Monzo

Monzo is a UK-based digital bank offering current accounts, savings pots, budgeting tools and joint accounts, accessed primarily through its app with a small number of physical presence points rather than branches. It holds a full UK banking licence granted by the Prudential Regulation Authority and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA, the same regulatory framework that covers traditional UK banks. The regulatory status is the material fact for a banking product. Because Monzo is a fully licensed UK bank rather than an e-money institution, eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to 85,000 pounds per eligible person per institution, which is the same statutory protection as a Barclays or HSBC current account, a distinction that separates it from e-money-licensed competitors whose UK balances have historically not carried that protection. Its free current account charges no fee for spending abroad in foreign currency at the interbank exchange rate, though ATM withdrawals abroad are free only up to a monthly limit before a fee applies. Buyers are UK residents wanting an app-first current account with FSCS protection and free foreign currency spending, and the trade-off is that Monzo remains UK-focused, so multi-currency holding, international transfer breadth and investment products are narrower than a broader platform like Revolut, in exchange for the simpler, fully regulated banking status.

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  Monzovs

  

  Starling Bank

  Starling Bank: If you want another fully licensed UK bank with a similar FSCS-protected, app-first model

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  Monzovs

  

  Revolut

  Revolut: If you want broader multi-currency holding and investing features and are comfortable with its mixed regulatory structure