UK challenger bank Monzo has raised $144m (拢113m) in funding from Silicon Valley.
The round, led by popular US accelerator Y Combinator鈥檚 continuity fund, doubles its valuation since its last funding round to $2.5 billion.
The accelerator has previously been responsible for helping late-stage tech start-ups such as Airbnb and Dropbox in becoming household names.
Founded in early 2015 as 鈥楳ondo鈥� before changing its name, Monzo鈥檚 latest round of investment comes after the app-based bank announced its long rumoured plans to expand into the US.
The unicorn will use the funds for its transatlantic launch and new marketing, including a TV ad campaign designed to increase the diversity of its already 2 million UK customers.
The start-up has selected Los Angeles as its first US headquarters, with plans to expand further as it secures a foothold with in-person events.
Popular with millennials, the app-based bank can be opened from a smartphone and verified through a 鈥榮elfie鈥� video before being posted a physical debit card.
Inside its app, Monzo offers intelligent money tracking and the ability to split bills, set budgets, and event set limits on gambling spend.
The start-up recently diversified its offering with new products, including a business account and 鈥榩lus鈥� current account offering discounts and rewards.
鈥淲hen it comes to consumer apps, banks are at least a decade behind the ease and feature-set of a Lyft or an Airbnb, not to mention sloth-like and unimaginative when compared to the innovation cycle in the apps we use every day,鈥� Monzo鈥檚 CEO Tom Blomfield said in a statement.
鈥淲ith Monzo, we aim to make money work for everyone by working with our community of users to build things that work for them.鈥�
Despite its valuation, Monzo鈥檚 overall losses in the 12 months to February 2018 jumped to 拢33.1m, a fact which Blomfield has explained as the result of putting profitability behind customer value.