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Monzo Travel Card Review – The Best Card To Use Abroad

This post details my review of the Monzo travel card, which I have used while travelling throughout Europe.

This Monzo card abroad review guide should let you know if the Monzo travel card is for you.

If you travel a lot like me, then the last thing you want to see when you get home from travelling is huge foreign exchange fees all over your bank statement. These huge added fees were happening every time I would travel with my standard debit card.

I would come home to see my bank statement sprinkled with foreign transaction fees for that month. Though these fees might seem small as one-offs here and there, they add up over a few weeks or months.

After a few statements like this, I was determined to find a travel card with a 0% foreign exchange fee. So, I could continue to travel without the bank taking half my money in costs and using that money to explore even more.

For scenarios like this, the Monzo travel card comes in – a bright coral coloured card that I’ve been using over the last year.

I’ve taken my Monzo card abroad with me to Prague, Rotterdam , Cologne and Amsterdam , and I can’t tell you how good it feels to know that there wouldn’t be any pesky 3% foreign exchange fees to pay. This Monzo card is also great if you’re travelling in London .

Because I’ve used this card so much and love it, I wanted to put together a little Monzo travel card review together to help you. In case you are looking for a travel card to use while abroad.

I can honestly say that my Monzo travel card is one of the best prepaid travel cards I’veI’ve used so far. I use my Monzo card for travel more than my standard bank card.

Who or What is this Monzo travel card you ask?

Monzo is an app-only bank. They were initially only used as prepaid travel cards or prepaid travel money cards, which you could top up via an app (the Monzo app).

The Monzo card prepaid travel card has now switched to the Monzo current account.

Monzo bank is currently only available to UK residents, but they hope to expand to other countries eventually.

How to apply for a Monzo Bank Card?

UK residents aged 16 or over can apply for a Monzo account through the app, which is available to download at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

To register for a Monzo account, you download the app, scan your ID, and make a little introduction video. It takes only a few minutes. Then all you do is wait for your account to be approved.

Once activated, you’ll receive a lovely bright coral bank card. Monzo also created the app with the customer in mind. It had a beautiful, simple, user-friendly interface with well thought out functionality.

My account took less than a week to activate, and I received the card shortly after. I did all this in the comfort of my own home in my bathrobe! This is genuinely the bank of the future. I now always use my Monzo for travelling. I recommended it to my brother, and now he’s a proud owner of a Monzo card himself.

Monzo prepaid travel cards are great if you want to keep tabs on how much you spend while travelling.

Can I use my Monzo card abroad?

Yes, you can use your Monzo abroad, and I have listed some of the benefits that come with using Monzo abroad below.

What are the benefits of using a Monzo card abroad?

There are so many benefits that you can expect when using your Monzo card abroad. Here are a few of the top perks you can enjoy.

0% Foreign Exchange Fee When Using a Monzo Card Abroad

The number one benefit of using my Monzo card abroad was that I no longer had to pay those annoying 3% bank foreign exchange fees that my bank used to charge me. These fees look small on their own but add up for two weeks or more, which can take a massive chunk of your money. This could eat into the money you saved up for your travels.

No More Notifying Your Bank With Monzo

I hated calling my banking and notifying them that I was travelling because I usually forgot and had to do it while at the airport about to board a flight. No more!

Another benefit of the Monzo debit card is that you can use it abroad without notifying the bank. There is no charge for point of sale transactions (such as spending in hotels and shops) outside the UK.

Likewise, there is no charge for making online payments in a foreign currency. I am currently using my Monzo account for my international subscription that I pay in a foreign currency. Which normally can incur an extra charge, but I have been able to save a few pounds a month by doing this.

£200 Monzo Cash Withdrawals Limit

I no longer fear withdrawing my money from ATMs in other countries with my Monzo travel card. So if you are wondering, “does Monzo charge abroad fees?” the answer is yes, but it’s better than the rest.

They have something I call the Monzo travel transaction fee. When you use their cards, there is a £200 fee-free withdrawal limit for overseas ATMs over a month. If you withdraw more than £200, a 3% charge gets added to any withdrawals exceeding £200 during the 30 days.

The Monzo international fees daily cash withdrawal limit is £200, with a 3% charge after that.

The app can monitor the usage of this fee-free allowance to prevent any baller travel spending (because we are not Drake – we can’t YOLO our travel money away).

Mastercard Exchange Rate = Monzo Exchange Rate

When exchanging your money in a foreign country, that day’s Mastercards exchange rate is what you will get charged. This factor ensures that you will receive a competitive rate that responds to the live market. It acts like a Monzo.

Freeze Your Card if You Lose It

If, like me, you’ve had the pleasure (or mental breakdown) of losing your bank card while travelling and then spent most of your time calling your bank (and bawling) for help. Asking if they could cancel your card and your life as the fear of someone spending all your money like no one’s business is too much. Then Monzo can help.

With Monzo, it’s easy to freeze your card within the app as there is a Freeze card option. And if you only miss-placed your card, you can ”Defrost” it again and go on your merry way.

Monzo’s Welcome Intros When You Arrive in a Country

When you arrive in a new country, you’ll get a welcome screen. The screen gives you the basic information about the destination. Information such as the current exchange rate  and any fees (if any) for the destination will all show up.

Track Spending While Travelling

Another thing I like about the Monzo card is if, like me, you want to keep an eye on your money whether in London or travelling. Monzo makes it easy by instantly sending a notification of every transition to your phone, which means no more waiting for a few days for the transaction to clear like regular banks.

There is also a summary breakdown of where you spend your money in categories like transport, eating out, travelling, and bills.

You can also see a summary of your spending with Monzo when you leave your travel destination. Seeing an overview of how much you spent whilst you were away.

READ MORE: 5 Day London Itinerary

Where can you use your Monzo travel card

You can use Monzo anywhere Mastercards are accepted.

Is Monzo the best Travel card?

I used my Monzo in Prague, Amsterdam, and a host of other countries, and I can say yes, Monzo is the best travel card I’ve used so far.

Does Monzo Non-Sterling Transaction Fees?

Monzo doesn’t charge any non sterling transaction fees, so you can use your card anywhere in the world without worrying about extra charges. Monzo

Just be aware that some ATM providers may charge their own fees, so it’s always best to check before you withdraw cash.

Can I Use Monzo in Dubai?

Yes, you can use your Monzo card in Dubai! However, since Dubai is not part of the European Economic Area (EEA), you won’t be able to use your Monzo card in the same way as you would at home. For example, you won’t be able to make contactless payments or withdraw cash from an ATM without being charged a fee. You will still be able to use your card for point-of-sale transactions and online purchases without any additional fees.

Using Monzo in France?

Can I use Monzo in France? Monzo works just like any other debit card in France. You can make purchases in stores, restaurants, and online without being charged any extra fees. You will also be able to withdraw cash from ATMs, although beware that some ATM providers may charge their own fees.

Monzo ATM Limit Abroad?

The limit for ATM withdrawals varies depending on which country you’re in.

Withdrawals in the European Economic Area (EEA)

If you use the free Monzo bank account, Monzo Plus or Monzo Premium, your withdrawals are fee-free.

Monzo Euro cash withdrawal?

Monzo offers a handy cash withdrawal service in Euros while you’re abroad. All you need is your Monzo card and your PIN. Withdrawals are limited to €200 per day, though you can make multiple withdrawals to withdraw more if needed. You’ll be charged cash withdrawal fees of 1.5% on the amount withdrawn, with a minimum charge of €0.99.

However, Monzo doesn’t use the MasterCard exchange rate – instead offering a fair rate that’s update every morning. This means you could potentially save money on your withdrawal, depending on the market rates. Monzo also doesn’t charge any ATM fees, so you can use your card at any ATM in the Eurozone without worry. All in all, Monzo’s euro cash withdrawal service is a convenient and affordable way to get access to cash while you’re abroad.

The rest of the world (outside the EEA)

In most countries, using the free Monzo account your limit is £200 per every 30 days, and they’ll charge 3% after that. However, with a Monzo Plus or Monzo Premium, the limits of up to £400 and up to £600 respectively, for free every 30 days. Then after that, they’ll charge 3%.

Is Monzo Good For Abroad? Final Thoughts

Is Monzo good for travelling? The short answer is yes. Monzo is one of the best travel cards that I have used, making travelling a lot easier. There’s nothing worse than getting back from travelling and paying an arm and a leg in exchange fees.

So, using Monzo has helped me save money. As well as using my Monzo bank card abroad, I’ve been using my card in London for some of the benefits listed above, and it’s made managing my money a little more fun. Who knew a bank could do that.

I can’t stop using my Monzo for travelling, and yes, you can use Monzo in the Czech Republic.

I hope this Monzo travel card review helped you, and If you have more questions about travelling with Monzo, you can check out their travel FAQ .

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What Is The Monzo Card & Should You Get One?

If you’re new to my blog and can’t tell from my blog name, I love to travel and seek out adventures wherever I can. Gone are the days of carrying bundles of cash when you travel abroad, as we now live in quite a cashless world. Before my first trip of the year, I was researching travel cards beforehand, I’d used a Post Office card before but wanted something different, then I came across Monzo. Read on for my Monzo review !

What Is Monzo?

Founded in 2015, Monzo is an app-based bank which has no physical store. It’s grown incredibly over the past four years, with over 2.5 million people having accounts. The one thing that attracted me to getting a Monzo card was that you could use it abroad, with no added fees and you’re able to withdraw up to £200 a month wherever you are in the world. 

How Does It Work?

To apply for a Monzo card you do it through the app, you’re asked for your details and have to record a message to verify you’re an actual person. The whole process of applying took no longer than five minutes and within a few days, my coral card arrived through the door. You set your pin number on the app, I’d recommend going into the settings and adding a passcode to the app, as it doesn’t automatically do this and if someone gets hold of your phone, they’d be able to access. 

The app is really easy to use, you can set budgets, sort all your transactions out into categories and even freeze your card (if like me you sometimes go overboard on clothes shopping!). I transfer money over from my normal bank account to use while I’m away. 

Should I Get One?

I only use Monzo as a travel card, I’ve still got my normal bank account which I use daily. But I like to keep things separate, plus my bank doesn’t waive travel fees when using your card abroad. I would consider switching to Monzo fulltime as so far, I’ve found it pretty seamless. 

Monzo has transformed the way I travel. If you run out of money while abroad, not to panic, it’s super easy to transfer yourself over money and you’ll even be notified once the money has reached your account. 

Personally, the best thing I like about Monzo is that is breaks down your spending, notifies you of every transaction and totals up your spending as the day goes on. Once you arrive in the country you’re travelling to and use your card for the first time you’ll be notified with a ‘Welcome to xxx’. Travelling is a great experience and if like me when you’re on holiday you get into the spirit and treat yourself a few more times than you think, it can be easy to go overbudget. With each transaction it will total up how much you’ve spent on that day, giving you an easy way to stay keep on track with your budget. 

Once you arrive home, you’ll also be notified. Detailing how much you’ve spent over how many days:

You’ll also find all the details of your trip within the app; how many transactions you’ve made, how much you’ve spent and an even a little map of where each transaction took place:

I’ve found it incredibly useful! Having some leftover money, I’ve also made a few UK transactions. I purchased something from Pretty Little Thing, and decided to return the item, and as soon as I got the refund, I got notified! It’s great for keeping on top of your spending, so yes, I would recommend getting a Monzo card, for either your travels or for everyday use.

Hopefully, this blog has helped you understand Monzo a bit more! I think a lot of people can be apprehensive when it comes to banks, especially when it comes to an app-based one! But I’ve found it really useful, I’ve also read that the customer service is top-notch too! Have you used a Monzo card or something similar? Let me know in the comments!

I joined the Monzo family last year and so far my experience has been positive. I like the ethos and philosophy of the brand. It’s a refreshing change from the traditional banks. It should get better with the passage of time. Kudos to Monzo.

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Monzo Card Review: No Fees For Spending Abroad (+ jump the queue!)

This little neon prepaid Monzo Card is about to change the way you spend on your travels, with no ATM fees or transaction fees abroad.

One of my biggest bugbears about travelling is losing money for no reason. Hidden accommodation fees (Airbnb cleaning costs – I’m talking about you), pesky charges for wanting to sit with your friends on a flight (Ryanair – guilty)… I even remember being charged for a clear plastic bag to go through airport security. I didn’t even want a plastic bag!

They’re the costs you don’t predict when you’re planning your trip. They’re the ones that sneak up on you. They’re either unavoidable, or make for a less enjoyable trip if you don’t pay them.

My biggest gripe of all? ATM and currency fees. Spending money on money. You have zero to show for it. It’s just gone. Bye bye. Auf Wiedersehen. Adios.

