Declining new business accounts, why?

I don’t usually do things like this, but have been that shocked by Monzo today, I thought it was worth mentioning about. I am a shareholder, and have been with Monzo since the first round, and use it as my full account. I have been flying the flag as it were and telling people how great Monzo is. I have always taken complaints about freezing accounts or poor customer service with a pinch of salt, that is until today. The reason I am so concerned about this is Monzo has just turned down a business that is looking for a Bank Account, that is not on the prohibited list, wants to pay for the £5 a month account, and is looking like it will turn over £100K this year: in short, Monzo has turned down a company that would make it money. I want to know why? More details: I had convinced the director to come to Monzo over Starling, then I went through the set up and provided all the verification, and details needed to start a business account. Then today, I get a notification simply saying “you’re not eligible”, no explanation why, and the response was quite rude and offensive. The business in name is receiving high level government support and been making a massive difference to people all over the country for over 20 years. Indeed, some of the support provided has helped disabled people, and injured veterans. So why does Monzo just say no? Why say no to a business that will help produce revenue for Monzo? There are no issues I could possibly think of that would lead to them saying no. Usually I can see why Monzo would do a certain action, but this time I am just lost for words. Monzo needs to be profitable so what on earth are they doing turning down business? Have we just had a down round because Monzo can’t get its act together and is turning down perfectly legit, and profitable businesses? For the first time ever, I genuinely have concerns about Monzo. Perhaps someone might want to explore this further? Next stop Starling….

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While your frustration is understandable, I doubt you will find an answer here, unfortunately.

Thanks for bringing it here, though. It’s always useful to hear both good and bad aspects of people’s Monzo experience.

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Monzo are not obliged to open accounts. Whether personal or business, if they don’t want the risk, they don’t have to take it on.

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Can’t see how that is rude or offensive. It’s just a straight forward message that’s clear and to the point :confused:

As above, nobody can really help you on here and Business accounts are new so nobody is entitled to one. Sadly you must tick one of the boxes that means they’re not ready to accept your type of business but I’m sure they’ll get there :slight_smile:

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Take all the emotion and irrelevant details out. Shareholder, doing good for 20 years etc - it all means nothing. Monzo has decided at the moment it doesn’t want to open an account for that business, and that is their choice.

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Unfortunately you’re unlikely to get a reason why

But banks can decline customers for all kinds of reasons, including perceived risk

Raise an in app chat see what they say, I just closed my Sole Trader account down and was told I may need to wait 30 days to open a new one as Ltd, but I tried and failed so opened a chat was advised to try again, but again failed, I have since found out from them that I don’t have PSC (person of significance in charge - something like that) which I need to get updated and apply again

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Who knows? No ones entitled to an account and just because you think it will makes them money doesn’t mean that do. As for being ‘shocked’ and ‘concerned for the future’, it’s one account of a type Monzo are still feeling their way into. Not really shocking or concerning.

If you’re frustrated with Monzo then I’d Ben happy to buy your shares lol

Did you reach out and ask Monzo why, before posting this?

Strange that you only decided to join this forum an hour before you post then…

Why strange? There’s 4,323,029 people with Monzo Bank Accounts and 43,534 Forum Users (some of which don’t have accounts).

There’s plenty of people who sing Monzo’s praises without having a forum account here. The forum doesn’t require registration to view and so a lot of people probably don’t see the point if they’re just going to browse. Maybe some people are afraid of getting shot down as soon as they post… With welcoming posts just like yours.

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Because it is. Don’t believe everything you read, there are more fake/shill/paid accounts on these banking type forums than real ones I’m afraid. It’s just how it is, common practice. Believe the numbers if you want, but I certainly don’t.

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OMG I’m outraged and shaking for you 🤷

It’s up to Monzo if they want that business or not, they don’t have to take every application, there’s plenty other choice in the marketplace to go to

Well that’s what consent is all about.

Monzo is not causing any harm by being selective of who they offer bank accounts to.

100k+ turnover sounds high. Especially for a startup bank.

Oddly enough, having posted in such ‘shock’, the OP doesn’t appear to have been back in the last few hours to see if the outrage is shared.

Hey, I’m sorry to hear we’ve not been able to open an account for your business at the moment. Have you reached out to us through the in-app chat about this? We might be able to shed some more light on what’s going on from there.

I noticed this part of your post :point_up_2: are you also a director of the business? (Totally understand if you’d prefer not to answer this publicly). At the moment, the person applying for the account would need to be listed as a director on Companies House too. Sorry if I’ve misunderstood this part of your message though!

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Does anyone know if it is possible to get a reason for being rejected? I’m curious to know whether there is a specific problem with my application or perhaps the system is overloaded at the moment. Wait times on the chat are now about 21 hours.

You’ll need to wait for chat I’m afraid. They’re the only ones who can look into it

Just pop a nice message in chat and crack on with your day.

I’m sure they’ll get back to you asap - there’s no need to sit there waiting. Close the app and you should get a notification when they reply :slight_smile: