I’m reaching out because I’ve hit a roadblock with my Monzo account and could use some advice or insights from fellow users.
I’ve been a Monzo customer for a while and have regularly transferred funds to my Coinbase account, a cryptocurrency exchange regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). These transfers have always been for legitimate investment purposes, and I’ve never had issues before. However, Monzo has recently restricted my ability to make these transfers, they limit you to a £5,000 transfer in any rolling 30 day period, which has left me extremely frustrated.
I understand that Monzo, like other banks, may block certain transactions based on risk assessments, as noted on their help page (Monzo Help). But given Coinbase’s FCA regulation and my history of lawful transactions, this restriction feels like an significant overreach. It’s limiting my ability to manage my investments freely, which is particularly disappointing from a bank known for its customer-centric approach.
Has anyone else faced similar restrictions when transferring to Coinbase or other crypto exchanges? If so, how did you resolve it? Is this a new Monzo policy? I’d also appreciate any tips on how to appeal this restriction or get more clarity from Monzo.
Thank you for any help or experiences you can share. I’m hoping to better understand this issue and find a way forward.
You have no right to be allowed to do it, so your only option is to find a different bank that are a bit more relaxed on this front. For how long that remains, and which bank(s), is anyones guess.
Such an awful take. Are you really suggesting that it’s OK for the financial system to go from a default “yes” to a default “no” position?
I’d like to live in a society where we have banks and other financial services firms operating in an open and inclusive way. Restricting transfers to other financial services providers is not something I like to see and, to be frank, is overstepping the mark.
You don’t have to be pro-crypto to see this is a slippery slope.
It’s a practical perspective grounded in existing rules and regulations, banks don’t create these policies arbitrarily it’s what they have to adhere to as part of their licence.
Your frustration is misdirected; you’re holding the wrong person and business accountable
Happy to be proved wrong but my understanding is that there are no FCA restrictions on banks asking them to limit access to crypto platforms. Banking regulation in this country is an ‘outcomes’ and ‘principles’ approach, not a ‘rules based’ or ‘prescriptive’ approach. The FCA would simply not say to banks “you can only allow £5k of transfers to crypto platforms in a rolling 30 day period”. This policy is owned by Monzo and I’m right to criticise them for their own policies.
Many banks have imposed limits, but to your point, those are arbitrary, internal policies set by their own “risk” assessment/policies/committees - we can see that in action as every bank has their own approach to crypto.
I believe financial services in this country should be open and inclusive. That means being open and inclusive to spending you “don’t like the look of”. If you’re willing to take the other side of that argument, go ahead. Seems a very strange position to take as take to it’s natural conclusion, the logic is that you as an individual shouldn’t have the freedom to spend/invest/speculate/gamble as you wish.
The level of fraud through crypto services is what causes banks to place restrictions and also have to protect themselves, not just the consumer, or other consumers who may have a knock on effect of crypto fraud.
It’s not about billy sending his own £10k to coinbase; it’s more if every fraudster clocked banks had unlimited deposits to crypto platforms -
“hey everyone, open an account with XYZ as it’s easy, and we can steal all your money, I mean, give you a fantastic once in a life time return…”
The knock on effect is as detrimental if not larger than Billy and wanting to spend £10k.
People generally dismiss the bigger picture, fines, financial loss, lack of development or product innovation.
Crypto isn’t something I’m overly familiar with (or interested in) but I did happen to notice that Nationwide seems somewhat crypto-friendly. They have a specified limit of £5,000 per day, which seems higher than most other banks.
Unsure if this limit would be any good for you, or still too low?
Ultimately, it’s up to each bank to decide on their own risk appetite. There is little point in complaining about it or appealing. If Monzo is strict around this, it’s likely because they have experienced real issues in this area and have acted accordingly to reduce their risk.
We’re not going to see eye to eye on this but I would say that investment scams only account for about 10% of total reported financial fraud losses in the UK - UK Finance have data around that. The idea that crypto is chock full of scama is simply a lazy trope that has no basis in reality. Most crypto owners in the UK buy to hold. You might personally think it’s vaporware and you’re entitled to that view. But as an adult, we should be entitled to draw our own conclusions.