When I travelled around Central America and Mexico for three and a half months I tried to be as savvy as possible, using my HSBC card to withdraw large amounts from ATMS every now and then, rather than lots of transactions of smaller amounts. Yet, I was still shocked at the charges. The highest was £9 in fees to get around £200 in cash.

As I travel so frequently now, I often exchange currency in advance, and use a place in Central London with the best conversion rates. It can mean carrying large amounts of currency though, something that I don’t always want to do. Plus, you’ll be charged if you want to convert it back after the trip.

But now the Monzo card has landed into my life and changed the way I spend abroad. I first heard about the magical Monzo card (previously Mondo) just over a year ago. A few of my London-based friends had them. As they’re prepaid, and have a user-friendly app with clever itemised billing, they found them handy for budgeting each month. They raved about the card, but however enthusiastic they were, I couldn’t understand why I’d need yet another piece of plastic in my wallet.

But then I heard about the travel benefits. I was hooked!

Monzo don’t charge any fees for using the card abroad, whether that’s at shops and restaurants or withdrawing money at ATMs. Remember those £9 charges here, £3 there and more on my travels? It was hard to believe they would be no more!

It’s not the only card like this at the moment. The Revolut card has pros with its travel spending, but the cons include just £200 of fee-free ATM withdrawals a month and a £5 delivery fee. There’s Starling Bank, but for their fee free spending you’ll need to open a  new current account.

So for me, Monzo seemed like the clear winner. I was excited to road test it while travelling through Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. And yes… I was impressed. First things first, here’s how to get your hands on a Monzo bank card, and how to set it up.

How To Apply For A Monzo Card

Monzo is an online only bank, with everything run via an app. The brand claims to offer banking that’s as smart as your smartphone!

• Download the Monzo app from Google Play Store or App Store.
• Register basic details and confirm email address.
• Once you’re setup, you’ll be asked to verify your identity. As this bank is online only, you won’t be popping to a branch with copies of your passport or signatures. You simply take a photo of your passport, then record a short video clip speaking to camera. It’s truly futuristic banking!
• Top up account with £100. You can do this really easily by putting your debit cards into the app (just like you’re paying for something on Amazon). There’s also the option to top up via bank transfer.
• Once that’s done, your card will arrive within one working day.

Once the card arrives, you’ll receive the pin for the card via text message, and be able to top it up whenever you choose by using the app.

You top up the prepaid card in pounds, so when you pay in another currency, e.g. Euros, the card uses MasterCard’s exchange rate. This is usually one of the best out of the credit card rates.

5 Things I Already Love About Using My Monzo Card Abroad… AKA The Pros And Cons Of Monzo 

I used the Monzo prepaid card on my recent road trip around Europe, and found a few really great benefits…

• Real time notifications. The moment a transaction goes through, you receive a notification on the app. It lists the cost in both pounds and the currency you paid in.
• Categorising how you spend your money. On the spending section of the app it groups all of your spending by categories such as eating out, holidays, transport and entertainment. If you’re on a budget, this is a great way to keep track of where your money goes. You can even order by merchant i.e. see how much you spend at Starbucks each month!
• Detailed summaries. Each transaction has the name and address of where you were, plus drops a pin on a map!

• In app chat. I haven’t had any problems, but I really like that they offer 24/7 real-time chat via the app.
• Neon! Let’s face it, there’s no brighter card out there. It’s easy to find in your purse, and certainly puts a smile on my face when I use it!

And the cons of Monzo? The fact you might have to join a long queue.

I’m looking forward to using my Monzo card abroad again soon. Keep an eye out too, as they’re just about to launch their own current accounts… Perhaps that will be another game changer in banking.

How do you spend abroad? Do you like to carry cash, or use your bank card? Would you like to try Monzo?

This is an impartial review – all opinions are my own and I would genuinely recommend the card.

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Chloe Gunning

With a passion for food, fun and adventure, Chloe is the content creator behind one of the UK's top travel blogs Wanderlust Chloe. From volcano boarding in Nicaragua, to sailing around Sicily and eating her way around Japan, her travels have taken her to some of the coolest spots on the planet. Named Travel Influencer of the Year in 2022, Chloe regularly works with a number of tourism boards, producing inspirational travel content across multiple platforms. Find out more about Chloe here.

2 thoughts on “Monzo Card Review: No Fees For Spending Abroad (+ jump the queue!)”

This sounds like SUCH a good idea!! And I’m definitely guilty of paying for a clear plastic bag :/ (think it was at Luton – the one time I’ve flown from there)

C x Lux Life – Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Blog

Thanks Catherine, it’s been a great find so far! Really glad I’m not losing so much when I travel now!

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Monzo – The Best Travel Card To Use Abroad

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Table of Contents

Travelling abroad has changed a lot since I was younger. Much of the European currencies were unified into the Euro which makes it a little less fun. I used to be quite excited about seeing the different currencies that each country used, but that’s gone now in most of Europe.

In fact, physical currency is something that I don’t really use much anymore when travelling abroad and that’s because I prefer to load everything into a bank card like Monzo.

Monzo is a digital-first bank, meaning that they have no high street branches, but much like many normal banks you can open an account and have a bank card to use anywhere that accepts MasterCard which is pretty much everywhere these days.

Now I won’t go into too much detail about what Monzo can do, but there are a few things that make Monzo a fantastic choice of travel bank card if you’re worried about carrying too much physical cash with you on holiday.

Can you use Monzo abroad?

You sure can! Monzo is one of the best travel cards to use when abroad in our opinion, if not the best. There’s a whole load of reasons why we would consider it one of the safest and most convenient options for travellers below.

How to use Monzo Abroad?

Simply go abroad and start using your Monzo card.

There’s no need to inform them that you’re heading overseas as everything just runs as smoothly as it would at home.

Why use Monzo abroad?

Load it up in pounds and pay in any currency.

Switching between local currencies when you’re abroad and your normal currency can often be a confusing thing, especially when you’re trying to keep an eye on how much you have left.

What I love about Monzo is that I can load my card up in pounds and then just spend as normal when abroad and the money is shows as a deduction in pounds which makes it much easier for me to understand how much I have left.

Choosing to pay in the local currency if that option appears on the chip and pin machine ensures that you will get the best rate offered from the MasterCard wholesale exchange rate with absolutely no fees added on top.

Protect your main bank account

Everyone worries about theft or fraud when travelling. Hell, I even worry about it when at home.

A huge benefit of using the Monzo card is that it’s a pre-paid credit card. So you can only spend what’s in the account at that time.

This adds an extra layer of security over using your normal bank account because nobody wants to be cancelling their bank cards and waiting weeks for a new one to arrive for their main account.

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Only spend what you’ve budgeted

I like to budget my spending money when going abroad to stop me coming home and wondering how I’m going to survive for the rest of the month because I opted for the “why the hell not” approach to my holiday rather than the sensible one.

By only topping up your account by the amount that you want to try and limit yourself to whilst away, there’s no real chance of you going wild and overspending.

Now, don’t think that this limits your holiday for those of you who don’t want to feel too restricted whilst away because you can instantly top up your balance in seconds via the app.

Track all spending

To help you stick to your budget, Monzo allows you to see everything that you’ve bought and how much it cost you in pounds instantly.

As soon as you make a payment on something your phone will buzz with a notification to show you how much money you just spent.

This means that should you have any issues you will be able to run through all the transactions and spot any dubious ones or see where you’re perhaps overspending on your trip.

Having a traceable transaction history, for me, is one of the best features.

It gives you peace of mind that you can see any spending on your account instantly and get push notifications should there be any money spent.

Freeze your card instantly

Security with travelling is also a big thing and there’s nothing worse than losing your card.

Should the worst happen, you can immediately hop into the app and freeze your card with the push of a button.

This will immediately disable any ability to make a purchase on the card ensuring that although you may not have your card, you can safely rest knowing that your money is going nowhere.

In the event that your card turns up in that back pocket that you never use then you can just as quickly unfreeze your card and it’s ready for you to use again.

Why more online banking apps don’t allow this is beyond me. It should be one of the main features added to them because nobody likes cancelling a card to find it an hour later and being without a bank card for three weeks.

Can be used in bank machines (with limits)

Not everywhere in the world accepts MasterCard, so it’s important to be able to have access to your cash should you need it.

That’s why you can also use your Monzo card in an ATM by enabling magstripe transactions in the app.

This will allow you to take up to £200 from an ATM in a 30 day period and not be charged any interest.

If you are looking to take more than £200 out of the atm in a 30 day period then I believe it’s a 3% interest charge on each transaction.

This doesn’t include any charges that the bank machine may charge too so be aware of that when taking money out.

0% fees – Monzo Foreign Transaction Fees

Many travel cards add on some hidden fees, but what I really like about Monzo is the fact that they don’t. 

Monzo offers you Mastercard’s exchange rate and doesn’t add fees or additional charges so you’ll be getting the best deal each time you use your card.

There’s just so little hassle involved that I’ve yet to find any card that works better for me and for my travelling needs.

Always have backup

One thing I learned the hard way is that things don’t always go to plan when travelling.

On a trip to Barcelona, we took a card with us that I believe was the Post Office travel card and all had been working fine for us throughout the trip. Until we tried to take money out of the ATM on La Rambla and the machine did a full reboot before it didn’t give us back the card and deducted the money from our account without actually giving it to us.

This meant that we had no card and the account was showing hundreds of pounds less that we didn’t actually have.

We were screwed and had to rely on family to send over money for us to take out of another machine using our normal bank accounts.

So after that experience I have always taken a small amount of cash with us to ensure that should anything go wrong or we find a shop that doesn’t accept card then we have some actual cash to use in emergencies.

Sign up to Monzo

If you wanted to give Monzo a try for your next trip or even fancied opening an account to use for your day-to-day spending then you can find out how to create an account by visiting https://monzo.com/

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Peter was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and is passionate about sharing his knowledge of the area with others. Whether it's food recommendations, tourist attractions or picturesque spots worth visiting, he covers it all.

When Peter isn't working on the site, he's often found in the gym or working in his day job as a Digital Marketing Manager.

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The Monzo Card is My Choice for Travel Spending

Monzo has disrupted the way we handle, manage and spend our money. We’ve quickly adapted to the rise of ‘FinTech’ and how it is evolving the way we view money. Monzo is just one of several that I’m betting on to make life on the go simpler and easier to deal with (I’ll save the other for my next post). This is why.

Find out how you can get your own Golden Ticket to fast track the Monzo waiting list at the end of this story.

Monzo Highlights (TL;DR)

• Mobile-only app on iOS and Android devices
• Prepaid Contactless MasterCard
• Top up your balance from any UK bank account
• Near instantaneous update of activity in the Monzo App
• See transactions by merchant and categories
• Freeze your card if you lose it and change PIN on the fly
• Update of your balance to local currency with visible MasterCard rate
• Withdraw money from any MasterCard cash machine.
• Request or Send Money from Monzo account
• Receive money of bill split between people

Monzo Usage To Improve (TL; DR)

• Only really beneficial for UK users; expected to expand in Europe
• Provide weekly and monthly statement insights
• Monzo support in Apple, Samsung Pay*
• Set budget goals for management
• cannot setup direct debits or faster payments to other UK bank accounts
• increase acceptance in more countries

Disrupting The View of Money

I’ve seen the evolution of how we deal with money in the UK change quite rapidly in the last decade. Largely fiat money – coins and notes – circulating around the economy, debit and credit cards were on the rise. Cash handling for general expenditure was less about handing over fiat money, and more about swiping our cards at the till.

Online shopping increasingly pushed that system forward as the digital world opened up a new playground where we expect delivery to arrive on our doorstep the next day. But cards themselves are just instruments of transactions and payments, instructions sent to bank institutions. Numbers floating in thin air, disappearing from one account to another.

Cards have enjoyed many years as the major method of payment…but then contactless cards started to thrive. It streamlined the handling of cards to a single tap of the card for expenses up to £30. Touch and go in major shops, restaurants, cafes, underground trains, buses… what a world we live in today huh?

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Yet, even that is short-lived, still very much growing in presence before the next disruptor – Mobile Pay. Apply Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay – the need to bring our cards with us is becoming less relevant for the day to day. Of course, high valued transactions in store need to be done with a PIN, but many of that is switching over to the online marketplace.

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But the way we think about money when travelling abroad, hasn’t progressed nearly as far as what we see here: Exchanging our money for traditional notes for wherever we’re travelling to. Attracting bank charges should we withdraw from an ATM machine in the USA, China or France etc. Discovering on your bank statement additional fees levied on those purchases after the fact. It costs us more with little upfront knowledge and feels increasingly dated in 2017.

