Monzo to close US business to focus on UK and Europe

March 31 (Reuters) - British mobile bank Monzo said on Tuesday it is exiting the United States, describing the move as a strategic decision to focus on expanding in the UK and Europe.

"With a fast-growing customer base of 15 million in the UK and the growth opportunity our European banking licence creates, we're making a deliberate, strategic decision to focus on scaling in our home market and Europe and to step away from the US," the company said.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg News earlier in the day.

Monzo will stop on-boarding new customers and lay off about 50 employees, the Bloomberg report said, citing a person familiar with the matter. Existing customers can continue to use their accounts until June, the report added.