It’s also worth noting that the vast majority of investment scams are simply Ponzi schemes - they promise high returns but there is usually no substance at all behind the promises (i.e. they don’t invest in anything). So the only thing that these scams have in common with one another is that the guy/girl behind it is simply a liar/fraudster. If they weren’t lying about crypto returns, they’d be lying about the returns of gold/land/timeshares in Spain!
Realistically, crime happens in every sphere of life and it’s probably more prevalent in crypto. But in my view that’s not a good enough excuse in my view to prevent/block a legitimate investment. Coinbase in regulated in the UK and so the risk profile of transferring money to and from Coinbase is low. I’d have more sympathy for Monzo if this was a transfer to an offshore, unregulated exchange but it’s not and I’m sure they’re just being lazy and applying a policy carte blanche.
You are indeed, less fight talk as nobody is throwing shade.
While you have a 10% figure, do you have the breakdown of which banks were impacted most? Which is most likely the easy opening banks like monzo and Starling, Revolut etc.
A lot of my day job at Barclays was dealing with crypto scams or preventing them…
They don’t seek your sympathy and it doesn’t matter what you think. Monzo will decide their own risk appetite. These decisions tend to be data-driven and not random. You’ve left your feedback and that’s all you can do.
Your only choice as a customer is to change provider to one that meets your needs. Perhaps your energy would be better spent on finding a new provider rather than repeating the same points on here?
I doubt the fact it’s regulated would have any influence anyway. Banks are regulated and there will still be regular GBP payments held for fraud checks, as people have mentioned in other threads when trying to buy a car etc. Santander send a code to my dad’s phone every time he pays for a McDonald’s despite it always even being the same branch. So lots of things have limits on them and are not totally without restriction.
It’s more a case of scams and fraud ruining things for everyone else, it’s not a crypto-specific issue. Monzo have likely introduced limits as they’ve seen a higher rate of issues relating to crypto than perhaps other banks have, so they’ve had to implement limits to protect themselves and their customers. The same as warning labels on things, there’s always a reason they exist. It’s not like the board had a meeting to decide what to do to annoy their customers the most, there would be some sort of business need behind it that none of us will be privy to, and that may not apply in the same way to other banks.
I’m not sure two posts really constitute persistent repeating! This is the first time I’ve raised this point in this forum since joining very early days so a bit odd you’re trying to paint me as some kind of nuisance poster!
I already have a provider that meets my needs thanks - that’s Monzo. I’m not looking to move. I’m just using my posts to make a point I believe in. I’ve already recognised that others won’t agree - that’s fine.
I also get that Monzo won’t change their policy because of my post, doesn’t mean it’s not worth raising an objection.
I have no issue with with warning labels. That is historically what we’ve done to deter people from behaviour deemed to be self-harming (e.g. cigarettes) - but this goes further than a warning label.
The problem is, these restrictions aren’t there to protect you, they are there to protect the bank. Ultimately, it’s often the bank that ends up covering the losses.
Right, but I mean more that there will always be a reason someone is in place. A warning label exists due to an injury/lawsuit in the past, a bank will introduce restrictions if their risk profile requires it, etc.
I think Monzo has long been a target of scammers, so it’s likely they’ve had a higher rate of crypto-related problems and had to reduce that risk. It primarily protects themselves, some customers, and causes frustration for others (the same as having to get approval for a £5000 transfer). But there will be a reason they had to do it that extends beyond just wanting to restrict crypto for the sake of it.
Yeah, they will promote that it’s all about protecting customers from being scammed, but it’s most likely just a business decision, profit vs costs, whether correct or not. I guess they think losing a few customers will cost them less than the compliance costs of allowing crypto payments. Same way they close your account if you move abroad, tax compliance gets complicated so it’s cheaper just to get rid of anyone who doesn’t fit the simple profits profile.