Sure, some premier bank accounts waive partial fees, but this isn’t available to everyone. Then there’s the added process of instructing your bank of your upcoming trip, hoping they got the memo and didn’t strike that payment you made at a restaurant in Switzerland as fraudulent.

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Don’t forget to separate your currency between your wallet, your bag and luggage. And if you lost or dropped your bank card? That’s another international headache to deal with.

For all the disruption in the way we think about money domestically, little has been done when travelling around the world to make it simpler, transparent and cheaper.

What if there finally was an answer to that? Well, there is . And that is Monzo. You may have heard of similar offerings like Revolut, but I find that to be less sophisticated than what Monzo offers for travellers unless you’re outside of the UK. It’s still rough around the edges but has seen major polish and refinements over the year.

What is MONZO?

But for the most part, the pre-paid accounts are what make Monzo the most appealing for local spenders and for international travels. Everything is managed inside the Monzo app that provides you in near real-time updates to your transactions, balance and merchants you purchased from.

Monzo Travel Friendly

A contactless card is sent to you to use like any other contactless bank card. Use without a PIN for purchases under £30, you can use it as and when like normal. Unlike normal banks however, you get push notifications a few moments after to see the transaction reflect your updated balance.

I had lunch with a friend, bought an item on Mankind and topped up my Amazon account and all went very smoothly. The purchase of the meal was reflected very soon after I tapped it on my Monzo pre-paid MasterCard. You’ll notice merchants do active card checks that happen in the background.

Monzo Knows Exactly where and when

Clicking on a transaction reveals a Google map of the location, the address of the place of transaction, time and date (handy for recalling up to the minute activity or logging).

It identifies the category but you can also choose from a variety if you wish to. Additionally, you can upload a screenshot like your receipt and write notes to attach. And if you paid for the whole bill to make it easier at the restaurant, you can send a link to non Monzo friends and split the bill to the number of people and they can pay through there.

While it’s not until October before I get to use Monzo internationally, users have been sharing what their transaction would be, for example the transaction in Morocco showing the currency amount o f their balance. It was also confirmed to use the MasterCard wholesale exchange rate with no fees taken from Monzo.

Monzo Still a Work in Progress

iOS devices are prioritised for development and later released on Android. From using the Android app, it’s pretty barebones (limited if any spending insights), though not much different for Apple devices. Features and functionality will be released over time so very much expect this to still be a work in progress.

Monzo shows banking doesn’t have to be tedious and long-winded.

My key requests are weekly and monthly transaction statements, budget thresholds and dashboard insights for better expenditure transparency. And finally, the support for contactless payments made in-app (it lacks an account number and sort code to be added in Apply Pay, Android or Samsung Pay).

The Future of Mobile Banking

Even with all that, I still find MONZO to be the way forward and a great way to manage day-to-day transactions with push notifications as soon as they happen. Where it excels is when travelling abroad and the wholesale MasterCard exchange rate that pretty much beats high street currency offers and no fees associated from a Monzo perspective… if you’re based in the UK. For those based in Europe, it is worth checking out Revolut in the meantime, where the principles are similar.

I’ll be taking it on my long travels in South East Asia and will share my experience of using it then. If you like the ability to separate your daily spending from the rest and fully control how much to spend (and top up) with easy visibility then Monzo is worth a shot.

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Want a Golden Ticket to Monzo?

You need to top up £100 from your bank account (a lot of people want in and it costs them for every account they create). But it’ll reflect in your balance to spend when your Monzo Card arrives.

Still interested? Simply do any of the below and I’ll randomly pick one user out and send them the golden ticket. Easy as 1, 2, 3.

How to get your golden ticket (Complete all of the below for extra entries)

• Like, Comment or Share the post I shared on my Facebook Page here
• Comment below with an answer to ‘Which country will you use Monzo in next?’
• Follow me on Facebook , Instagram or Twitter
• Share this post using the social networks on the left side (or below on mobile)

I will get more golden tickets over time and will go through the list to send a Golden Ticket as much as I get them.

If you’re a user of Monzo, share your experience of using it in the comments below!

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Honest Monzo Premium Review (2023)

Sign up to your own monzo account & get £5 on me.

This Monzo Premium review contains affiliate links.

I first opened my account with Monzo in 2018, with the intention of using it just as a travel card. Offering entirely free transactions, anywhere and in any currency, using Monzo for travel seemed like a no-brainer.

With Monzo picking up the transaction fee that Mastercard would usually charge its customers, using Monzo abroad meant that I didn’t have to travel with large amounts of cash on me (to avoid incurring any charges to my Visa Debit card).

However, aside from using Monzo abroad, I hadn’t really considered using it as a bonafide, current account. Having remained loyal to my Barclays account since time began (I think I opened it when I was 12), and due to the fact that I had my mortgage with them, it didn’t occur to me that I should make a change.

However, a couple of years later –  having now sold my old house and had a baby – I was in a different place entirely. Now wanting to track my finances more than ever before (particularly with the current cost of living crisis hitting home), I was finding my Barclays current account – and the app that came with it – extremely limiting.

With new ‘neobanks’ such as Monzo, Starling and Plum, introducing intuitive saving ‘rules’ to make setting money aside an every day habit – Barclays began to seem more and more archaic.

Likewise, the Barclays app offered no budget monitoring features at all. I received no notifications about how much I was spending, nor how much I had left in my account; something that would have helped me stick to the (financial) straight and narrow.

Eventually, having experimented with using Monzo’s saving pots, I decided to make the switch – moving entirely to Monzo and closing my Barclays account.

Deciding on Monzo Premium

However, rather than just moving over to my existing Monzo current account, I decided to upgrade to Monzo Premium; an account with a monthly fee of £15.

Offering worldwide phone and travel insurance, higher interest rates, the ability to link to your other bank accounts (credit cards included), discounted access to airport lounges, multiple brand offers and – their crowning jewel – a white, metal debit card – Monzo Premium certainly seemed an attractive deal.

Having since decided to bite the bullet and commit to Monzo Premium, I wanted to provide a quick summary of how I’ve found the past few months.

Below is my Monzo Premium review and whether I think it’s ultimately something that’s worth the money.

A Quick Monzo FAQ

As Monzo is an online, rather than high-street bank, you might have a few questions (and hesitations) about how it works. Below are all the questions I had before switching over to Monzo Premium.

Is Monzo a Bank?

In short, yes.

Fully authorised in the UK by the powers that be – the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) -and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Monzo is a legitimate bank through which you can bank and save money.

However, Monzo is only online, so you won’t be able to pop into any high-street chains. Indeed, Monzo is that new brand of bank, a ‘neobank’.

In short, this means it has no physical location and is ‘mobile first’. Monzo (and its competitors such as Starling and Revolut) also lack certain bank licences that would allow them to offer some financial services e.g mortgages. For other financial services – lending facilities, for example – a neobank will usually partner with an existing licensed bank in order to provide them (and is all above board).

Are Neobanks Better than Traditional Banks?

If you’re fairly tech-savvy, undertake most tasks on your mobile phone and want fast and intuitive access to your bank accounts – then yes, neobanks are probably far better than traditional banks.

Furthermore, these online banks offer a fun, engaging and instinctual way to manage your money – offering automatic spending rules (e.g., rounding up all your payments, or putting away £2 when it rains) and provide immediate and real-time oversight of your finances.

However, if you want more traditional financial services – mortgages or high-interest ISAs, for example – then you might find a neobank more limiting. Instead, you’ll need to get these larger products through traditional institutions.

Can You Get an Overdraft with Monzo?

Yes, Monzo do offer an arranged overdraft – although the interest you’ll pay on this are fairly expensive.

Currently, Monzo charges three variable rates for their arranged overdrafts: 19%, 29% or 39% EAR variable (your rate will be dependent on your credit score). This means that if you use an arranged overdraft of £1,200 for 30 days, with 39.0% EAR/APR (variable), you’d end up paying £32.94 in charges.

For some customers, overdrafts of up to £2,000 can be approved by Monzo, but they do state that they are very careful who they give this facility to.

Which is Better: Monzo or Starling?

When I first decided to get an account with Monzo, I was initially swayed by the possibility of banking with Starling, instead.

Like Monzo, Starling are an online ‘neobank’ – offering similarly intuitive, well-branded and user-friendly banking solutions.

After much research, however, there didn’t seem any huge differences between Monzo and Starling – aside from one thing, that is.

Starling doesn’t charge for any cash withdrawals abroad, whereas Monzo (unless you’re a Premium customer), will charge 3% on withdrawals over £250 – and  every 30 days (in Europe). Worldwide, you can take out £200 for free every 30 days, after which you’ll pay a 3% fee.

However, given that I don’t usually withdraw money abroad – and certainly not more than £600, this didn’t seem to be an issue.

Likewise, I noticed that Monzo’s saving features – something I was especially interested in – seemed a little better than Starling, including its round-up feature.

Ultimately, however, Monzo and Starling come pretty much top of the leader board when it comes to neobanks operating in the UK; enjoying fantastic customer ratings and impressive trust and credibility scores.

Is Monzo Safe?

Yes, very safe.

To reassure you, more than 6 million people are already (very happy) Monzo customers – myself included. Your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to a value of £85,000.

Although an ‘online’ bank – you can also talk to a human whenever you need to, so there’s also no need to worry that you’ll get stuck in an endless loop with AI bots.

How Do I Deposit Cash or Cheques with Monzo?

Although the age of cheques has largely come to an end, a few do still appear in my life – courtesy of birthday or Christmas gifts.

One thing I did want to therefore mention in this Monzo Premium review is the fact that banking a cheque with Monzo isn’t quite as easy as banking with a high-street bank.

Instead, if banking with Monzo, you’ll need to send the cheque to their PO address (you’ll also have to pay for postage, too) – and then wait for a few days for it to be both received and processed. Admittedly, I did find this a bit of chore, but actually – once I’d posted it – it arrived and cleared in my account four days later.

However, if you’re a person who regularly receives and banks cheques, banking with a ‘neobank’ such as Monzo might become a little laborious.

Do Monzo Offer Savings Accounts and ISAs?

Yes, Monzo offer both savings accounts and ISAs – all offering high interest rates than their current accounts and ‘pots’.

The majority of these are offered via OakNorth Bank and include flexible ISAs, fixed term saving pots and easy access savers.

12 Best Apps to Save You Money in 2023

How easy is it to switch to monzo premium.

One thing that had put me off moving bank accounts was the presumption that it would be an incredibly stressful process.

Imagining that I’d need to call every one of my utility suppliers and re-direct every direct debit, it was a task that seemed completely overwhelming.

However, once I switched to Monzo Premium, I realised that the entire process was laughably straightforward.

Thanks to the introduction of Current Account Switch Service (CASS), the Current Account Switch Guarantee means that (for every bank or building society signed up to it) your new bank is legally obliged to do all the legwork for you: moving across your existing direct debits, standing orders and payment details for your salary (or pension).

If anything goes wrong, they are also responsible for these errors and must reimburse you immediately.

On average, your new bank account can be up and running within 7 working days – although my own switch to Monzo Premium took place over a fortnight (although this was the Christmas period).

As a result, my salary was automatically redirected to my new account, alongside all my direct debits and standing orders. I didn’t have to lift a finger, aside from changing just a few things (my linked Paypal account, for example, alongside Amazon payment details etc). My new Monzo card also automatically appeared in my Apple Wallet and I quickly set that as my default card.

The whole process was truly seamless and ultimately made me wonder why I hadn’t switched bank accounts sooner.

Monzo Premium Review: What I Liked

1. phone & travel insurance included.

Prior to signing up to Monzo Premium, I had separate phone and travel insurance. Individually, these were costing me in the region of £25 a month.

The phone and travel insurance offered by Monzo Premium was therefore a fair amount cheaper – at £15 a month – and meant that everything was in one place.

The travel insurance available via Monzo Premium is worth £159 a year and covers winter sports, which my old policy didn’t (it was too expensive to add). It’s also worldwide, which again my old policy was not. So all in all, these policy enhancements felt like a win.

The phone insurance provided by Monzo Premium is also fairly comprehensive and includes coverage of cracked screens. Monzo claim that this particular level of coverage would normally be worth £97 a year.

Ultimately, Monzo claim that the average Monzo Premium customer will save around £64 a year on their phone and worldwide travel insurance, which isn’t bad at all.

2. Discounted Airport Lounge Access

As a frequent traveller, the discounted airport lounge access offered by Monzo Premium was a definite attraction.

Prior to Covid and having my baby, I was a member of the BA Avios scheme – a Silver member, in fact. This meant I got access to a fair few BA lounges and always appreciated being able to sit in relative peace and quiet, especially when my flight was delayed.

Sadly – and having not been able to travel for a good two years – my fall from grace when it came to the BA Executive Club was spectacular. Almost overnight, I went from the fairly respectable Silver level to the Blue tier – i.e. one with absolutely no benefits at all.

