Monese Mobile Current Accounts
Monese Review
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Why choose a Monese mobile current account?
What is Monese?
Monese was one of the first mobile-only “challenger” banking services to be set up in the UK, in 2015. It offers an easy-access spending card anyone living in the European Economic Area (EEA).
It’s not actually a bank but an Electronic Money Institution, which means that deposits aren’t protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme; they’re held in a separate “protected” account.
Monese offers three cards, each with a maximum balance of £40,000:
Monese Simple:
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- Delivery charge for Mastercard debit card £4.95, no monthly fees
- Free contactless purchases
- ATM withdrawals and top-ups: free up to £200 per month (then 2% fee)
- Card payments abroad: free up to £2,000 per month (then 2% fee)
- Money transfers: 2% fee (free between Monese accounts)
Monese Classic:
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- £4.95 monthly fee
- Free contactless purchases
- Free ATM withdrawals and top-ups up to £800 monthly (then 2% fee)
- Free card payments abroad up to £8,000 (then 2% fee)
- Money transfers: 0.5% fee (free between Monese accounts)
Monese Premium:
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- £14.95 monthly fee
- Free contactless purchases
- Free ATM withdrawals, up to £300 a day
- Free ATM top-ups, up to £500 a day
- Unlimited free card payments abroad
- Free money transfers
How does it work?
- Download the mobile app.
- Follow the sign-up steps, entering your personal email address, and a mobile number capable of receiving text messages.
- Take a photo of your ID documents (driving licence, passport or National ID card) and a short video selfie.
- You may need to do a video call as well.
- When you’ve opened your account, order your Monese debit card within the Card section of the app.
- Confirm the address you’d like the card sent to.
- Your card should arrive within 3 – 5 working days.
Pros
- Easy account opening, via mobile (“within 60 seconds”)
- No need to have a permanent UK address, or a credit check
- Send and receive payments
- Pay in cash via the Post Office or Paypoints
- Supports direct debits
- Supports standing orders (“Recurring payments”)
- Apple Pay
- Instabalance real time view of your account balance
- Pie chart representation of your monthly spending habits.
- Set up a savings Pot (one per account) for easy savings transfers
- Lock your card instantly from the app if you lose it (and unlock it again if you find it)
- Earn £15 for referring friends
Cons
- Debit card only
- No overdraft facilities: if your account goes overdrawn your card is locked
- No credit facilities, though loan services are planned for the future
- No interest paid on savings
These features and services were accurate late 2019. But challenger banks are very aware of customer demands: features may change or be extended.