Atom Bank

Last updated

Atom bank plc
Company typePublic limited company
Industry
  • Personal Finance
  • Banking
FoundedJuly 31, 2013;10 years ago (2013-07-31)
Founder
  • Anthony Thomson
  • Mark Mullen
Headquarters Durham, England, UK
Website atombank.co.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

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, [1] and the first digital-only challenger bank to be granted a full UK regulatory licence. [2] The company is based in Durham, England. [3]

Contents

Atom is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the PRA.

History

Atom was founded in July 2013 [4] by Anthony Thomson, co-founder of Metro Bank [5] and Mark Mullen, previous CEO at First Direct. [6]

In June 2015, Atom was granted a banking licence [7] and before launch in November 2015, Spanish bank BBVA agreed to invest a substantial stake in Atom. [8] 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. [9] It launched more widely in October 2016 and today it offers mortgages and savings accounts, along with secured loans for small businesses. [10]

In 2017, Atom was named by LinkedIn as one of UK's top 25 startups and ranked 14th alongside companies such as Deliveroo, Uber and Airbnb, [11] 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. [12]

In November 2023, Atom raised 100m£ from BBVA, Toscafund and Infinity Investments Partners. [13]

Mobile app

Atom has apps for iOS and Android phones, [10] offering biometric security, with customers able to sign in via face ID or voice ID. [5]

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References

  1. Murray, Amelia (23 March 2017). "5,000 join Atom Bank in just one day". The Telegraph via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  2. "All hail the current account revolution". The Independent. 26 April 2017.
  3. Carey, Scott. "We've ranked the UK's digital challenger banks". Techworld. Archived from the original on 31 March 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. "Atom Bank Plc". Companies House. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 Lunn, Emma (24 June 2017). "Is your money safe with an 'app-only' bank?". The Telegraph via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  6. "First Direct chief Mark Mullen splits to lead new digital bank Atom". Evening Standard. 9 April 2014.
  7. Williams-Grut, Oscar. "Britain just gave the green light to a bank with no branches and no website — just an app". Business Insider.
  8. Arnold, Martin; Dunkley, Emma (23 November 2015). "Spanish lender BBVA enters UK with Atom deal" . Financial Times. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  9. "Digital doors officially open at Atom Bank". CityAM. 6 October 2016.
  10. 1 2 "Atom Bank raises $102M at $320M valuation for a mobile-only bank for millennials".
  11. Whitfield, Graeme (1 November 2017). "Durham's Atom Bank named by LinkedIn as one of UK's top 25 start-ups". nechronicle.
  12. "50 Top Fintech Startups and Scaleups in the UK". Beauhurst. 12 December 2019.
  13. "Atom Bank raises £100m". fintech-alliance.com. 21 November 2023.