Each time I went to the airport and inevitably got delayed, I could no longer (alas) hide in a lounge anymore.

Now, I have to mention in this review of Monzo Premium that you don’t get full, unfettered lounge access. Instead, you get £20 off (per visit, per person) – thanks to their partnership with LoungeKey . If you’re travelling with a guest, they also benefit from the same discount.

I had a quick look through the lounges that fall under this scheme and they’re fairly comprehensive, including: Club Aspire Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5, the No.1 Lounge at Gatwick airport (amongst others) and the Aspire Lounge at Birmingham airport.

Abroad, there are also plenty to choose from. These include the Lufthansa Business Lounge at JFK airport and the Pearl Lounge at  Marrakech  airport.

Having looked at the entrance fee for these lounges, with the £20 discount from Monzo Premium, you’ll pay around £20 – £24 for entry, on average.

Generally, this will provide you with access to unlimited food and drink, a 3 hour stay, WIFI, charging points and comfy armchairs (and respite from the chaos of the airport).

3. Advanced Round-Ups

What I’ve always loved about Monzo is their ’round-up’ feature – aimed at making your spare change go further.

Every time you buy something, Monzo rounds up the cost to the nearest pound; automatically adding the change to one of your selected ‘pots’. By using this feature, Monzo claim that their average customer will save £129 a year.

While this is a feature across all Monzo accounts, with Monzo Premium (and Monzo Plus) you can increase these round-up amounts – rounding up by 2, 5 or 10 times.

The result is the option to save more – and faster.

4. Five Free Cash Deposits a Month

As someone who still deposits money into their account (thanks to birthdays, or selling things on Facebook Marketplace), I was a little apprehensive about moving to an entirely online ‘neobank’.

With no physical branch to walk into, I wondered whether I’d find myself just spending the cash I’d accumulated rather than banking it – which defeated the point of moving to Monzo in the first place.

However, and with Monzo Premium, I can make 5 free cash deposits each month (up to £27,000) using  Paypoints across the UK . Thankfully, these Paypoints are across most cities, towns and even villages – meaning paying in your cash is fairly easy.

If you don’t have Monzo Premium, it’ll cost you £1 per transaction to bank this money (deducted from the amount you cash – e.g. if you add £10 to your account, then £9 will clear).

5. The Metal Card

Now, I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that one reason I was very much drawn to this fee-based account was its beautiful, dare I say it – sexy – looking debit card.

A metal card with an immaculate white finish, the Monzo Premium card is quite the thing to behold. While I always loved the bright Coral coloured card that came with the standard Monzo account – this piece of plastic (or metal, should I say), was in a different league entirely.

Weighty to hold (it weighs 3 x more than their plastic cards) and made from a single sheet of stainless steel, this card is beautiful engraved with flashes of silver and is in, in short, really quite beautiful.

Sitting in my wallet like a tiny piece of artwork, I’ve already had many a compliment on my Monzo Premium card – something that makes me embarrassingly proud.

6. Great Offers

Although you do get these offers with Monzo Plus, the discounts and benefits you get via Monzo Premium are great (albeit currently fairly limited).

These include: discounted RAC membership (£4.75 a month), 15% of Patch Plants, 50% off your  first HelloFresh box and 35% off your next 3 boxes, 25% off FIIT membership and 20% of Babylon Health.

These offers are changing all the time, so to really make the most of them, make sure you’re regularly checking back in on your app – particularly if you have any subscription-based purchases to make.

Monzo Premium Review: What I Didn’t Like

1. geared towards travellers.

When deciding between Monzo Premium or Monzo Plus, I think the main difference really is the insurance offering.

For someone who is travelling regularly, then built-in travel insurance, access to discounted airport lounges and gadget protection is a real perk – and one reason why I decided to commit to this more expensive account.

However, if year-round travel insurance and access to airport lounges are of no benefit, then there’s perhaps little point in signing up to Monzo Premium (unless, of course, you are completely captivated by that beautiful debit card).

Instead, and if it’s higher interest rates you’re after, or access to advanced round-ups, then I’d probably advise you just sign up to Monzo Plus, instead – and save yourself £10 a month.

2. You Have to Sign Up for 6 months

Another downside to Monzo Premium is that you have to sign up for a minimum of 6 months. This means, if you upgrade your account and realise the benefits are of little use to you – or you find you can no longer afford the £15 monthly fee – then you’re stuck paying it for half a year.

You can cancel if you’re still within the 14 day cooling off period, however, you’ll be charged an eye-watering £50 for the card, which isn’t ideal.

When it comes to the difference between Monzo Plus and Monzo Premium, this is perhaps another tick in the box for the Plus account – as you only need to sign up for 3 months, rather than the 6.

3. Disappointing Interest Levels

Monzo currently offers its Premium customers access to 1.50% AER/Gross (variable) interest rates on up to £2,000. With the Bank of England increasing interest rates to 3% at the end of 2022, and given that Monzo haven’t yet increased this interest rate, you are – in theory – therefore losing money (in real terms).

I’d advise that if it’s higher interest rates you’re after, then probably look elsewhere. For example, Chase UK offer a 2.1% rate on their easy access savings account and Santander up to 2.75%.

Monzo Premium Review: Is It Worth It?

So, a quick summary to end this Monzo Premium review.

I’ve been a fan of Monzo for a long time and have always rated their (free) current account.

With quick and easy access to your saving pots, ability to better monitor budgets and easy rules to ensure your loose change works harder, Monzo is a fantastic bank.

Regularly rated one of the best banks in the UK, there is a lot to like about Monzo – even if you decide not to commit to its fee-based accounts. I’ve always found its customer service to be incredible (no ‘holding’ on a telephone line for hours on end) and their regular notifications about how much money I’m spending are incredibly helpful.

However, for those who have enjoyed a Monzo account for a while and are now considering upgrading to the heady heights of Monzo Premium, the question will inevitably be: is Monzo Premium worth it?

At £15 a month – or £180 a year – Monzo Premium isn’t cheap. In fact, it costs more than you (ironically) might save via it’s much celebrated ’round-up’ feature. I’d therefore say that if you do sign up, do it with the knowledge that you’ll certainly use – and maximise – its benefits.

This means travelling fairly regularly, making use of the discounted lounge access and keeping an eye on its offers and deals.

With my ‘regular traveller’ hat on, I do think Monzo Premium is worth it. However, from the perspective of a ‘saver’, I think you could find better deals – and interest rates – elsewhere. Furthermore, I think that if you aren’t travelling an awful lot, then you’ll perhaps be better off opting just for a Monzo Plus account – saving yourself £110 a year.

Overall, I’m really enjoying being a Premium member of Monzo and as long as I’m travelling abroad, I’ll probably keep the account. Indeed, Monzo is a brilliant ‘neobank’ and one I absolutely love banking with – and whether I’m a Premium account holder or not, I’m still incredibly glad that I made the switch.

Sign up to your Own Monzo account & get £5 on me

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What are you looking for?

Monzo vs revolut: which is best for travel in 2024 [full comparison].

When packing for a trip abroad, one of the biggest things you need to consider is which travel card to take with you.

Ever since we began backpacking in 2016, we have taken our Revolut and Monzo cards with us on every trip.

We first started with Revolut on our journey around South America and then also started using Monzo shortly after.

As of now, we have used these cards in over 40 countries, and have worked out the many pros and cons that each card offers.

Though they seem to offer a very similar service, there are a few key differences between Monzo and Revolut that might make them better suited to your personal use.

Below I’ll take you through these differences we’ve picked up on and give you, what we believe to be, the clear winner in the battle of Monzo vs Revolut .

Just one thing to note, this review and our decision is based purely on the purpose of using these as travel cards to get the best bang for your buck when abroad.

So, without further ado, let’s get stuck in...

Travellerspoint

Which countries have we used Monzo and Revolut in?

To help give you a basis for this review, here’s all of the countries that we have used our Revolut and Monzo cards in.

As you can see, collectively this involves 5 of the 7 continents and dozens of different global currencies.

England / Ireland / Estonia / Finland / Germany / Latvia / Lithuania / Malta / Norway / Poland / Spain / Sweden

Indonesia / Sri Lanka / India / Nepal / The Philippines

North America:

Mexico / Guatemala / Nicaragua / El Salvador / United States of America

England / Ireland / Austria / Bosnia & Herzegovina / Croatia / Czech Republic / Estonia / Finland / France / Germany / Italy / Latvia / Lithuania / Malta / Netherlands / Norway / Poland / Spain / Sweden

Indonesia / Thailand / Cambodia / Vietnam / Laos / Sri Lanka / India / Nepal / The Philippines

Mexico / Guatemala / Nicaragua / El Salvador

South America:

Brazil / Argentina / Chile / Bolivia / Peru / Colombia / Galapagos Islands

Great features of Monzo for travel

• Best exchange rates possible - Based on Mastercard rates settled 3 days after transactions are made
• Unlimited fee-free cash withdrawals abroad in the European Economic Area (EEA)
• £200 worth of free withdrawals elsewhere abroad - 3% charge above this
• The ability to apply for an overdraft - we love this!
• Compatible with Google Pay and Apple Pay
• Ability to freeze your card - Great for if you lose your card or just want to pause it when not in use
• Order a replacement card to 100+ countries - £30 to ship internationally, free within the UK (however, the card costs £5 if it's not been stolen, subject to fraud, or expired).

Additional Monzo features

• Savings pots - A range of different solutions dependant on how much money you have ready to save
• Syncing up your salary - You can even get paid the day BEFORE your work is set to pay you!
• Clear monthly budgeting
• Set up joint accounts - Perfect if you’re travelling as a couple
• Monzo Flex - It's essentially a new take on a credit card and is fantastic for spreading the cost of purchases
• An awesome bill-splitting feature

Paid Features: Monzo Plus vs Mono Premium

For those wishing to upgrade their Monzo account, you've got two options! 

Aside from all the great features of a free account, you'll benefit from other fantastic features too. When comparing the differences, sometimes it just makes sense to upgrade depending on your situation.

Monzo Plus - £5 per month

• Up to £400 no-fee ATM withdrawals
• The ability to use virtual cards - Great against fraud!
• Credit Tracker - This way, you can keep an eye on your credit score as you go along
• 1 free cash deposit a month in the UK - Otherwise it's £1 for cash deposits
• Interest on your instant access saving pot - 4.60% AER interest (variable) on balances up to £100,000
• Custom categories for payments - This helps you to keep track of your spending
• You'll benefit from offers when it comes to some companies - This includes HelloFresh, Naked Wines, Babylon Health, RAC, and others
• Exclusive holographic card

Monzo Premium - £15 per month

Includes all of the above plus:

• Up to £600 no-fee ATM withdrawals
• Worldwide travel insurance - Covers you and your family when traveling together
• Phone insurance - This covers loss, damage, theft, and scratches
• Discounted access to over 1,100 airport lounges
• 5 free cash deposits a month in the UK
• Up to 4.60% AER interest (variable) interest on your instant access saving pot - Again, up to £100,000
• Exclusive metal card

Great features of Revolut for travel

Here’s a quick overview of the key features that help make Revolut an awesome choice for your next travel card.

• The best exchange rates possible - The exact rate as offered by Visa or Mastercard (+ 0.5% to 1% markup fee on weekends)
• Clear account overview of all expenses made
• Ability to freeze your card - ideal for if you lose your card abroad, or simply want it deactivated when not being used
• Offers an easy sharing bills feature - Once you pay for something, you request a percentage of the amount paid from someone else who uses Revolut
• Quick currency conversions - You can add whichever currency you’re using abroad and then get quick comparisons of the live exchange rates
• £200 free withdrawals every month - 2% fee thereafter (can be upgraded using the paid features discussed below)
• Ability to purchase gadget insurance - As well as travel insurance through the paid plans (see below)
• Order a replacement card to 180 different countries - These cost £5 and you'll need to pay a delivery fee
• Get up to 10% cashback when booking accommodation through Revolut - a great feature for frequent travelers! 

Additional Revolut features

• Cryptocurrency trading - Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash
• Stock trading - More than 300 stocks
• The ability to set budgets
• Typical UK current accounts - Use to pay direct debits, receive salary and cover bills etc...
• The ability to receive international payments
• Make charity donations - Without paying fees
• Receive cashback when purchasing certain products - this can be done through a Revolut credit card too! 

Paid Features: Revolut Premium vs Revolut Metal vs Revolut Ultra

If you wish to pay to upgrade your Revolut account, then you get access to a whole host of great perks for a small monthly sum .

It’s worth noting that Revolut is always expanding these perks so check ahead of time to see if this list is still up-to-date.

