Monitise was once Britain's hottest fintech startup - now it's imploding

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The CuatroTorres residential building complex is demolished during a controlled implosion, in the city of Medellin September 23, 2014. Colombian authorities imploded the Medellin apartment building that partially collapsed almost a year ago, killing 11 people.

REUTERS/Fredy Builes

It's not looking good for Monitise.

The slow motion implosion of mobile banking company Monitise continues.

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The company announced on Tuesday that its CFO, Brad Petzer, is leaving after 2 years in the role. His exit follows the departure of two CEOs this year, one of whom was founder Alastair Lukies.

Monitise, founded in 2003, was once one of Britain's hottest fintech companies. In fact, it was around before fintech was even a term, pulling in funding from heavyweights such as Visa, MasterCard, and Telefonica.

The company designed mobile payment services and worked with big banks such as Santander, as well as companies like Premier Inn.

But the company always struggled to make a profit, becoming known in the City as a classic "jam tomorrow" company - next year, they said, next year.

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The latest set of results, from September, show losses spiralled from £31.4 million in 2014 to £41.8 million and revenue fell 6% to £89.7 million.

The rise of fintech actually hurt Monitise, as it has faced competition from nimbler payment companies like Stripe and Adyen, and giants like Apple and Google, who have both launched payment products.

Monitise has been scrambling to get with the times, transitioning to a cloud and subscription model. Shares have collapsed over 90% this year.

monitise

Investing.com

The giants who once propelled Monitise to fame are now deserting the company too. Visa announced last September it was planning to sell its stake, sending shares crashing 26%.

Monitise shares are down almost 5% on news of Petzer's departure.

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