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Company type | Public limited company |
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Founded | July 31, 2013 |
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Headquarters | Durham, England, UK |
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Website | atombank |
Atom Bank plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It is the United Kingdom's first bank built for smartphone or tablet, without any branches, [2] and the first digital-only challenger bank to be granted a full UK regulatory licence. [3] The company is based in Durham, England. [4]
Atom is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the PRA.
Atom was founded in July 2013 [5] by Anthony Thomson, co-founder of Metro Bank [6] and Mark Mullen, previous CEO at First Direct. [7]
In June 2015, Atom was granted a banking licence [8] and before launch in November 2015, Spanish bank BBVA agreed to invest a substantial stake in Atom. [9] The company launched to the public in April 2016, after its regulatory authorisation restrictions were lifted, initially to those who had expressed an interest previously and had been given a registration code. [10] It launched more widely in October 2016 and today it offers mortgages and savings accounts, along with secured loans for small businesses. [11]
In 2017, Atom was named by LinkedIn as one of the top 25 startups impacting the UK and ranked 14th alongside companies such as Deliveroo, Uber and Airbnb, [12] and in 2019, Atom ranked second in business analyst Beauhurst's list of 50 top fintech UK startups and scale-ups. It was the only company from outside London in the top 20 of the list. [13]
In November 2023, Atom raised £100 million from BBVA, Toscafund and Infinity Investments Partners. [14]
In June 2024, Atom Bank criticized large UK lenders for their "indifferent" customer service while celebrating a record year of profits, reporting a £27 million operating profit, about seven times higher than the previous year, and its first annual pre-tax profit since launching a decade ago. Atom saw a 39% increase in customer borrowing to £4.1 billion and a 55% rise in residential mortgage balances, maintaining low business costs and raising £100 million from investors. [15]
Atom has apps for iOS and Android phones, [11] offering biometric security, with customers able to sign in via face ID or voice ID. [6]