When we first started using Revolut 4 years ago, the perks were only a fraction of what’s on offer today, and the option to upgrade now makes much better financial sense.

Premium features - £7.99 per month

• Unlimited foreign exchange Monday-Friday
• Up to £400 free international ATM withdrawals per month - a 2% fee afterward
• Full purchase protection - up to £2,500
• Up to 5% cashback on accommodation
• Up to 20% off fees on international transfers
• Up to 2.34% interest paid into saving vaults daily - depends on the currency
• 5 commission-free stock trades every month
• Revolut Junior - can create cards for two children under the age of 18
• Perks Plus - higher discounts off top brands
• ‍ Personalised debit card - As opposed to the standard colours ‍
• Commodities trading - This includes gold, silver, platinum, and palladium ( read more here )
• ‍ Disposable virtual card - The number changes after every online payment, helping protect against online fraud ( read more here ) ‍
• Express global card delivery - to 180 countries in 4 days ‍
• Priority customer service support from Revolut
• Travel insurance included within your monthly fee - Be sure to read more about this here . Personally, I always have a separate annual travel insurance policy that I know is custom-designed for my travels & wouldn’t rely solely on this. I recommend checking out my SafetyWing review which is a good option to go for! ‍
• Other insurance perks - Emergency medical assistance with expenses paid directly to your Revolut account; delayed travel insurance; discounted devices insurance + more. ‍
• Access to airport lounges at discounted rates
• SmartDelay - Free lounge access for you and 1 friend if your flight is delayed by over an hour ( more info )

Metal features - £14.99 per month

Includes all of the above, plus:

• Up to £800 free international ATM withdrawals per month - a 2% fee afterwards
• Full purchase protection
• Earn up to 4% AER/Gross (variable) paid daily on your savings
• 10 commission-free stock trades every month
• 40% off fees on every international transfer
• Up to 10% cashback on accommodation - compared to 5% on premium
• Cashback on card payments - up to 0.1% on transactions in Europe and UK, and 1% elsewhere
• Personal Liability Insurance - up to £1 million
• Five accounts for under 18s with full access ‍
• ‍ Free concierge service - Check out this thread for people’s experiences
• ‍ StartDelay free lounge pass for you and 3 friends -  As opposed to you and 1 friend on premium

Ultra features - £45 per month (introductory offer, usually £55 per month)

The bonuses of using Revolut Ultra, include:

• Up to £2000 free international ATM withdrawals per month - a 2% fee afterwards
• Free International Transfers
• Earn up to 4.75% AER/Gross (variable) paid daily on your savings
• Five accounts for under 18s with full access
• Trip and event cancellation insurance
• Perks worth £4,000+ in annual benefits
• Unlimited lounge access
• Platinum-plated card
• Subscriptions for Sleep Cycle, Headspace, NordVPN, and Picsart
• Can request a call back when it comes to priority customer support

For more information you can check out our in-depth Revolut guide here...

What are the important differences between Monzo and Revolut?

Based on important features when it comes to travel, here’s a look at how I think these 2 awesome challenger banks stand up:

1. Withdrawing money from foreign ATMs

Under the free plans, each allow £200 of free withdrawals each month. Above this you are charged a fee. With Revolut this is 2% and with Monzo this is now 3%. It used to be just 2% from Monzo as well, but this has now changed. As such, Revolut wins here .

2. Paying by card when abroad

Monzo wins purely because of the overdraft feature. Having this on Cazzy’s card means we never have to worry about running out of money when out and about for the day. Be aware though that you do have to apply for the overdraft and not everyone gets approved.

3. Splitting bills

Both Monzo and Revolut offer a feature where you can request money from another user in order to split a bill. A really great feature that both apps do really well .

4. Dealing with fraud

When you start to move your banking ever more online, there is always a fear of fraud and other people somehow getting a hold of your details. Both Monzo and Revolut have advanced safety features in place to help prevent this. 

Namely, the ability to freeze your card at any time and reactivate it at the click of a button. I also like that, if you enter the wrong access pin to the app, you actually get blocked from accessing the bank account and have to verify your identity in order to regain access. 

With Monzo, this requires you to take a picture of your photo ID and record a quick video of you saying something, in order for the Monzo security team to verify it's you who is trying to access the app. We have had no issues with either, except for with Revolut back in 2016. 

Somehow, when paying for something online in South America, a man in Canada got a hold of Cazzy’s card details and used them to buy flight tickets out of Canada (valued at just under £200). I believe that them accessing the details in the first place was our fault and nothing to do with Revolut. 

Either way, we contacted Revolut about the issue and after a few weeks managed to get the money refunded! At the same time, there are plenty of stories online about both Monzo and Revolut where users have been unable to recover stolen funds. 

Whether this is the fault of Monzo and Revolut isn’t always clear; but from personal experience we can vouch for Revolut. Overall, we’ve had great experiences when it comes to fraud with both companies .

5. Replacing lost cards

For some reason, Cazzy and me have a bad habit of leaving our cards in ATMs! We’ve each done it a couple of times and luckily it’s never been a major issue as we each always have a backup card. 

What I love about both apps is that you can immediately freeze and block your card if you’ve lost it or had it stolen, so that no money can be taken. If you do need to order a replacement card outside of the UK, then this is 100% possible with both Revolut and Monzo. 

With Monzo, it costs £5 to replace a card that hasn't been stolen, subject to fraud, or expired in the UK. Monzo also charge a flat £30 fee to ship outside the UK (sent with DHL tracking).

You are allowed some free replacements but that all depends on your plan.

With Revolut this is at least €19.99 and possibly more depending on which international country you are in. To ship within the UK, Revolut charges £5. However, if you're a member of Revolut Premium, Metal or Ultra, you're eligible for free delivery.

It’s hard to give a winner here, because I think both services are very similar in price and incredibly easy-to-use .

6. User-friendliness

Both Monzo and Revolut have a very modern and straightforward feel to them. All of the features are easy to access, except for the currency conversion tool which to me can often seem a bit clunky and delayed. Though this does depend on the quality of the internet connection!

For some reason, I personally prefer the feel of Monzo, possibly because I seem to use it more often these days. That being said, I would have to give the overall award for user-friendliness to Revolut . 

Simply because of the fact that they let you save a UK bank card to your account allowing you to top up directly from within the app, rather than having to head to your alternate internet banking app.

Also, their currency conversion tool is extremely handy, and gives you a very quick overview of whichever exchange rates you choose.

7. Additional perks

As you can see from the detailed description above, Revolut has clearly put a lot of work into the paid plans. Great travel-related perks include the chance to access free travel insurance included within your plan, as well as the chance to get free lounge passes with flight delays. 

Their concierge service is also an interesting idea, though reviews online seem to be more negative than positive .

So in the world of additional perks, Revolut is the winner .

Overall verdict: Monzo vs Revolut - Which is better for travel?

As you can see, both Monzo and Revolut offer a very appealing travel card service, well suited to help you save money when travelling almost anywhere in the world.

Our policy is to take both our Monzo and Revolut cards with us everywhere we go, partly due to the fact that one is a Mastercard (Monzo) and the other is a Visa (Revolut), so we are covered no matter what.

It also means that we don’t have to pay a monthly subscription charge in order to maintain free withdrawals.

With 4 cards, it means we can access £800 worth of free withdrawals between us each month, which has never proved to be an issue.

However, if I had to pick one that I prefer, it would have to be Monzo , purely because of the overdraft feature.

It has come in handy so many times when we unexpectedly need access to money and don’t have any WiFi or data to top up at that time.

It’s not to say that Revolut is bad, but up until now Monzo has proved more reliable.

That being said: I’m wondering if Revolut will soon overtake Monzo as my favourite.

They already have a lot of very obvious perks.

Notably that once you add a card, you can then top up from within the app and never have to leave.

With Monzo, once you've checked your balance and seen you need more money, you have to go to your banking app and send a bank transfer from there.

Also, many of the premium features listed above are relatively new and we haven’t yet had a chance to trial them.

On previous trips, the paid Revolut plans have never been very financially appealing, but with the addition of the lounge pass system and their awesome perks; they are well worth the monthly fee.

In fact, we now have the Ultra Plan and can safely say that it's well worth the money, as there are tons of fantastic perks.

As we continue to try out the additional paid features, I will update this article accordingly in the coming months...

Advice for new users

So, what would be my advice if you’re planning a trip and trying to decide whether to download Revolut or Monzo.

If you want to just go for one and be done with it, opt for Monzo .

Or if you want to access all of the other cool features, like cryptocurrency and stock trading, then Revolut is the obvious choice.

However, one of my favourite travel tips is to download both and order cards for each one.

Take them each with you abroad and give them both a go.

The fact that they are both free to use and download means that it’s more than worthwhile trying each one.

Plus, you get the bonus of twice as many free ATM withdrawals each month.

The future of Monzo and Revolut

It seems that the aim of both Monzo and Revolut are to become well-rounded financial service providers, helping you to handle all aspects of your finances.

As of writing, it seems to me that both providers have done a great job of diversifying these offerings.

When we originally wrote this article, it was only Monzo that offered joint accounts and loans, whereas now Revolut offer these too.

However, with the ability to easily access overdrafts, Monzo seems to be ahead in the race to help people more easily and comfortably switch from traditional banking to this new digital banking revolution.

But in the 4 years we’ve been using each of these services, they have both come a long way.

And it’s exciting to see what the future holds and which new services each one starts to roll out.

How to sign up for Monzo and Revolut

Getting your hands on a Monzo or Revolut card is sooooo simple!

Just go and download the app.

• Find Monzo here
• Find Revolut here

You’ll then need to go ahead and enter a few basic details such as your name, email address and home address.

When you’re all signed up you can then request your card to be sent out to you and you’re good to go!

Other similar travel cards to try

As well as Monzo and Revolut, there are 3 other travel cards that we have tried abroad.

1. Starling Bank

The main appeal they offer above Monzo and Revolut is that they have no cap on free monthly withdrawals.

Which is obviously a massive perk if you are worried about paying high monthly fees with Monzo or Revolut.

That being said, Starling is well behind in offering any additional features and Cazzy and I never really grew very fond of it.

Perhaps the biggest issue we had was that the exchange rate we received with them often tended to be slightly worse than what Revolut and Monzo offers.

I’m not sure why as it’s meant to be the same but hey that’s just what we’ve found. 

I do know that both Starling and Revolut apply a 0.5% - 1% surcharge to exchange rates on weekends so as to protect themselves against big currency fluctuations (markets close over the weekend).

However Monzo doesn’t do this!

I used this a few times abroad and just never got on with it.

At least with Starling they have the clear bonus of no maximum withdrawal amount each month, but N26 just never offered any benefits above Monzo and Revolut so we quickly stopped using them.

Their card also just seemed very tacky (a poor excuse I know!).

Anyhow, they’re no longer available in the UK anyway so best to just ignore them.

When it comes to using these cards for travel, Wise (formerly TransferWise) simply can’t compete with Monzo or Revolut.

This is because they charge you conversion fees for using your card abroad (if you don't hold the local currency in your multi-currency account).

What I absolutely love about Wise though is that they have the lowest conversion fees when it comes to receiving international money transfers and converting it into GBP.

As such we use our Wise account a lot for our business!

For more information, you can check out our in-depth guide of Wise Vs Revolut ...

Well that’s about it!

I hope this has been a pretty useful and detailed comparison between Monzo and Revolut , more specifically with regards to how they can help you when travelling abroad .

Once again, be aware that both of these companies are constantly upgrading their features so exact prices and services may be different at the time you sign up.

Now over to you, have you used Monzo or Revolut?

If so, which one do you prefer?

Drop a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Be sure to check out these other helpful guides we've put together:

• The Best Ways To Get Cheap Hotels
• The Best Travel Apps
• The Best Travel Jobs

Leave a comment

Let us know what you think.

5 million people can't be wrong

Which digital bank – Monzo, Starling, or Chase?

In our quest to find the best digital bank in the UK, we take a look at the top three. Monzo, Starling and Chase.

Recent FCA data shows that nearly 1 in 12 of all personal current accounts are now with a digital bank such as Monzo  or Starling .

Innovation, ease of use, and customer service are some of the key reasons people are making the switch. And with the average person now likely to have friends, relatives or work colleagues using a digital bank, this trend is only going to increase. Is it time you switched to digital banking?

At the time of writing there are six digital banks in the UK, but not all of these offer personal current accounts. The big two are Monzo and Starling, but we’ll also include the newly formed Chase Bank in this guide as although it doesn’t yet offer all of the features of its older counterparts, it is slowly coming up to speed.

Revolu Click Here t , is the other big name in fintech. In fact, it has more customers than all of the other digital banks put together, but does not yet have a banking licence in the UK. Instead, it is an e-payments provider and as such falls out of the scope of this article.

