A MOBILE bank has fully launched across the UK after thousands of people expressed an interest in the new creation.

Atom Bank bills itself as the UK’s first digital-only bank, offering services via apps for customers’ mobile phones, tablets and laptops.

The company, based in Aykley Heads, on the outskirts of Durham City, initially launched an “invitation only” phase for its new bank, but the app is now available to download for free on both IoS and Android by anyone in the UK.

Bosses told The Northern Echo there has been around 40,000 pre-registrations for the new mobile banking app since April.

Katy Ringsdore, head of PR and internal communications at Atom Bank, said: “We allowed customers to pre-register to find out more information, and these people were sent a specific code to download the app.

“We have now taken off these controls and opened out the app to everyone in the UK.”

Ms Ringsdore added that the company has made no targets in relation to the number of people it hopes will download the app, saying “We will wait and see what happens.”

Mark Mullen, Atom’s chief executive, said: “We are creating an entirely new way to bank - a system that is based on what the customer needs and wants, rather than being focused on bank balance sheets.

“We’ve been steadily growing our business to date and this is an exciting new phase where we can offer our Fixed Saver rates to anyone who wants them.”

The company is also working on developing a current account, which, according to Ms Ringsdore, has seen the most amount of interest from customers out of any of Atom’s services.

Anthony Thomson, founder and chairman of Atom, said: “What we’ve achieved to date is fantastic, but the key to providing our customers with the best banking experience possible is to continue to build the bank piece by piece, listening to customers.

“We do not want to rush simply to say we were the first - we remain fully committed to delivering an innovative, engaging and transparent way to bank.”

The Northern Echo revealed last month Atom Bank, which received a license from the Bank of England last year, is supporting about 300 jobs and has long-term plans to move from its current bases into purpose-built offices in the city.

The business, which has no plans to open high street branches, is seen as a crucial part of the banking sector’s future, creating fresh competition for the big four of Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland.

It aims to tempt business customers and savers away from traditional lenders through a digital-only focus on bank accounts and mortgages.