The founder of Monzo has said he stopped enjoying the company’s top job around two years ago as he announced he was leaving the challenger bank.

Tom Blomfield announced his plans to step down to staff on Wednesday, adding on Twitter that he had “so many great memories and awesome teammates”.

“It’s been a blast. I’m looking forward to some extended relaxation before the next thing,” he added.

In an interview with TechCrunch, the founder said that the period before he stepped down as chief executive to become the company’s president had been less happy than the start of his journey with Monzo.

“I stopped enjoying my role probably about two years ago … as we grew from a scrappy start-up that was iterating and building stuff people really love, into a really important UK bank,” he told the publication.

Mr Blomfield said the situation was exacerbated by Covid-19 as the bank was forced to lay off staff during the pandemic.

“I think (for) a lot of people in the world — and you and I have spoken about this — going through a pandemic, going through lockdown and the isolation involved in that has an impact on people’s mental health,” Blomfield said.

“I don’t think I was any different, so I was really struggling. I had a really, really supportive exec team around me and a really supportive set of investors on board and I was really grateful that when I put my hand up and said ‘I need help’ – they were super receptive to that.”

From its foundation in early 2015, Monzo has grown to rival some of the UK’s biggest banking names with its current accounts.

The digital-only bank now has nearly five million customers and 300 staff at its offices in London and around the world.

In a statement on Mr Blomfield’s departure, Monzo said: “Tom is an incredible entrepreneur who, with his co-founders, built Monzo from the ground up with a determination to be transparent, put customers first and make money work for everyone.

“Monzo is where it is today because of Tom and his vision to transform banking – he leaves us with the foundations and inspiration to win under TS Anil’s leadership. We’ll miss him very much!”