Chase vs Monzo vs Starling – which digital bank should I choose?

We’re not going to turn this into a Monzo vs Starling vs Chase debate, but instead run through a key list of personal banking features and see how each one performs, so you can decide which one best suits your needs.

Before we do that though, let’s get a brief overview of each of the challengers.

Starling bank overview

Despite the fanfare around Monzo, Starling was the first digital challenger to launch personal current accounts in the UK. It offers everything you need for day-to-day banking and continues to be a leader when it comes to innovative new features.

This innovation has seen Starling gain over 3m personal and business account customers since its launch in 2017.

Monzo – bank account overview

Monzo’s marketing success stems back to when it was pre-pay travel card. Since then, it has gone from strength to strength in terms of features, customer loyalty, and growth.

What Starling does quietly behind the scenes Monzo shouts about loud and proud, leading to it to be dubbed the ‘noisy neighbour’ (a term taken from the rivalry between Manchester United and Manchester City).

Fortunately for Monzo it backs up the marketing hype with one of the best accounts around, and the largest subscriber base of any UK digital bank. It currently serves over 5m current account customers across its business and personal lines.

Tip: If you sign up for a Monzo bank account via our link you’ll get a free £5 welcome bonus

Chase UK – bank account overview

Chase added itself to the Monzo vs Starling debate, when it launched its current account in winter 2021.  It is the newest of the three main digital challenger banks. Don’t let that fool you though. It is backed by JP Morgan Chase the largest consumer bank in the US, and has gained more than a million customers in its first 12 months. That’s more than Monzo and Starling managed together during their first year of operation.

Despite this rapid growth, Chase’s offering in the UK is still a little immature. It initially launched without the ability to accept direct debits (added in 2022), or ability to handle cash deposits, and still isn’t a member of CASS the current account switching service

What it offers over the other two is 1% cashback on spending (thought this comes with some caveats), 5% interest on ‘round-ups,’ and some of the most generous foreign ATM withdrawal limits around. Whether that is enough to attract and keep customers whilst the rest of the features are fleshed out remains to be seen.

See our full review of the Chase UK bank account here .

Opening an account a digital bank account with Monzo, Starling, and Chase

Opening an account with Starling, Monzo, or Chase is fast, free, and easy. The process is all done in app and requires that you take a photo of your ID, confirm your address, and take a short video selfie.

Account verification can take anything from a few minutes to a couple of hours, whilst your information is checked. In our tests it took a few attempts at uploading the ID to Chase, whereas the Starling and Monzo process was completed without hiccups. All accounts were open within an hour or less.

We’ve included links below should you want to open any of the three accounts:

>> Open a Starling bank current account

>> Open a Monzo current account

Monzo is currently offering a £5 sign up bonus. To get the bonus, simply sign up for a free Monzo account using the link above, and use your Monzo card within 30 days.

>> Open a Chase bank account

Does Monzo, Starling or Chase run credit checks?

It’s worth pointing out that although checks are made on your credit history these are soft searches and as such are not visible to other institutions and won’t affect your ability to obtain credit in the future. If you were rejected for one account, there is nothing to stop you applying at one of the other banks.

Paying in / out (cash and cheques)

Monzo and Starling both offer a switching service with seven-day switch guarantee. This allows you to move your account over to them complete with all of your direct debits, standing orders and payees.

Paying in cash over the counter

Paying in cash is probably the biggest area where traditional highstreet banks beat their digital counterparts. With the onset of contactless payments, and instant bank transfers cash use has been declining rapidly. For some users though cash is still king, so it’s important to be aware of the limitations of digital accounts in this area.

Starling account holders can pay in cash over the counter at 11,500 Post Office branches . This is fee free up £1000 per year. Anything over this incurs a 0.7% charge.

Monzo customers can pay in cash at 28,000 PayPoint locations across the UK. There is a maximum limit of £300 per transaction and £1000 per 180 days. Monzo passes on the £1 fee for this to the customer.

Chase doesn’t have any way for customers to pay cash into the account.

Winner: Starling

Paying in cheques

Yes, believe it or not cheques are still a thing. For a while it looked like they had died a death, but regulation changes to speed up the clearing process gave them something of a lifeline.

Starling users can pay in cheques valued at £1,000 or less via the Starling app. Cheques paid in this way can be drawn against the next working day. Cheques over £1,000, need to be posted to Starling, but there is a Freeport address you can use, so it doesn’t cost you anything.

To pay a cheque into a Monzo account you need to physically post it to Monzo, writing your account number on the back of the cheque. You can use Monzo’s freepost address but Monzo recommends it is sent via a tracked service.

The cheque itself takes Monzo 4-6 working days to process.

Again, Chase customers have no ability to deposit cheques.

International transfers

Starling customers can both send and receive international payments directly within the app. All costs and associated fees are presented upfront. With the option of sending a SWIFT payment at a slightly higher cost, or a low-cost payment which is roughly half the price, but doesn’t include proof of payment or personalised references.

A £1,000 SWIFT payment sent to a Eurozone country (as at 14/03/2022) will see the recipient receive €1,177.76

The same £1,000 payment sent via the low-cost method would see the recipient gain €1,183.95

Monzo is not connected to the SWIFT or SEPA network, and as such cannot reliably send and receive international payments itself. Instead, international transfers are handled by Wise.

A £1,000 payment sent to a Eurozone country will see the recipient getting €1,181.33

To put both of these into perspective. Send the same £1,000 to a euro account using Revolut, and the recipient would get €1,189.55

Chase hasn’t yet implemented sending or receiving international payments.

In credit Interest, benefits and incentives

Ever since the financial crisis of 2008 interest rates have been worse than pitiful. That may start to change now as the Bank of England slowly raises the base rate to help combat growing inflation.

Since its inception, Starling has offered a 0.05% AER rate on credit balances of up to £85,000, more recently, it increased this to 3.25%.

Monzo has never offered an interest rate on in-credit balances on its free account, but it has introduced in-credit interest on its Plus and Premium accounts ( see our review of Monzo premium ). These stand at 1% and 1.5% respectively on balances of up to £2,000

Chase is approaching things differently. It doesn’t offer interest on in-credit balances, but instead offers 1% cashback on debit card spending for 12 months. In addition, it offers 5% AER on ‘round ups.’ Where spending on your account will be rounded up the nearest pound. And the rounded-up amount moved to separate ‘pot’ where it will earn 5% interest.

A similar program can be setup on Starling and Monzo accounts via integration with Moneybox  where round-ups can be saved or invested.

Winner:  Chase

Savings account

All three banks now offer savings accounts, and as of August 2023 Monzo has taken the lead here. Where previously it offered savings accounts run by third parties. It now offers its own instant access savings account paying 4% AER (4.5% for Premium customers). As far as digital banks go, this rate is only bettered by Kroo Bank.

Chase allows its users to create up to 10 easy access savings accounts. Launched in May 2022, Chase’s easy access saver offered an interest rate on savings of 1.5%, market leading at the time. Chase recently increased this to 4.1% AER.

Interest on both Chase and Monzo’s savings accounts is paid monthly, but Chase allows a maximum balance of 250,000. Bear in mind only the first £85,000 is protected, so if have more than this, it would be best to spread it around different providers.

More recently, Starling announced a 1 year fixed savings account. The minimum balance starts at £2000, but your money is locked away for 12 months. After which you’d have earned £105 in interest on your £2,000. The maximum balance is £1,000,000. The interest rate as at 20 December 2023 was 5%, but do be sure to check the starling website, as it changes regularly

Starling also upped the rate on in credit balances on its current account to over 3% (on balances of up to £85,000).

Winner: Monzo (just)

For more on savings see our overview of the best digital savings accounts

One area where Monzo has traditionally stood head and shoulders above others is in budgeting. Digital accounts have long featured payment categories, but Monzo’s approach to budgeting takes things a little further.

Users can track spending from payday to payday by selecting the last time they got paid in the app. This date can be changed at will as required.

There is also a monthly budget option where budgets can be set for each spending category e.g. entertainment, transport etc… As you spend the app will then tell you how close you are to these budget limits. It doesn’t stop you from overspending, but instead offers a gentle reminder to keep you on track.

The summary section of the app shows you what you’ve got left to spend in the current period taking into account money due in and out of the account in the future.

Finally, there’s Monzo’s Pots feature. Which is basically a way to set money aside outside of your main account balance. This is most commonly used for setting money aside for bills, and is one of the main reasons we’ve heard of people choosing Monzo over Starling.

Starling Bills Manager

Not to be outdone, Starling introduced its version of pots called spaces. In which you can find the  Bills Manager . This actually goes one step further than Monzo’s pots by allowing you to pick a difference space (as Starling calls it) to pay individual bills from.

This is a useful feature allowing you to keep things like subscriptions separate from household expenses.

Starling notifies you the day before a direct debit is due, and if you don’t have sufficient funds in that space it will let you know, so that you can make the transfer to the correct space.

Now with the Starling 1-year fixed savings account, you can also move money directly from savings spaces to your Starling savings account.

Multiple accounts with Chase

Chase is the least sophisticated of the three in this regard. Whilst it doesn’t have pots or spaces, it does allow you to add as many extra current accounts as you like. These can then be renamed and managed to meet your specific budgeting needs.

Each additional account comes with its own account number and sort code, and can be linked to your debit card for point-of-sale spending. The 2.7% savings account is also easy access, so you can withdraw or add funds to it as you please.

Winner: Monzo (still)

Overdrafts and borrowing

Monzo offers arranged overdrafts of up to £1,000 with a variable APR of 19%, 29% or a whopping 39%. It goes without saying the interest is high, so best to avoid these if possible.

Similarly, Monzo also offers unsecured loans between £7,000 up to £15,000. These start at an APR of 8.8% rising to 24%.

Starling offers overdrafts up to £1,200 with a variable APR ranging from 15%-35%. Helpfully it also provides an overdraft cost calculator and an eligibility checker so you can see how likely you are to be accepted before making an application and getting a hard search on your credit report.

There are also rumours that Starling is preparing to offer mortgages. It already manages a £2bn mortgage portfolio from its purchases of Fleet Mortgages and Masthaven last year, but reports suggest it will offer its own mortgage product in 2023.

Currently Chase does not offer any borrowing facilities at all.

Starling and Chase accounts are both free to open and use with no ATM or other hidden fees. Monzo is also free to open an account, but additionally it offers two subscription accounts too.

They are Monzo Plus, and Monzo Premium priced at £5 per month and £15 per month respectively. We won’t cover these here, but see our  Monzo Premium account review for more information. The paid accounts come with a number of features and benefits over the free option. This can be to the detriment of regular account users though, as new features tend to get reserved for paid users.

Winner: Tie

Joint Accounts

Both Starling and Monzo offer joint accounts. It was actually one of the most requested features when the banks were launching. They each take the same approach in that in order to open a joint account both of you must first have current account with them.

This is quite different to a traditional bank where it’s possible to open a joint account without otherwise banking with that organisation. That being said, once you open your Monzo or Starling joint account, there is no requirement to actually use your personal accounts. These can just sit there dormant.

Bear in mind that in opening a joint account you will be financially linked to the other person on the account. Both account holders will have control of the money within the account. Legally anything in a joint account is owned 50/50 with the other account holder even if they haven’t contributed.

Chase doesn’t currently offer a joint account, but watch this space, as it’s likely to in the future.

Winner: Tie (Monzo/Starling)

Junior accounts

The Starling Kite account is an addon to a parents main account, and is aimed at children between 6-16 years old manage their pocket money. Parents have control and visibility over the account. Kids get a Kite card and access to their space on the Starling App. There’s a £2 a month fee for this.

Teens 16 and over can open their own Starling Teen account. This is a free account and comes will the features of a regular adult Starling account minus any borrowing.

Monzo doesn’t offer a kids account, but like Starling it does offer a teen account for those aged 16-17. Again, this is the same as the adult account but blocks spending to for some things which are illegal for under 18s e.g., Gambling websites, adult content sites etc…

Chase, being new to the market doesn’t currently offer any form of kids or teens account. That may change in the future though.

If you’re a frequent traveller then Chase is the winner here having recently wrestled Starling off the top spot.

All three offer fee-free foreign spending, so there won’t be any charges for using the card abroad, or on foreign websites. They all also benefit from the Mastercard exchange rate meaning you’re getting the best rate possible when spending in foreign currencies, with zero loading or commission.

Where Chase starts to pull ahead is in ATM withdrawals. Chase has a £1,500 monthly limit on fee free foreign currency withdrawals. Although that doesn’t beat Starling’s limit which is effectively £9,000. Chase has a higher daily maximum limit of £500 equivalant vs. £300 for Starling. Monzo limits free foreign withdrawals to just £400 a month (up from £200 in 2023).

