Signing up for the Monzo card

[orientalist]

Anyone got a Monzo card (similar to Revolut) yet? You can only sign up via the app now so I'm wondering if I need to have a UK IP to do it and how they verify your identity and/or address.

[JamJar]

I'm guessing that you'll need to take a photo of your passport and a recent bill/letter from bank etc.

[orientalist]

Googling around a bit it seems they do a credit check based on the personal and banking info you give them, and then may ask for a photo of passport or driving licence plus a short video of yourself. I can't find anything about submitting proof of address or UK residency, but presumably they can get the former from your bank. They say you can do the verification "anywhere" but I imagine doing it from a Thai SIM and IP might look a bit suspicious.

 

Formerly, they were not a bank. Now they are officially a bank and later this year will offer current accounts. I imagine they would have to be stricter about residency then.

[orientalist]

OK, I can answer my own question now. Initially they just ask for real name, email and a UK post code. No problem with a Thai IP or SIM. You get put in a queue of 16,000 for the card, which takes about 2 weeks to put you at the top. Then they ask you to choose from a list of addresses at the postcode you gave them, and give them your phone number for a verification code. You enter the code and then do a £100 top-up from a debit card with a billing address postcode in the UK. They send the card within a couple of days.

 

However, you are not at this point "verified" so your limits are lower and you can't use the card outside the UK. From what I've read, verification involves a photo of your passport and a short selfie video.

[KneeDeep]

8 hours ago, orientalist said:

OK, I can answer my own question now. Initially they just ask for real name, email and a UK post code. No problem with a Thai IP or SIM. You get put in a queue of 16,000 for the card, which takes about 2 weeks to put you at the top. Then they ask you to choose from a list of addresses at the postcode you gave them, and give them your phone number for a verification code. You enter the code and then do a £100 top-up from a debit card with a billing address postcode in the UK. They send the card within a couple of days.

 

However, you are not at this point "verified" so your limits are lower and you can't use the card outside the UK. From what I've read, verification involves a photo of your passport and a short selfie video.

 

You applied through the wrong link.

 

Applying via http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-travel-cards#monzo  moves you to the top of the queue.

 

Alternative: https://www.starlingbank.com

 

Quote

Starling Bank is a licensed mobile-only challenger bank founded by former Allied Irish Banks COO, Anne Boden in January 2014

Wikipedia

 

[orientalist]

Well, no hurry for me as I won't be back in the UK to pick up the card for quite a while.

 

Starling Bank looks good but you have to be a UK resident. To get the Monzo card you don't have to state that you are a resident, although I imagine that might change when they start offering current accounts.

[Blueboy88]

I have a Monzo card and it works well, support is great - I got them to increase my limits very easily through the app.

For verification you will need a photo ID and a proof of address ID. This is usually a passport and UK driving licence. 

They don't come out and say it, technically you should be a UK resident, but the driving licence does the trick.

 

Starling are not yet issuing bank accounts nor are Atom, but again they are technically for UK residents. Some banks are more specific: Barclays ask the question directly twice! Most regular banks want to see that either you are on the electoral roll or you have an existing UK credit card or other bank account.

[orientalist]

Right. I still have a decades old current account in the UK, but when I tried to open a savings account with the same bank they required me to state that I was a resident. NS&I - not being a bank - expects you to have an address in the UK plus a UK debit card, but they don't require you to be a resident. However, there are limitations what you can do with them. Good for saving, but not much else. 

 

Have you used the Monzo card in Thai stores or restaurants yet? Can it do chip & sign in addition to chip & pin?

Edited May 18, 2017 by orientalist

[orientalist]

A bit more info on Monzo: Once the card arrives, you just put the 9-digit number from the card into the app and the card is activated. The PIN arrives by SMS to the phone number you gave them. No problems using a Thai SIM or being in Thailand. As mentioned above, the final "identity verification" involves a selfie video and photo of passport or driving licence.

[orientalist]

Monzo will be inviting all users to sign up for their current account before the end of the year, and I suspect this will require us to at least state for the record that we are UK residents, as is the case with regular bank accounts.

 

Also, from December 19 they'll introduce fees on ATM withdrawals overseas above £200 a month.

[orientalist]

When I tried to upgrade to the new "current account card" a couple of months ago, "United Kingdom" was a greyed-out mandatory option for tax residency, and the support staff told me users had to be resident in the UK. However, when I contacted them today (the deadline for upgrading is April 4) they had me re-install the app and I was then able to specify Thailand as my only tax residency. They even arranged to send my new card to me in Thailand as I won't be in the UK for some months yet.