From 31st October 2020 we’re introducing new fees for taking out cash and getting replacement cards. But based on how people used Monzo in the last year, 79% of people won’t be affected at all by these changes.
From 31st October we're introducing a 3% fee if you withdraw more than £250 cash in 30 days in the UK and European Economic Area (EEA).
We’re also introducing a £5 fee for card replacements in the UK (except if you’re the victim of fraud, if your card is stolen, or if it expires).
These fees aren't likely to affect you if you’re relying on Monzo for more of your banking, or if you have Monzo Plus
It’s really important that you don’t have any restrictions on your access to cash if you’re using Monzo more as a bank than as a spending account, because you’re likely to be relying on us for more of your core banking needs. The same is true if you have a Monzo Plus account. So if you have Monzo Plus or meet our criteria (which we’ve explained in detail below), you’ll keep getting fee-free cash withdrawals in the EEA, which includes the UK. You’ll also get two replacement cards in the UK for free.
Most people don’t take out lots of cash or get many replacement cards
If you’re mainly using Monzo for day-to-day spending, though – that’s okay! The average Monzo customer only withdraws £36 a month, 90% of people have never ordered a replacement card, and 99% have never ordered more than two. Based on how people used Monzo in the last year, 79% of people wouldn’t have paid any of these new fees.
If you’re getting lots of cash or replacement cards, we think it’s fair to ask you to cover those costs
In the rarer cases where people are using lots of cash or replacing lots of cards, whilst also doing most of their banking elsewhere, we think it’s fair to ask them to cover those costs so our other customers don’t have to. We’re also making it easy to see exactly what your fees and allowances are with a new home in your Monzo app, so nothing’s ever hidden.
We’ve put protections in place for our vulnerable customers too
We're very conscious of not putting any more burden on our most vulnerable customers. If you tell us you’re in difficulty, we can exempt you from or refund these fees.
Here’s what’s happening in more detail, and why:
Cash withdrawals
Every time someone takes out cash, we pay the companies that run the cash machines. Right now, around 20% of customers make up more than 80% of our cash machine costs. This means that most of our cash withdrawal costs come from a small minority of customers.
That’s why we’re asking people who take out lots of cash with us, but could do that for free with their other bank, to contribute towards those costs.
Card replacements
It’s a similar story with card replacements. Most Monzo customers have never ordered a replacement card, but 1% of Monzo customers order more than one card each year, making up 35% of our total card replacement costs.
If you need to replace your card because you’ve been the victim of fraud, if it’s been stolen, or if it expires we’ll always replace it for free in the UK. But if you need more cards for another reason, we’ll now ask you to cover that cost in some circumstances.
If you rely on Monzo more, you’ll get bigger allowances
We thought about all the different types of people using and relying on Monzo regularly, and tried to be as generous as we can with our definitions. We think that if you’re doing at least one of the following, it’s likely that you’re relying on us as a main bank of yours:
Paying in at least £500 every 35 days to a Monzo account and have at least one active Direct Debit on that same account, or
Getting a Department for Work and Pensions or Department for Communities’ payment (like Universal Credit or a state pension) into a Monzo account every 35 days
Getting your student loan paid into a Monzo account every 8 months
Sharing a Monzo Joint Account with someone who does one of the above
If you’re meeting at least one of these criteria, you won’t need to do anything to get bigger allowances, we’ll do this automatically for you.
Monzo Plus customers will also get these bigger allowances because the fact they're paying for a Monzo account suggests we're an important part of their financial life.
There’s been a lot of deliberation to make sure we capture what it means to rely on Monzo, so we’re not restricting access to cash or a debit card for people who can’t get it elsewhere.
Our threshold is £500 because our research suggests it’s a figure that covers most people’s regular income in a monthly period – and we include income like student loans, Universal Credit and pensions to make sure we’re not excluding people who don’t get paid a regular salary.
We also know that lots of people spend that or more through Monzo every month, but do most of their core banking elsewhere. These are typically people who get paid into another account and pay their bills from another account, and transfer their spending money into Monzo. That’s completely fine, and most of those people still won’t be affected by these new fees, but we included at least one Direct Debit in our definition of ‘relying’ on Monzo because we see paying bills from Monzo as a key indicator that we’re more than a spending account.
If your bills and income aren’t with Monzo, then it’s very likely you have free access to cash through your other bank. So we think it’s fair for you to contribute to part of the cost if you take out lots of cash through Monzo.
Similarly, if you need a new card because it’s been stolen, frauded or if it’s expired, we’ll always replace that for free in the UK. But a small percentage of customers ask for a lot of replacement cards, so we’ve brought in a cap on the number of free replacements, which is more generous for those relying on us as a bank or paying for Monzo Plus.
A summary of the changes
| If you meet the criteria we outlined above | If you don’t meet the criteria we outlined above | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash withdrawals in the UK and EEA | No fee | No fee up to £250, 3% after that |
| Cash withdrawals outside the EEA | If you don’t have Monzo Plus No fee up to £200, 3% after that If you do have Monzo Plus No fee up to £400, 3% after that |
If you don’t have Monzo Plus No fee up to £200, 3% after that If you do have Monzo Plus No fee up to £400, 3% after that |
| Card replacements per year, per account | Two free card replacements in the UK, £5 per replacement after that (unless you’re a victim of fraud or theft, or when it expires) | £5 per replacement in the UK (unless you’re a victim of fraud or theft, or when it expires) |