The initial version will allow person-to-person payments, "pots" to split savings from spending money, and no-fee international spending. Monzo intends to become a fully licensed US bank with the help of a partner bank, but that's a "long process" -- it would rather start offering some kind of service in the US and learn from that in the meantime.

It's not shocking that Monzo would make the trip across the Atlantic. The digital banking space is heating up, and Monzo has both experience and momentum on its side. Even a limited launch could get its foot in the door and ensure that you're at least aware of the company by the time it's ready to offer full-fledged banking services. If it waited until everything was ready, it risked being passed over in favor of existing options like Chime or Simple.