UK app-only bank Monzo has had preliminary discussions with regulators about the possibility of expanding its business to the US consumer market.
Speaking to CNBC, Monzo chief Tom Blomfield said the company is in the "very very early stages" of exploring the market, chatting with regulators and sounding out potential hires.
"The US is a really attractive market for us, Blomfield said. "I think there's a huge market opportunity there, because there haven't really been any new banks the last 10 years or so ... So I think there is a big opportunity to use modern technology to launch a real consumer facing bank that does the kinds of things consumers expect from a smartphone."
Any potential expansion overseas is unlikely to see the light of day until the UK challenger reaches profitability, which puts a launch date back to late 2019/2020 at the earliest.
In the meantime, Monzo is moving all pre-paid card users to its current account and beta-testing functionality for over-drafts.
Monzo has signed up more than 450,000 UK users since it was founded in 2015 and says it is increasing that total by more than five per cent each week.