UK neobank Monzo has tapped former Stripe executive Michael Carney to lead its push into the European Union, putting two Irish men in charge of its key expansion plans.
Mr Carney is already a director of Monzo’s new Irish unit, The Irish Times reported earlier this month. Now it is understood that as well as leading its operation here, Mr Carney will be responsible for Monzo’s fledgling push into continental Europe.
A Monzo spokeswoman declined to comment.
Mr Carney is a Trinity College Dublin graduate and trained at consulting firm Bain before having spells at Google and Twitter. He spent seven years at Stripe, according to his LinkedIn profile and was most recently chief executive of Stripe Technology Europe which is based in Dublin.
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His appointment comes four months after Monzo said it had chosen Ireland as its EU base which would allow it to passport its services into the rest of the bloc.
“In Europe, Ireland will act as our gateway to European markets and we’re in the early stages of setting up an Irish office,” said chief executive TS Anil at the time. “We believe every part of the world needs a Monzo so we’re focused on expanding our offering, building strategies to disrupt the US with a first-class leadership team in place.”
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The firm has been building out its Dublin operation since, having already poached former Permanent TSB chief financial officer Nicola O’Brien away from the Irish bank, among other hires. It has also engaged extensively with the Central Bank of Ireland as it seeks the licence it needs to operate here and across the wider EU.
Still, it is likely to be some time before Monzo is ready to launch its services in Ireland or elsewhere in the EU.
Mr Carney’s role means Irish executives are in charge of Monzo’s two main focuses for international expansion. It chose Conor Walsh to lead its second attempt to crack the United States market 12 months ago. Mr Walsh joined Monzo from Square, where he had been head of global product for its Cash App for six years. Like Mr Carney, he had been a consultant with Bain for more than eight years in London and San Francisco before joining Square in 2016, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Fast-growing Monzo secured a valuation of about $5.9 billion (€5.4 billion) earlier this month after an employee share sale. That was up from $5 billion in March.
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