In addition, Chase customers can also use Chase Bank ATMs in the United States without incurring any charges. Typically, ATMs in the US charge between $3-8 for withdrawals unless you’re withdrawing from the same bank that issued your card.

In a bizarre twist of events Monzo is actually the worst travel card. That’s ironic given that Monzo actually started out as a specialist travel card. Of course, when we say the ‘ worst travel card here ’ that is a relative term. Monzo still beats practically every high street bank and most specialist cards for travel, but its tiered account model and ATM limitations see it just slip behind the other two.

That being said, if you are happy to pay for the Premium package (£15 a month), Monzo becomes a formidable travel companion, offering increased ATM withdrawal limit, travel insurance for you and your family, mobile phone cover, and airport lounge access.

For more on travel see our guide to the best travel debit and credit cards for foreign travel

Winner: Chase (just)

Customer service

Another area where digital banks race ahead of their traditional counterparts is in customer satisfaction. Whilst First Direct was always top a choice when it came to customer service and satisfaction, it didn’t take long for new crop of challengers to race ahead.

Monzo comes out ahead of starling by 2 percentage points in the FCA satisfaction survey in 2021 . That being said Starling has won the Best British Bank Account Awards for four years in a row.

Having only launched its digital account last year, it’s still a little too early to assess Chase in this regard.

Winner: Monzo

Monzo vs Starling vs Chase – Which one is best?

It’s easy to see how all three banks are similar. Chase has the slight disadvantage of being a new entrant to the market, but it’s backed by one of the largest financial institutions in the world. Until recently, it was something of a coin toss between Monzo and Starling. Monzo had the better budgeting features, but Starling was better for using abroad.

Now we’re starting to see some clear daylight between the two as they go about their businesses in different ways. Starling continues to brings new features to its account (e.g. virtual cards) whereas Monzo reserves these for paying customers only.

Chase is the most rewarding account with it’s 1% cashback and high interest easy access saver, but the former is only for the first 12 months (we expect a new offer sooner or later), and the latter is beaten by Monzo and Kroo.

Overall it’s Starling that appears to the one offering the most complete service i.e. most or all of the services you might expect from a traditional high street bank, and with a mortgages product on the way, it one we’d recommend to those looking to switch from their current high street bank.

These days social and political pressures mean ownership transparency is more important than ever. In personal banking it carries an added importance as FSCS payments are limited on a per institution basis rather than per account.

Fortunately, there is nothing to worry about here with these digital accounts.

Who owns Monzo?

Monzo was founded in 2015 by Tom Blomfield and others. Tom and his team actually met whilst working for Starling, before a disagreement with Starling founder Anne Borden saw him leave to setup Monzo. Tom has since left the bank.

Despite its popularity, Monzo is yet to make a profit. That is fair enough, as these things take time, but what’s worrying is that its losses have been growing substantially. In fact, Auditors Ernst & Young voiced their doubts about the bank as a going concern .

Fortunately, with full FSCS protection that’s not something customers really need to worry about, and Monzo is such hot property it would likely be bought out or be able to bring in new investment if needed.

Who owns Starling Bank?

Starling is a privately owned bank founded by CEO Anne Boden (former COO of Allied Irish Bank) in 2014. Anne owns roughly 24% of the bank with the rest being made up of private investors. Starling is not part of any other banking group.

In 2020 there were reports that larger banks were looking at acquiring Starling, but Anne dismissed these claims and aims to take Starling public in 2022.

Who owns Chase?

Unlike the other two challengers which were new start-ups when they launched, Chase is owned by JP Morgan Chase, which is not only the largest banking providers in the US with over 50 million customers, but one of the largest banks in the world. JP Morgan is involved in all aspects of banking, and particularly investment banking.

Business banking

We’ve put this at the bottom, as it’s not relevant for the vast majority of banking customers. Would-be entrepreneurs, or those with side hustles, small businesses, or taking occasional freelance work, may be interested in opening a business bank account in the future. While this doesn’t have to be with same bank you hold a current account with, it can help speed up the process.

Chase in the UK is purely focused on personal current accounts. As of yet there haven’t been any rumblings about offering business bank accounts. It still has some way to go to polish its personal accounts first.

Both Mozo and Starling offer business bank accounts for sole traders and limited companies. Starling has the slight edge over Monzo here, but there isn’t much in it. See our long term review of Starling Business banking here.

Just as with current accounts, always have more than one business bank account, as a back up. Both the Starling and Monzo Business accounts are free to open, so there’s nothing stopping you opening an account with each of them. Alternatively, specialist business account providers such as Tide could be worth a look as a backup.

For more on business banking see our business bank account guide .

Digital banking FAQs

Do digital bank accounts run credit checks.

Chase, Mozo and Starling all perform soft searches of your credit history report when applying for the account. A soft search isn’t normally visible to other lenders, which means if you aren’t accepted, it shouldn’t prevent you from applying elsewhere.

The searches performed by the three UK digital banks are mainly for fraud and identification purposes rather than credit worthiness.

As a note though, Starling and Monzo do offer overdraft facilities (applied for separately). If you apply to take out an overdraft, a hard search will be carried out, and it will be visible to other lenders.

It is often recommended to leave at least 3 months after a hard search before applying any further credit or big-ticket items such as mortgages.

Is digital banking secure?

One of the joys of digital banking, is not having to typing in various usernames, passcodes, passwords etc. or using one of those terrible card readers for adding and amending payees (Yes Nationwide I’m looking at you).

That doesn’t mean digital accounts aren’t secure. Many the likes of Monzo and Starling in particular have built their platforms from the ground up with security in place to ensure that fraudsters can’t hack into your account, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to take the normal precautions.

Additionally, digital banks were ahead of the curve when it came security, allowing customers to turn off their cards for various types of purchase, use geofencing, and prevent ATM withdrawals. These days many traditional banks have followed that model within their apps, but digital banks still lead the way when it comes to empowering customers to manage their security.

Is my money protected in a digital bank?

Chase, Monzo and Starling are all fully regulated UK banks, and so are covered by the FSCS. That means your money up to the tune of £85,000 is protected in same way it would be with any of the big-name high-street banks. If you are in doubt you can check if your institution is covered with the FSCS bank and savings protection checker .

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Wise vs Monzo

• Trust & Credibility 9.3
• Service & Quality 8.9
• Fees & Exchange Rates 7.6
• Customer Satisfaction 9.6

• Trust & Credibility 8.3
• Service & Quality 8.4
• Fees & Exchange Rates 9.8
• Customer Satisfaction 9.3
• Trust & Credibility 9.3 8.3
• Service & Quality 8.9 8.4
• Fees & Exchange Rates 7.6 9.8
• Customer Satisfaction 9.6 9.3

In our standardized review process, our experts: 

• test the products that they write about; 
• read the fine print of the fees and pricing;
• listen to what customers have to say.

Wise Multi-Currency Account vs Monzo: Which has the best card and account? What are the pros & cons of each?

François Briod

Co-Founder of Monito and money transfer expert, François has been helping Monito’s users navigate the jungle of money transfer fees, bad exchange rates and tricks for the last ten years.

Jarrod Suda

A writer and editor at Monito, Jarrod is passionate about helping people apply today’s powerful finance technologies to their lives. He brings his background in international affairs and his experiences living in Japan to provide readers with comprehensive information that also acknowledges the local context.

Links on this page, including products and brands featured on ‘Sponsored’ content, may earn us an affiliate commission. This does not affect the opinions and recommendations of our editors.

Wise (formerly Transferwise) and Monzo are two top-class digital finance services that both offer fee-free banking, excellent exchange rates for international transfers, slick mobile apps, and debit cards for domestic and international spending. Even so, Wise’s Multi-Currency Account is quite a different product from Monzo’s bank account.

Monzo is a neobank service providing a well-featured current account, debit card, mobile app and a range of services designed for people with busy lifestyles. The Wise Multi-Currency Account is a financial service designed to make cheap international money transfers quickly and easily. 

Which one offers the best card for travelling? Who offers the lowest fees and best exchange rates to use at home and around the world? How about the best service for digitally managing money? We answer these questions and many more in this side-by-side comparison of Wise vs Monzo, offering and the pros and cons of each company.

We’ve carried out the research in detail so you can decide which one is best for you.

Monzo Travel Card versus Wise Multi-Currency Card

Wise : To send money to your friends in countries around the world, use the Wise Multi-Currency Account to hold 50+ currencies, access 10 international bank accounts, and send money.

Monzo : If you need a travel card for yourself, then Monzo's card will charge no foreign transaction fees on purchases abroad. As a licensed UK bank, Monzo will give you access to overdraft and savings interest.

• 01. Which is the more trustworthy? scroll down
• 02. Which has the better account and card? scroll down
• 03. Which has the better fees and exchange rates? scroll down
• 04. Which do customers like more? scroll down
• 05. Wise or Monzo — which is better for you? scroll down

Trust & Credibility

Background check

Regulated by the FCA and HMRC in the UK and the relevant authorities in all operating counties.

Licensed as a bank by the PRA and FCA in the UK, and deposits are FDIC protected.

Security & reliability

Lacks a banking license, but uses segregated user accounts, HTTPS, and 3-D Secure.

Accounts are fully secured using segregated user accounts and HTTPS and cards are 3-D Secure.

Company size

Over 10 million customers and nearly $565 million in annual revenue.

Over 5.5 million customers and nearly $150 million in annual revenue.

Transparent pricing

A full overview of pricing is easily accessible and provides every fee as per the regulator-standard fee schedule.

A full overview of pricing is relatively accessible and provides every fee as per the regulator-standard fee schedule.

Wise vs Monzo: Which can I trust?

Wise and Monzo are both legally licensed firms that are regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. They are both subject to high levels of compliance when it comes to handling your money, which is why millions of customers have entrusted them with their finances — and you can too.

Wise scored higher on our credibility metrics mostly because they're a larger company. Wise has over 10 million customers globally, while Monzo operates only in the United Kingdom with 5 million customers. We also found Wise’s fee schedule more directly accessible on their website than Monzo’s, which counted in their favour.

What sets Wise and Monzo apart in terms of licensing is that Wise is technically an electronic money institution, while Monzo has a full UK banking license. What this means is that Monzo can offer deposit protection. Up to £85,000 of your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). In addition, Monzo can provide overdrafts and other debt instruments. 

Is Wise a Bank?

Wise (formerly Transferwise) is not a licensed bank, and instead partners with licensed banks to provide its international services to you. It is regulated by the FCA as an ‘Electronic Money Institution’. As a result, it cannot offer debt or investment services to its Multi-Currency Account customers. This does not affect its safety, however. Wise is still required by law to keep your money safe and segregated from its own account, like Monzo. That means that if Wise goes out of business, your money will be unaffected and be refunded to you in full. 

Supported Countries

Wise has an impressive global reach because it can partner with banks in countries around the world to provide their financial services. On the other hand, Monzo has a banking license from the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). This limits Monzo to opening its bank accounts for only citizens and residents of the UK. 

Wise , on the other hand, offers their multi-currency card to residents in the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Switzerland, and EEA.

Wise is regulated by the competent authority in each country it operates in, and connects your card to unique bank account details in 10 countries (including a European IBAN, American account number, and a UK sort code). For example, Wise is regulated by FiCEN for operating in the United States with USD and by the FCA in the UK with British pounds.

Last updated: 21/03/2022

Service & Quality

Using the mobile app.

Slick and well-designed with interesting features, including transfer scheduling, a virtual card, and spending statistics.

Well-rated and slick user interface with many interesting features, including instant spending notifications and easy budgeting.

Managing the account

Supports many currencies and top-up methods, but overdraft, joint accounts, and interest aren't available.

Overdraft, interest, and multiple top-up methods are supported, but only one currency is available (GBP).

Contacting support

FAQ, live chat, and phone support are readily available, although not 24/7.

FAQ and live chat are available on the standard plan, but phone support isn't available to all users.

Making card payments

Contactless, online payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and social payments are all supported.

Wise vs Monzo: Which Has the Better Account & Card?

Both Wise and Monzo are excellent services that provide a digital current account connected to a high-quality mobile app to manage your savings and spending easily. They do differ in one major area, however. Monzo is a licensed bank in the UK and offers overdraft and interest on savings — but only does so in British Pounds. Wise, on the other hand, lacks overdraft, interest, and joint account functionality. Wise makes up for this with its multi-currency function, which gives you vast access to over 50 foreign currencies.

Wise Card vs Monzo Card

The debit cards offered by Monzo and Wise are extremely similar. Both offer virtual and physical debit cards. While Monzo partners with MasterCard and Wise partners with Visa, both offer Google Pay, Apple Pay and contactless payments. Each provider allows you to freeze and unfreeze your debit card from their app if it goes missing.

