Monese is not a bank. However, it offers a standard debit card that one can use as a salary card. What differentiates Monese from British banks is that customers don’t have an £85,000 coverage of their savings under the Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Instead, clients’ money is safeguarded under the EU Electronic Money Directive 2009/110/EC and UK Electronic Money Regulations 2011.
Monese is a British financial technology company (fintech). Norris Koppel, an Estonian entrepreneur who had difficulty opening a bank account in London, founded this startup in 2015. In those days, and until now, Monese’s main principle has been to make banking inclusive. This means that Monese offers banking services to everyone, even customers who don’t have a credit history or don’t reside in the UK. What do Monese banking services include? In this detailed Monese review, we’ll take a closer look.
Monese app overview
Monese offers to manage both personal and business accounts from one app. However, in this Monese review, we’ll focus on personal accounts. Currently, the fintech isn’t onboarding any business clients due to ongoing changes.
Monese mobile app (Google Play)
Category: Finance, Banking
Released: September 18, 2015
Current version: 8.16.0.26462
Latest update: May 3, 2023
Downloads: over 1 million
Rating: 4.2
The latest release brought 35 bug fixes and improvements.
Onboarding
Monese accounts are available in all the EU countries and the UK. Getting started with Monese requires users to download the app, open it, and sign up for a free account. Next, the app asks for basic information, such as an email address, home address, mobile number, employment status, and an invite code if available. Once that is done, the service sends a temporary password.
With the temporary code, users can sign in and set up a password and Touch ID or Face ID. Also, customers must verify their identities by sending a photo of a required document (such as a passport), and then taking a selfie to verify their identity. Generally, it’s a more or less standard procedure that can take anywhere from five minutes to half an hour. The timing depends on how comfortable the user is with the technology.
Services
Monese offers a free plan (Starter) and two paid plans (Classic for £5.95/month and Premium for £14.95/month), each with a range of benefits. The Starter plan is a basic current account that includes:
- Free real-time Monese to Monese transfers
- Free local transactions
- Free physical and virtual debit cards
- GooglePay / Apple Pay
- PayPal and Avios account integrations
- Free budgeting tools and joint accounts with other Monese users
- Savings accounts
- Access to personal loans
Not too shabby for a free banking account. Other services are available for a charge: cash withdrawals (£1.5), international transfers (2.5% on working days as well as an additional 1% fee on weekends), and a credit builder tool (£7.95 monthly fee).
Paid plans offer more. In addition to the Starter plan features, Monese Classic and Premium come with some extra benefits:
- Lower international transfer fees (0.5% fee for Monese Classic, free for Premium)
- Cheaper card replacement (£4.95 fee for Monese Classic, free for Premium)
- Free foreign currency transactions
- Free withdrawals (up to £500/monthly for Monese Classic, £1,500/monthly for Premium)
- Various insurances (hospital stay, accident protection, etc.)
- Priority customer support (for Monese Premium)
Design & Usability
The app design is elegant and laconic. There are clear instructions, easy-to-use buttons, analytics graphs, and lovely illustrations throughout. Plus, the Monese app supports 14 languages. The user experience isn’t flawless, however. As of 2022, the Monese application is nothing special. In addition, recently, there have been many negative Monese reviews. Users complain about frequent downtimes, disappearing debit card analytics, and freezing screens. We can only hope that the improvement work being done on the application is the source of these problems.
Reliability & Security
Monese takes data and money protection very seriously. The application features multifactor and biometric authentication, anti-fraud systems based on artificial intelligence, and a 24/7 monitoring system. For extra security, customers can only use one mobile device to log into Monese. This makes it impossible for anyone to access a user account from another location or device. Users must undergo a complex authentication procedure to access their accounts using a new device first. A stolen device can’t lead to any data fraud either. The app requires account holders to enter a secret 5-digit passcode at every log-in.
Support
Monese offers round-the-clock support in fourteen languages. There’s a live chat option, an email, and an emergency phone number. The company also has an online help center and official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. But in reality, Monese’s customer service is practically nonexistent, according to many users. Many users are unhappy with the in-app chatbot and the support team’s inefficiency.
Our verdict
3.8 stars out of 5. The Monese app is useful for currency exchange and money management, but there is still room for improvement. Customer support and app stability are two main issues.
What we like about Monese:
- Simple signup
- User-friendly app
- Free basic plan
- Fee-free money transfers
- Favorable currency exchange rates
- Dual currency account (Euro, GBP) at no extra cost
- Budgeting tools
- High level of data security protection
- Multilingual support
What we dislike about Monese:
- Monthly limits on free ATM withdrawals
- High fees for cash withdrawals
- No banking license
- Lack of app stability
- Weak customer support
Why Monese?
It’s relatively easy to open a Monese account in the UK and the EU, making it a convenient choice for recent expats. Moreover, Monese allows dual currency accounts, simplifying life for those who live between the UK and an EU country. Customers can also troubleshoot problems quickly, even if they don’t speak English. This fintech offers multilingual support.
Value for customers:
Unlike most banks and fintech, Monese offers most banking services in the UK and Europe without requiring proof of residence. Its primary benefit is money transfers: free local transactions and moderately-priced foreign transactions. Plus, it offers its customers modern money management tools and top-of-the-line security.
Value for partnering businesses:
In terms of global or European scale, Monese might not be the most influential fintech. Yet, it’s large enough to offer a wide range of partnership opportunities. For example:
- Banks. By partnering with Monese, smaller banks give their customers access to innovative digital services like budgeting tools, spending analytics, and so on. For instance, Investec Bank has recently signed a partnership deal with Monese, which supposes that Monese provides a modern BaaS platform to Investec Bank. This cloud-based transactional banking platform will help Investec Bank meet consumers’ increasing post-pandemic demand for current digital financial services.
- Startups. Monese partners with financial companies. For example, collaborating with Paysafe Group gives its customers the means of paying online easily and safely with cash. Paying for an item is done by generating a barcode during online checkout; this code is then scanned in person at the payment point to complete the purchase.
- Digital product owners, influencers. Monese created an affiliate program to expand and attract new users. Anyone with a large social media audience or running a website can start earning money by promoting Monese products.
