Out of curiosity, what happens if you sign up but someone else actually ‘owns’ the mobile number I’m currently using?
You could ask your mobile number to be updated when you’ve stopped using that phone.
I can understand the situation because I have colleagues who are using Monzo on their work phones.
1 Like
That’s true. I was thinking more the situation where User A has registered a Monzo account with mobile number X but they have since changed their number. User B gets mobile number X because the number gets recycled by the carrier. Does Monzo recognise / care if mobile number X was User A’s but now is User B’s?
1 Like
I guess it all depends on if and after how long a mobile provider actually recycles their numbers.
Vodafone from memory remove a number as soon as the expiry period of 270 days is up; as for O2 I’ve had a number that I haven’t used in ages. I can pop it in a phone and it’ll still have it’s number provisioned.
As for the actual recycling of numbers back to new activations; it’s anyone’s guess in the earliest point when this is done.
1 Like
Good question!
In that situation user A should let us know they have changed mobile number. May arise if they try to verify things via SMS and notice it’s going to an old number.
The main aim is to make sure the mobile number on your account is your current number. That should prevent any overlap or odd situations caused by the number being passed on or used by someone else. 
2 Likes
That makes total sense Victor.
But what if that user ceases to be a Monzo user? Do you remove their details from your system? Do you see / use mobile numbers as part of a user’s identity?
Ah Good point!
When a user closes their account, they number is no longer associated anymore so if that number is passed on, someone else can sign up and there shouldn’t be any trouble.
So what would happen (purely out of interest, and I understand that this is an edge case) if user A stopped using their Monzo account but never actually closed it?