gymshark – workout clothing and accessories
4. Starling Bank – UK mobile-only bank offering personal, joint and business accounts
5. Babylon Health – health consultation app
6. Formula E Holdings – electric street racing series
7. 11:FS – challenger digital consultancy for banks
8. The Goat Agency – influencer marketing agency
9. Tide – mobile-first business banking
10. Curve – digital card

Katie Carroll, UK managing editor at Linkedin, said: “It’s fantastic to see continued innovation in tech spearheading our top startups list this year.

Read more: London companies dominate list of UK startups where professionals most want to work

“This list shows just how much the digital transformation we’ve seen in the last decade is impacting every aspect of our lives, from health and sports right through to banking, as well as inspiring the UK workforce to engage with emerging societal trends.

“It’s no surprise that this kind of forward-thinking innovation is inspiring our LinkedIn network and attracting so many members to join these startups.”

The top 25 – ranked:

Did your employer make the list?