Monzo Review 2026: What It Does Well and Where It Falls Short

Is Monzo a good bank? For a UK resident who wants one main current account with strong budgeting tools, yes: Monzo Bank Limited holds a full UK banking licence, eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000, the free plan charges nothing for card payments in foreign currencies, and savings Pots pay a variable 2.75% to 3.50% AER on instant access depending on plan. It is weaker for sending money abroad, paying in cash (£1 a deposit) and anything that needs a person in a branch. The figures below are taken from Monzo's own plan, savings and fee documents, read on 16 October 2026.

Monzo reported 15.2 million total customers, including 14.2 million personal customers in the UK and 905,000 business customers, for the year ended 31 March 2026, in its annual report signed 15 May 2026.

The structural thing that matters most

Monzo holds a full UK banking licence. Its own footer states that Monzo Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, Financial Services Register number 730427; Companies House lists the company (No. 09446231) as incorporated on 18 February 2015. Eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, whose limit rose to £120,000 per eligible person, per bank on 1 December 2025, per the FSCS.

That sounds like a technicality and is not. A large share of the apps Monzo gets compared to are e-money institutions where customer funds are safeguarded rather than insured, which is a materially weaker promise — the difference is set out in what happens when a neobank fails.

It also changes what Monzo can do. Holding deposits under its own licence is what lets it lend, pay interest on Pots, and run a business on net interest income rather than depending on card interchange — the economics are in how neobanks make money.

Monzo plans and prices compared

Monzo sells one free plan and three paid ones, per its plans page and savings page.

*Select Access rates apply when you make two or fewer withdrawals a year, with a £500 minimum deposit. Monzo also lists a one-year Fixed Rate Savings Pot at 4.70% AER (fixed), with 2- and 3-year terms available. All variable rates can change.

What the fees actually are

From Monzo's fee information document (version 1.8):

• Card payments in a foreign currency: £0. Monzo says it passes on Mastercard's exchange rate without adding a markup.

• Cash withdrawals in the EEA: £0 if you meet Monzo's criteria (broadly, at least £500 paid in over a rolling 35 days plus an active Direct Debit, or eligible benefit or student loan payments). If you do not, the first £400 in a rolling 30 days is free in the UK and EEA, then 3%.

• Cash withdrawals outside the EEA: the first £200 in a rolling 30 days is free on the standard terms, then 3%.

• Paying in cash: £1 per deposit at any PayPoint or Post Office branch.

• Sending money in a foreign currency: a fixed part between £0.50 and £2.68 plus a variable part between 0% and 1.30%, depending on destination and currency.

• Receiving euros or other foreign currencies: a 1% conversion fee, capped at £1,000, because Monzo converts them into pounds before they arrive.

• Unarranged overdraft: £0. Arranged overdraft interest is set in your overdraft agreement.

Worked examples: what Monzo costs or pays in practice

Savings on £5,000 for a year. At the free plan's 2.75% AER, £5,000 earns about £137.50. At Max's 3.50% it earns about £175.00 — £37.50 more. Max costs at least £19 × 12 = £228 a year, so the higher rate alone never pays for the plan; Max only makes sense if you would otherwise buy the travel, phone and breakdown cover separately. (Both rates are variable, so treat these as a snapshot.)

Cash on a trip outside Europe. Withdraw £500 in a 30-day period on the free plan: the first £200 is free and 3% applies to the remaining £300, so the fee is £9. On Perks or Max the £600 allowance covers it, so the fee is £0 — though the plan itself costs £9 or more that month.

Paying in cash every week. Four cash deposits a month at £1 each is £48 a year. If your income arrives in cash, that is a running cost, not an inconvenience.

Sending £1,000 abroad. Under the published ranges the fee falls between £0.50 (fixed minimum with no variable part) and £15.68 (£2.68 fixed plus 1.30% of £1,000 = £13.00). Monzo shows the exact fee in the app before you confirm, so check it against a specialist — our Wise vs Revolut transfers comparison shows what to compare it with.

