New digital bank Monument has been granted approval to begin taking deposits, clearing it for launch.

The lender plans to target mass-affluent clients such as professionals, entrepreneurs and property investors, offering savings and mortgages.

At launch, the bank is offering buy-to-let mortgages up to £3m and bridging loans.

Monument says it will soon be offering easy-access and fixed-term savings products for customers looking to deposit more than £25,000. 

Monument says it will offer preferential rates to existing customers rather than giving new clients its best deals. 

It also says it will provide “ancillary services” to members.

Monument has raised £60m in capital to date having completed Series A funding rounds earlier this year as well as its current fundraising round, which will close shortly.

Monument chief executive Mintoo Bhandari says: “We are very pleased to share the news that the regulators have given us the green light to proceed to commercial launch. 

“We are ready and eager to serve clients, who we believe have been lacking a bank that is being developed to serve their needs and service requirements.

“While we never planned to build and launch a bank in the middle of a global pandemic, the timing could not have been more relevant as the demand for, and comfort with, digital finance has accelerated dramatically over the past 18 months.

“We are very excited to take our first steps of addressing the substantial, aspirational, hard-working, asset-rich but time-poor community which holds trillions in wealth in the UK and which lacks the right financial services partner.

“We will be entirely focused on understanding our clients’ needs and providing them with great service, enabled by technology, which we think will set a new standard. 

“Our goal is to create an institution that truly understands this community, helps them save and grow their wealth, but which also recognises that there is more to wealth than money. 

“Today marks an important step for us towards achieving that goal as we launch for clients as a fully-licensed bank.

“We have assembled a team that really understands the clients we will be serving. Nowhere is this more evident than with our Lending specialists, with their many years of dealing with clients’ borrowing needs, who will truly bring a better experience to experienced landlords

Bhandari adds: “We are proud to bring to market an app that provides intuitive and highly efficient client onboarding and an immersive service experience. 

“Through the app our clients will be able to interact with us by live chat, phone, video and email, and to switch between those channels at the touch of a finger.

“We believe we are the first bank in the UK, and possibly one of the first in the world, to offer simultaneous ‘video and co-browsing’ capabilities, enabling our relationship team to interact with clients almost as if they were in the same room, saving time by addressing questions live so their applications can be completed and processed as quickly as possible.”