Hi everyone,
I’m Ligia, a Product Marketer on the credit cards team here at Monzo.
Today we’re launching something big… 
Meet Monzo Aura: the first credit card in the UK that auto-invests your cashback.
Check our website for all the details on Aura
I wanted to do something a bit different in here. We’ve covered what Aura is. But I wanted to share a bit more about how it came to be: the question we started with, what you told us, and a few of the decisions that brought Aura to life. Consider this your peek behind the curtain 
It started with one (deceptively) simple question
We didn’t start by saying “let’s build a credit card.” Instead, it started with a question we kept coming back to: “How could we make spending with Monzo more rewarding for our customers?”
Not rewarding in the points-sense that leaves you doing mental maths at the till, wondering if you’ve picked the right card. Rewarding in a way that actually moves you forward. We wanted spending to do something for you, quietly, in the background.
To answer the question, we did a lot of listening first
Before we designed anything, we spent a long time talking to customers - we spoke to over 6,000 people across 10 research projects. A few themes came through loud and clear:
- Today’s wins matter, but so do tomorrow’s. People told us the rewards that motivate them most aren’t just a bit of money back now. It’s a bit of money back now and a sense that they’re building towards something.
- Rewards have to feel genuinely worth it. A lot of people are jaded by rewards programmes that are restrictive, fiddly, or built around one perk you never actually use.
- Life is already complicated enough. Money is spread across lots of apps and goals that are hard to keep track of, and you never quite know if you’re making the right call.
One line from our research stuck with the whole team. Someone described what they wanted as “saving without really trying”. We liked it a lot.
How we landed on “invest as you spend”
One thing was clear from the start: people love cashback. It’s simple, it’s tangible, and unlike points you don’t need a spreadsheet to work out what it’s actually worth. So cashback was always going to be our starting point. The real question was how to make it better.
The idea that kept winning was: what if your cashback didn’t just sit there, but got invested for you, automatically?
It clicked for a few reasons:
- It’s relevant. Growing your money genuinely matters to people, but a lot of us never quite get round to starting.
- It’s effortless. It happens in the background. You don’t spend more, you don’t manage anything, you don’t have to remember to do a thing.
- You can watch it add up. We already know a lot of you love seeing small amounts grow over time (hello, roundups and Savings Pots). This is that same feeling, powered by your everyday spending.
So that’s what Aura does: you earn up to 1% cashback as you spend, uncapped, and we can invest it for you, with fee-free Monzo Investments. Spending, quietly building towards something.
As with any investing, the value can go up or down, and you could get back less than you put in. More on that in the need-to-knows below.
A metal card with aura
Aura doesn’t behave like other rewards cards, so it shouldn’t look like them either. We went through a lot of samples to get there, and we got very excited when the first one arrived in the office.
Naturally, we gathered the whole team round to hold it, turn it over, and feel the weight of it for the first time.
The first time we tested the card as a team
Look closely and you’ll spot (and feel!) the fine lines running across it. They’re inspired by the guilloché patterns you find on banknotes: the intricate, engraved line-work that’s marked something as valuable, and hard to copy, for centuries. It felt like the right heritage for a card built to hold its own.
The guilloché line-work on banknotes that inspired the card
We even took samples out into the wild, getting real cards into real hands to see how they felt and get people’s feedback.
Here’s where we landed: a metal card that’s iridescent, dichromatic, feels great in the hand, and goes clink when you put it down on a table. We sweated the details, from the engraved metal to the tactile finish.
The need-to-knows
Since Aura is a credit card, there are a few things I have to cover:
- Aura costs £15 a month, with a 3-month minimum term.
- Representative example: 64.2% APR representative (variable), which includes the £15 a month fee. £1,200 credit limit. 29% yearly interest (variable). Check the Monzo app or website for the most up-to-date info.
- When you apply, we’ll check if you’re eligible and run a credit check (a hard search on your credit file). There’s no hard search if you already have Flex.
- If you miss a payment, you may lose the 0% interest on existing purchases and access to the paid benefits, and it may affect your credit score.
- Aura is for UK residents aged 18 and over. Eligibility criteria and Ts&Cs apply.
- The value of your investments can go up or down, and you could get back less than you invest.
When can I get it?
We’re rolling Aura out gradually, so don’t worry if you can’t apply just yet. The best thing to do is head to the app and take a look: tap the + icon on the top right of the home screen. You might have spotted it already.
If you already have Flex: you can have Aura or Flex, but not both. Think of Aura as the Flex you already love, with more on top. The switch is smooth, your existing payments move across with the same dates and amounts, and there’s no hard search on your credit file when you switch.
Aura Early access
If you want to get your hands on Aura earlier than most, you’re in luck - we’re giving invites to apply to Aura for 50 community members who tell us they’re interested.
All you have to do is fill in this Google Form
We’ll keep the form live until Friday at 5PM and send invites to 50 users chosen from the list early next week. Keep an eye on this thread and we’ll update you when invites have been sent.
Please remember, Aura is a credit card and eligibility rules apply. Flex Build customers are not eligible to apply to Aura. While early access doesn’t guarantee you’ll be approved for Aura, you will be among the first to apply - and we’d love to know what you think 
We’ve put a lot of care into Aura, and honestly, we can’t wait to see what you make of it. Your feedback genuinely shapes what we build next, so drop your thoughts below.
Ligia
→ I’m interested