Mobile banker Monitise builds up momentum
FAST-GROWING mobile payments firm Monitise said yesterday it has seen continued momentum in recent months and announced that user numbers had quadrupled in the last year to 17m.
The company, which David Cameron singled out in his Tory conference keynote speech on Wednesday as an example of British entrepreneurial spirit, said trading was in line with annual expectations.
Cameron said: “Back in 2010, when we came to office, [Monitise] employed about 100 people – now it’s more than 700. Then they were nowhere in Africa, nowhere in Asia, now they are the global player, with 1m new users every month. So don’t let anyone tell you Britain can’t make it in this world.”
Chief executive Alastair Lukies told City A.M. yesterday he was “humbled” by Cameron’s praise, and promised to continue to remain in the UK even as his business expanded internationally. “London is the obvious place to headquarter our company and that is not going to change,” he said.
Monitise also announced a raft of executive changes yesterday. Chief financial officer John Brougham retired from the firm with finance director Nick Taylor stepping up while Visa’s Elizabeth Buse stepped down from her non-executive board role as part of a rotation system, to be replaced by Visa’s chief risk officer Ellen Richey.
The Aim-listed firm recently announced a tie-up with US financial software consultancy Cognizant.