What Monzo does well

Instant notifications — every transaction triggers an instant push notification. It sounds trivial and it is the feature that changed the category; knowing what you spent as you spend it is what makes the rest of the budgeting work.

Salary Sorter — automatically splits your pay into Pots for bills, savings and spending the moment it arrives.

Savings Pots — instant-access Pots pay from 2.75% AER on the free plan, and the Pot structure makes saving for several goals at once genuinely easy.

Shared Tabs and joint accounts — splitting bills with flatmates or a partner without a spreadsheet.

Where Monzo falls short

International transfers — the fee range above is not competitive with dedicated providers for regular senders. Use a supplementary account if you send money abroad often.

Receiving foreign currency — the 1% conversion fee on incoming euros and other currencies makes Monzo a poor home for income paid in another currency; a multi-currency account avoids it.

Cash — £1 per deposit, and no branches.

Complex products — large mortgages, foreign-currency lending and banking that needs a person are not what a branchless bank does best.

What the regulator has on the record

On 8 July 2025 the FCA fined Monzo £21,091,300 for failings in its financial crime controls between October 2018 and August 2020, and for repeatedly breaching a requirement not to open accounts for high-risk customers between August 2020 and June 2022, during which it signed up over 34,000 such customers, per the FCA's press release. It is not a finding about solvency and it does not change FSCS protection. It is relevant if you are weighing how carefully a fast-growing bank runs its controls, and it is one reason accounts are sometimes frozen for checks — see what to do if a bank closes your account.

Monzo or Revolut? The split

Monzo is the better bank account. UK licence, FSCS protection, interest on balances you actually leave there, budgeting tools built around a single currency.

Revolut is the better travel and multi-currency tool. More currencies held side by side and more adjacent products such as trading.

The most common sensible answer is both: Monzo as the account your salary lands in, Revolut or Wise for anything crossing a border. Our Nubank vs Monzo comparison looks at Monzo against a very different digital bank.

Who Monzo suits

• People who want one main UK current account with good software and full deposit protection.

• Anyone who budgets by separating money, because Pots and the Salary Sorter automate it.

• Households splitting costs, through shared tabs and joint accounts.

Less suited to frequent international senders, people paid in foreign currencies, cash-heavy income, and anyone who wants investing and banking from the same firm.

Frequently asked questions

Is Monzo a real bank?

Yes. Monzo Bank Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the PRA (register number 730427), so it holds a full UK banking licence rather than an e-money licence.

Is my money safe with Monzo?

Eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person, per bank, the limit that applies to banks failing after 30 November 2025. The limit is per bank, so all your eligible deposits at Monzo Bank share one £120,000 ceiling.

Does Monzo charge fees abroad?

Card payments in foreign currencies are free. Cash withdrawals outside the EEA are free up to £200 every 30 days on the standard terms (£600 on Perks and Max), then 3%. Sending money abroad costs between £0.50 and £2.68 plus up to 1.30%, depending on the currency.

How much does it cost to pay cash into Monzo?

£1 per deposit at PayPoint or the Post Office under Monzo's fee information document. Perks lists three fee-free cash deposits among its benefits.

Is Monzo Max worth it?

Only if you would otherwise pay for its travel insurance, phone insurance and breakdown cover. The higher savings rate on its own is worth about £37.50 a year on £5,000 against a plan cost of at least £228.

The verdict

Monzo is the strongest pure UK current account among the app-based banks: a real banking licence, FSCS cover at the new £120,000 limit, fee-free card spending abroad, and the best day-to-day money management software in the market.

Its weaknesses are all at the edges — abroad, in cash, in foreign-currency income and in complex products — and each is fixable by keeping a second account for that specific job. For the licensing checks that apply to any provider, see the neobank safety guide; for moving your account across, the switching guide.

Related reading

Weighing UK options? Compare it with our Starling Bank review, the Revolut vs N26 face-off, and the best current accounts of 2026. Still deciding the bigger question? Read digital banks vs traditional banks. This is general information, not financial advice.