It’s unlikely that Monzo would be accepted in many large establishments in East Africa as most will ID check against the card name to try and reduce fraud
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What about the signature strip?
That seems like false security to me. If someone knows the PIN then the odds of them being a thief are relatively low. If they match the signature the odds are even lower. It’s only contactless where that’s an issue and the benefits of that are lost if they’re verifying names on the card.
Card skimmers or fake card readers are an easy way for fraudsters to know the pin!
OK, I hadn’t considered that side.
Same with Colombia, I was asked for ID every time paying with the card…
No name on the card - no go 
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A passport / driving license style photo would be more secure than a name, but in the case of twins or even very closely resembling family members, a name as well as a photo would be better.
I too agree the final product needs a name in the card. Many retailers would be suspicious of a card with no name.
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@tom you mentioned debit cards, account numbers & sort codes in your Launching The Bank blog but not whether cards would have account holders names on them, is there any chance you can confirm this or is it too soon to say?
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Every time I see a form like this (this is on hive.co.uk) I have to think back to what I registered my name as with Monzo. I think the name should be on the card, because it’s more important I can use my account than the “what if” security scenarios of having your name on the card. In time the retailers can stop asking for your name, especially if like many here are saying, they don’t check it.
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This is something that’s being considered for the debit cards, which will be distributed when the current accounts launch.
When I asked someone from the Monzo team about this, they told me that reason your name (& your account number) might not be on the card, is to speed up the signup & card replacement process. Obviously Monzo can have a stock of cards to just give out if there’s no names & account numbers, just as they do now, whereas in the alternative scenario, your card would have to be printed for you, once you request it.
Also, since the company that I work for used to issue physical cards, I know that at least some of the card manufacturers aren’t that reliable, when it comes to processing orders & sending cards to the right place etc. either 
And since Monzo will be ordering relatively low numbers of cards (at least in the beginning 
), they might struggle to influence their manufacturer so that those issues are avoided.
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I like there being no name. I’d do away with the magnetic and signature strips too, personally, although I realise there are some countries where these are still used.
If the name is on the card it’s one less thing for a thief to guess. Heck, it’d be best not to print the number either so if it’s useless if lost… my ideal card would be strictly chip/contactless with a code generator in the monzo app giving unique numbers for online transactions.
It’s the kind of thing that monzo could differentiate themselves by offering the option.
Thinking about it, all monzo know verifiably about me is my address, and that could be a forwarding address. It’s not any kind of ID as there’s no verification as there is for a bank. They can derive a lot of information based on external sources (and probably do) but currently, no company should be accepting a monzo card as ID anyway.
with a name on a card and matching ID required when paying for a hôtel or car rental in some countries abroad it is a pain having the name missing as the card is not accepted.
while it was understandable not having names on prepay cards hopefully they will be on the debit cards
Years ago barclays sent a form to my brother and he put his salutation as ‘Rear Admiral’ and for years all mail was sent to “Rear Admiral XXXX” a constant source of mirth.
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The forms I filled in for my first RBS Group debit card allowed me to personalise 2 lines of embossing so I could word my name however I like and add an extra description of the account, e.g.
Mr J Doe
Gold Cheque Account
or
John Doe
GBP Account
Perhaps when opening a Monzo account some online form could enable us to say what we want on our card (subject to Monzo having the right to refuse if say it contains a rude word).
This would also enable someone with a birth certificate of say Bruce something being able to use a female name if he has had a sex change.
All of these things you guys are suggesting to do are illegal. It’s fraud to enter into a transaction with someone under false identification. Even if you want to change your name from Steve to Suzy, you still have to go through the official channels (deed poll in the UK) to officially change your name before you can legally use such a title in a legal transaction.
The problem is that the UK doesn’t really have a concept of legal names like America does.
To change your name, you simply start using it and getting others to use it. Build up enough documented evidence and it becomes valid for use anywhere.
Deed polls are mostly just a filed document signed by witnesses to be used as a jumping off point for changing a name in other documented places. It is not the only way but is by far the easiest and most clean method.
There’s a subtle difference between intending to defraud with false identification (this normally involves more than just a name) and simply using what you have decided to be your name.
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Oh. Wow. I stand corrected.
Off-topic P.S: 3 Richards in a row 
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Always carry a back up card while Mondo is in Bata. Even the guys at Mondo recommend that at this stage happy face
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To keep everything linked together…
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