Mobile-only challenger bank Starling Bank has raised £30m in its latest funding round as it looks to accelerate its expansion into Europe. The round was led by a £20m investment from Merian Chrysalis Investment Company, with existing Starling investor JTC adding the remaining £10m.

The funding will be used to support increased investment in Starling’s financial retail and SME bank accounts and its B2B banking services, while enabling it to accelerate its expansion into Europe. This round adds to the £75m it raised earlier this year from a combination of Merian Global Investors and Harald McPike. The total raised by Starling now stands at £263m.

“We’ve come a long way since Merian Global Investors’ first investment of £50m earlier this year, adding new products and features and accelerating our rate of customer acquisition,” said Anne Boden, founder and chief executive of Starling Bank.

“This latest investment of £20m from Merian Chrysalis will support Starling’s rapid growth and help us reach one million customers and £1bn on deposit within weeks. It will also help us accelerate our global expansion, starting in Europe, so that even more people can benefit from the Starling app.”

Since launching in May 2017, Starling has opened 930,000 accounts. In March, the digital bank announced it would be heading to Southampton to open up a second UK office, adding 150 more staff. This office was unveiled a couple of months later.