The Account Experience

Both run on superb platforms that make banking simple and organized. You can turn on notifications that track your budgets, save money with their savings features, and analyze your spending habits with their statistics.

In the traditional sense, the Wise Multi-Currency Account isn’t a full bank account. Although you can easily exchange currencies and spend money from the debit card, you can’t get cashback or access overdraft. However, you can set up direct debits (in USD, EUR, GBP, AUS, and CAD), scheduled transfers, and trigger transfers at specific exchange rates.

With Monzo, you can set up direct debits (only in GBP though) and joint accounts with your partner. All customers are provided with a free overdraft of up to £20. After that, it cost 50p per day overdrawn. Monzo gives its customers access to a unique marketplace for interest of savings too. Monzo has partnered with other British banks to get you interest on your money, although withdrawal and deposit limits may apply. Use Monzo’s Savings Marketplace to choose the most competitive savings rates on the market .

Does Monzo Have a Multi-Currency Account?

Monzo provides balances in GBP only, while Wise offers a huge range of currency balances. Among Wise’s over 50 currency accounts include GBP, EUR, USD, JPY, and CHF. When you travel to a country that uses the currencies you hold, you’ll pay like a local when you use Wise’s debit card.

In addition to these accounts to hold currency, Wise gives you local, virtual bank account details in the U.S., U.K., EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Romania, Singapore, and Turkey so you can easily receive a transfer from a bank in any of those 10 countries.

Monzo Card Abroad

Although Monzo is limited to British Pounds, the company will not charge you a foreign transaction fee when you travel abroad. The exchange rate set by MasterCard will be passed directly onto you when you spend on your holidays.

Topping up Your Account

Monzo offers cash, cheque, and bank transfers for topping up an account. With Wise, you can pay in funds with a bank transfer, credit card, debit card, or wire transfer. Wise does not support cash or cheque top-ups. 

1 Wise account details are available for the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hungary, Romania, Singapore, and Turkey. 2 Over 50 other currencies supported. Last updated: 21/03/2022

Fees & Exchange Rates

Everyday use.

No day-to-day fees but ATM withdrawals come at a small cost.

Zero everyday costs such as monthly fees, transfer fees, and local ATM withdrawal fees.

ATM withdrawals

Withdrawals over 200 GBP/EUR, 100 USD, or 350 AUD/NZD/SGD cost between 1.75% and 2% per transaction, with additional fees for more than two withdrawals per month.

Withdrawals are free but are only available up to a daily limit of £400 and a monthly limit of £5,500.

Online spending

Online spending comes at no cost in the local currency, although a small conversion fee applies for spending in a foreign currency.

Ordinary online spending comes at no cost, neither in the default currency nor in a foreign currency.

International spending

Fees are very reasonable for overseas spending, although conversion fees and ATM withdrawal fees do apply.

No fees for spending abroad, although Mastercard's exchange rate can apply to foreign currency transactions.

Wise vs Monzo: How Are Their Exchange Rates and Fees?

Monzo and the Wise Multi-Currency Account both offer a range of features under their free plans. Neither charges you to open or hold an account; both allow you to send money internationally and have great mobile apps. Monzo wins in this category, though, due to their more fully-featured services, although if you’re more interested in currency exchange, Wise is a great choice.

Overall Banking Service

With both services, you get a fully-featured current account, a debit card with no foreign transaction fees, international money transfers through Wise, well-reviewed mobile apps, and a range of other services. There’s no monthly cost to holding either type of account. 

Monzo provides a more complete banking service than Wise, with notifications, direct debits, budgeting, and financial planning options. It lacks multi-currency functionality, however. 

The Wise Multi-Currency Account is a more specialized service that is ideal for fast and easy international money transfers and provides a local, virtual bank account in major regions. For its innovative multi-currency service, Wise will charge an industry-low fixed fee for foreign exchange (0.35%-2.85% depending on the currency.)

International ATM Withdrawals

Wise wins in this area due to their lower international ATM fees. Wise charges 2% for withdrawing money from an ATM when you’re overseas, but the first €200 per month does not attract a fee. Monzo gives you a free limit of £200 every 30 days but charges you 3.00% of the amount withdrawn after that.

Getting a Debit Card

Wise gives you a free virtual card when you open an account, but charges a one-time £5 fee to deliver you a physical Visa debit card. Monzo’s physical card is completely free, but you will need to upgrade to its £5 per month Monzo Plus plan to access a virtual card.

It should take 5 working days to get a card from Monzo, while Wise takes between two and four weeks. Wise also offers an express delivery service at the cost of 22 EUR to get you a card in one to three days. 

Is Wise Connected to Monzo?

Monzo has partnered with Wise to provide transparent and low cost international money transfers , which you can access right from their Monzo app. This means that the fee you’ll pay with either provider will be between 0.35% to 2.85% of the amount you’re transferring, depending on the currency (the fee applied to the most popular currencies is typically toward the lower end of this range). 

Monzo Exchange Rates: Using Your Debit Card Abroad

Monzo does not charge any commission for foreign exchange services when you pay with your card abroad. 

If you already have the local currency of your holiday destination saved on your Wise multi-currency account, then you will be charged no foreign transaction fees. With your Wise card, you will be able to spend like a local. If you don't have the local currency pre-loaded onto the card, Wise will charge its standard fixed fee of 0.35% to 2.85% to spend overseas, depending on the currency. 

Customer Satisfaction

Customer review score.

Average Trustpilot rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Average Trustpilot rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Number of positive reviews

Over 121,000 four- and five-star reviews.

Over 15,000 four- and five-star reviews.

Wise vs Monzo: What Are Customers Saying?

Wise and Monzo have been highly rated for their quality customer service on Trustpilot by millions of their customers. We consider this one a draw, as both are large, popular, and highly recommended digital banking services.

Wise, with a Trustpilot score of 4.6, narrowly beat Monzo’s 4.5 score. Both have over 15,000 four and five-star ratings on the review site too. In terms of customer support, Monzo has the edge here as they provide support over the phone from the U.K. and abroad, via email and through an in-app live chat. Wise offers support through email and call centres, although hours do vary by country. 

In the end, we think it's safe to say that you will be impressed with either choice.

Wise vs Monzo: The Verdict

Both Wise and Monzo are reliable and high-quality services that Monito highly recommends without reservation. Your choice will largely depend on your needs and preferences:

If you are in the UK and looking for a fully-fledged bank account , no monthly fees, savings with interest, and other banking services like overdraft, then Monzo is likely the choice for you. Its mobile app, which tracks your spending habits and budgets on a mobile app, is a major bonus that your current high street bank account likely does not provide. 

On the other hand, if you are happy with your primary bank account and are looking for a multi-currency function , then Wise may be a great supplement. The service is free to sign up for, and it puts you in touch with dozens of the world's most popular currencies at some of the best rates in the international money transfer industry. 

To take a deeper dive into both companies, read through our in-depth Monzo review and Wise Multi-Currency Account review .

To compare Wise and Monzo to other alternatives, also take a look at our rankings of the best digital banks in the UK in 2022 , as well as the best travel cards on the market in 2022 .

Wise vs Revolut vs Monzo and Comparisons of Other Top-Rated Digital Banks

Why Trust Monito?

You’re probably all too familiar with the often outrageous cost of sending money abroad. After facing this frustration themselves back in 2013, co-founders François, Laurent, and Pascal launched a real-time comparison engine to compare the best money transfer services across the globe. Today, Monito’s award-winning comparisons, reviews, and guides are trusted by around 8 million people each year and our recommendations are backed by millions of pricing data points and dozens of expert tests — all allowing you to make the savviest decisions with confidence.

Monito is trusted by 15+ million users across the globe.

Monito's experts spend hours researching and testing services so that you don't have to.

Our recommendations are always unbiased and independent.

Upgrade your account to get more life for your money — from £17 a month.

Aged 18-69 • UK resident • 3 month minimum • Ts&Cs apply

Max includes worldwide travel and phone insurance, alongside UK & Europe breakdown cover. That’s on top of our most advanced tools, everyday extras and 4.60% AER (variable) interest on Instant Access Savings Pots.

Worldwide travel insurance

Worldwide phone insurance, uk & europe breakdown cover, add your family for £5 extra a month.

Travel insurance provided by Zurich, powered by Qover. Phone insurance provided by Assurant. Breakdown cover provided by RAC.

The best things pay for themselves

Aer (variable) interest, paid monthly on instant access savings pots and cash isa, our best rate, claim a greggs treat every week, get an annual railcard every year, burnt coral.

Our signature colour, but it’s roasted.

Strap boosters to your money management

Max is packed with advanced budgeting, saving and general money management tools to help you get to where you’re going.

Get a 360° view of your finances with connected banks

Organise and protect your spending with virtual cards, ‘bills’, ‘books’, ‘brekkie’ – group and label purchases your way, only the best will do.

Get our best savings rate, take out more fee-free cash abroad or invest in your future, for less.

fee-free cash withdrawals abroad

Discounted investment fee, compare plans.

We're making money work for everyone, so we have different plans for different needs.

From £ 17 a month

3 months minimum

months minimum

A UK current account

Your eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £85,000 per person

All the Monzo features you know and love

4.10% AER (variable) interest, paid monthly

16+ • Ts&Cs apply

£ 3 a month

Includes all features from Free

Includes everything from Free, plus:

Connected banks and credit cards

Virtual cards

Advanced roundups

Custom categories

Auto-spreadsheet

Credit insights

Fee-free withdrawals up to £200

18+ • Ts&Cs apply

£ 7 a month

Includes all features from Extra

Includes everything from Free, Extra, plus:

4.60% AER (variable) interest, paid monthly

Fee-free withdrawals up to £600

3 fee-free cash deposits

Discounted investment fees

Annual Railcard

Weekly Greggs treat

Includes all features from Perks

Includes everything from Free, Extra, Perks, plus:

Personal worldwide travel insurance – provided by Zurich, powered by Qover

Personal worldwide phone insurance – provided by Assurant

Personal UK & Europe breakdown cover - provided by RAC

Add your family to your insurance and cover for an extra £5 a month

18-69 • Ts&Cs apply

Want to dive deeper?

View our detailed comparison table to get the full picture

Common Questions

What are virtual cards.

Extra cards that you can create and delete as you like for budgeting and security.

Only want to spend a certain amount on croissants this month? Create a ‘Pastries’ Pot, link a virtual card to it and once the Pot’s run dry, you’ve hit your limit.

Buying something online but worried about entering your physical card’s details? Create a virtual card specifically for online shopping and if you think someone’s got hold of the details, delete the virtual card.

What are connected banks and credit cards?

Get a clear view of your finances by adding other bank accounts and credit cards to Monzo.

See your balances and transactions, and move money around with easy bank transfers.

We encrypt the information we get from your other bank and if you change your mind, you can remove an account at any time.

We use Open Banking to connect accounts, which is a service that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates. For security reasons we ask you to renew the connection every 90 days.

Which banks and credit cards do you connect with?

This means you can see your other account balances, transactions, and trends all in the Monzo app. We let you add most major UK banks to Monzo. The ones below are the ones that are available now on personal/business accounts. Supported banks: American Express, Bank of Scotland, Barclaycard, Barclays, Capital One, Chase, First Direct, HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA, NatWest, Nationwide, RBS, Revolut, Sainsbury's Bank, Santander, Starling Bank and TSB.

We're hoping to add more soon and we're already working on the next group of accounts to be added!

Go to Monzo Labs in your Account Settings and switch on 'Test Other accounts in Monzo' to connect to one of the following accounts which are still in testing:

Amazon, Aqua, Argos Classic, Bip, Fluid, John Lewis, Marbles, NewPay, Opus, Pulse, Tesco Bank, Tide Business Banking, Virgin Money and Wise

How does the custom categories feature work?

You can create and edit a custom category by opening a recent payment and tapping the category for that payment.

If you edit a payment's categories, we'll categorise all future payments for the same merchant in the same way.

How does the credit insights work?

Credit insights gives you a clear picture of your credit health and ways to improve it.

You’ll see your Equifax and TransUnion credit scores as well as your credit report, updated weekly. So you can keep an eye on things and take action if something doesn’t look right.

We’ll also show you the factors that are impacting your scores and what you can do to improve how lenders see you.

You’ll be able to understand how to improve your credit health with credit-boosting actions. You can track the progress of your actions and see the estimated impact that ticking them off will have on your scores.

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Monzo Bank Limited is a company registered in England and Wales (No.09446231). Monzo Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Our financial Services Register number is 730427. Our address is Broadwalk House, 5 Appold St, London EC2A 2AG.