🥇 Monese bank – 2021 review: how to open a bank account in England

Item: Monese
Rating: 5
Author: Libor Tušar

If You are planning a business or an Erasmus stay in England, You will certainly have to solve how a bank account is opened in UK. Until recently, this was problematic, because English banks require these two documents:

Proof of name (a document/ID that confirms your name)
Proof of address (a document/ID confirming your address)

Opening an account with some traditional brick-and-mortar banks, such as Barclays or HSBC, can prove to be very difficult, because you are a foreigner, and it is less complicated for them to set up a new account for an English citizen. Luckily, there is a solution: Digital Monese bank. Everything is easily manageable online and from the comfort of your home. Only thing You will need is your mobile phone; to take a picture of your ID and a selfie for identity verification.

What is Monese?

Monese is a digital UK bank, which will set up a free bank account for You and assign you a local IBAN. After that it will mail Your payment card MasterCard to you address. My card arrived within 5 working days. You can handle your Monese bank account with ease via mobile application for both Android and iOS.

About Your Monese account

Monese offers three account types. Simple is free, without any monthly fees. Next is Classic for 4,95 Euros and Premium for 14,95 Euros per month. Your account is kept in both British Pound and Euro. Hence, You have two currencies at your disposal. British account number and a sort code are a matter of course.

Plan descriptions

Simple

Free account keeping in both currencies Euro and GBP.
Free issuing and keeping of debit card MasterCard.
Free ATM withdrawals up to 200 GBP per month, 2% fee after.
Free foreign currency card payments up to 2000 GBP per month, 2% fee after.
Free payments to Monese accounts.
2% fee for payments to other non Monese foreign accounts, min. fee is 2 GBP.

Classic

Free account keeping in both currencies Euro and GBP.
Free issuing and keeping of debit card MasterCard.
Free ATM withdrawals up to 800 GBP per month, 2% fee after.
Free foreign currency card payments up to 8000 GBP per month, 2% fee after.
Free payments to Monese accounts.
0,5% fee for payments to other non Monese foreign accounts, min. fee is 2 GBP.

Premium

Free account keeping in both currencies Euro and GBP.
Free issuing and keeping of debit card MasterCard.
Free and limitless ATM withdrawals.
Free and limitless foreign currency card payments.
Free payments to Monese accounts.
Free payments to other non Monese foreign accounts.

Mobile application Monese

Mobile application can be used by smartphone users with phones running on Android and iOS. The application is very neat and sophisticated when it comes to both functionality and graphics. You will find; an overview of your expenses, all payment card information including your PIN number and the option to block your card. Additionally, owners of Apple phones can add their payment card to their Apple Wallet and pay using their iPhone or Apple Watch. Naturally, You can use the application to send money to a classic bank account or to a friend with a Monese account. If Your friend has a Monese account, You can even ask him,via application, to send a payment to Your account. The function is similar to that of a Revolut account. After Your friend has confirmed the request, the money appears instantly on Your account without him needing to fill in any forms. You can also set up repeating payments. You can make use of this option when paying for Your rent for example. Application is fully running in several world languages, including technical support. When a payment has been credited to Your account or deduced from it, You will receive a free notification on your phone.

How to top up your Monese account?

There are three options to choose from. You can send the money from your bank account, but take into consideration that Your bank will charge you a fee for EURO payment. Second option is to top up your Monese account with your payment card. Lastly, somebody can send You money directly to Your new account (for example: your employer). Regarding Your primary account activation, it is recommended to send 10 GBP from Your payment card to Your new account. Transaction is free of charge and account activation is immediate. The amount (10 GBP) You used for activation is then shown as a balance on Your account and it is at Your disposal. It is not a fee of any sort, and furthermore Monese does not require You to have a specific minimal balance on Your account.

Exchange rate

If You have British Pounds on Your account and You would like to send them to Your bank account, currency conversion has to take place. Monese uses wholesale exchange rate, which makes it up to 8x cheaper in comparison with generaly banks, which are currently using foreign exchange buying rate. Monese currently supports conversions between these currencies: EUR, AUD, BRL, BGN, CZK, DKK, GBP, HUF, NOK, MXN, PLN, RON, SEK, TRY and USD.

How to set up an account with Monese Bank?

It is very simple and You can manage everything from the comfort of your home. All You need to do is go to this link and fill your phone number. When you recieve sms with download link install app. Then you will open account via mobile app. The whole process took approximately 10 minutes of my time.

Monese review conclusion

My assessment is overall a very positive one, largely due to simplicity Monese offers. Evidently, this is the easiest way to set up an online GBP or EURO account in England. The only other comparable service to Monese account is Revolut. Yet, the highly developed Revolut service is quite complex and can prove to be difficult for a regular user. On the other hand, Monese user- friendliness is ideal for students enrolled in exchange programmes, or young people staying in England on business. It also comes as good news for Curve Card users, that Monese works with Curve without any problems. My Curve Card review is available on my blog.

FAQ – Frequently asked questions about Monese:

How can I obtain the 20 GBP bonus?

When setting up Your account, type in following code: „MARIE383“ for a 20 GBP Monese bonus or visit this Monese promo code. The bonus 5 GBP will be added to Your balance after You have made Your first card payment. After You spend 500 GBP you will get 15 GBP.

Is keeping an account with Monese charged?

If You choose the Simple plan, account keeping with Monese is completely free. Better plans; Classic and Premium will cost you a few pounds.

How can I top up my Monese account?

There are three options to choose from. You can send the money from your bank account, but take into consideration that Your bank will charge you a fee for EURO payment. Second option is to top up your Monese account with your payment card. Lastly, somebody can send You money directly to Your new account.