The news
Monarch, the personal finance app, announced on October 1, 2026, that it had acquired MBI, the company formerly known as HMBradley, according to Dealroom. It is Monarch's first acquisition, and the terms were not disclosed. Monarch acquires HMBradley's team as it says it has passed $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
Monarch, founded in 2018, lets members budget, track spending and plan their finances in one app, often shared between partners. The company says it now has more than 1 million active members. It is backed by Accel, Menlo Ventures, Forerunner and FPV, according to FF News.
HMBradley began as a consumer-facing neobank, a digital-only banking service. According to FF News, it offered tiered deposit accounts that paid savers higher rates based on how much of their income they kept, and later shifted toward financial infrastructure and automation. One of its best-known products was Routines, a system of automations that let users save and move money.
Under the deal, the MBI team forms a new unit called Monarch Labs, which will explore new products and growth areas. MBI co-founder and CEO Zach Bruhnke will lead it, both outlets reported. Monarch co-founder and CEO Val Agostino said the company has reached an exciting new stage with more than one million members and $100 million in ARR.
Monarch says it wants to become a one-stop destination for members' financial needs, moving beyond insight into action, according to Dealroom. Earlier in 2026, the company launched Monarch Plus, a premium subscription tier, FF News reported.
The numbers
- Monarch ARR
- $100 million (company figure)
- Active members
- More than 1 million
- Deal terms
- Not disclosed
- Monarch founded
- 2018
Why CEOs should care
For banks and credit unions, the move is a warning about who owns the customer relationship. Budgeting apps already see a household's full financial picture across institutions. If they add the ability to move and save money, as HMBradley's Routines did, the bank risks becoming a back-end utility. Ask what your own digital tools offer that an aggregator cannot, and whether partnering with such apps makes more sense than competing.
For fintech founders and CFOs, the deal shows a way to buy capability rather than build it. Monarch is getting a team with about a decade of banking and infrastructure experience instead of starting from scratch. Teams weighing similar moves should check what licences, bank partnerships and compliance programmes an acquired team brings, since those are often the slowest parts to replicate.
For product and risk leaders, adding money movement to a read-only app changes the risk profile. Fraud controls, error handling and customer disclosures become far more important once software can move funds.
The bigger picture
The deal fits a consolidation trend among consumer fintechs, where subscription apps with loyal users look to add banking features that deepen engagement and revenue. Monarch's $100 million ARR comes largely from subscriptions, and owning more of a member's financial life could make it harder to leave.
HMBradley's own path, from neobank to infrastructure to acquired team, shows how hard it has been for standalone digital banks to scale on their own.
What’s next
Watch for the first products from Monarch Labs, particularly any that let members move or save money inside the app, and for which bank partners Monarch uses to offer them.
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