📰 The FCA just approved Monzo's first move outside the UK - City AM

It’s not a long process compared to any other countries, but it also has to make business sense. Ireland is so similar to the UK that it’s just a fairly obvious thing to do.

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I could perhaps twist his arm to do a Q&A next week? :grin:

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That would be fantastic if you could use your persuasive powers, Simon!

Beth, thanks for further info on this mythical being. :unicorn:

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I would have thought you could have nearly next day card delivery to Ireland from the U.K. althoughmaybe an extra day and a bit more ÂŁ. Support could all be done from the UK I imagine. Same platform and app underneath etc

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Not sure if it’s mentioned anywhere but Monzo’s deputy CEO @paul was Head of Banking Operations at Allied Irish Bank, so I’m sure these will not feel like completely new pastures for Monzo :cow: (sadly there is no alpaca emoji yet).

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Does that mean I can replace my Irish bank account with KBC Ireland and have a Monzo UK GBP account and a Monzo Irish Euro account in the same app?

I wouldn’t have thought you’d be able to access two currencies from within the app. Only based off the fact I think I remember someone from Monzo saying they weren’t planning on having multiple currencies in one account a while ago.

multiple currency accounts and separate accounts in different currencies are different things. Monese have separate GBP and EUR accounts that can both be accessed via the same app. No reason why Monzo can’t go down the same route

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@rather ha ha, very good. We do have an alpaca Slack emoji! And yes, you’re right I worked in Ireland for a year and a half and am looking forward to offering Monzo there. Some of my friends over there can’t wait to be part of the Monzo journey!

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Hi :wave:
We have been working on the Irish and US plans, with Thomas leading on both. We can passport our UK licence to Ireland, and this is a quick and relatively (!) painless process. The US is more complex and will take a lot more time, essentially we have to apply for a brand new banking licence just like we did in the UK in 2015/16. Hope this helps!

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Out of interest, which type of license are you / will you be applying for?

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Hi :wave: @alexs a de novo federal licence i.e. a brand new one to operate across the whole of the US.

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Thanks Paul!

In case anyone else is interested, there’s some really good info on these here, including some details on the trends for the approval these application’s -

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I wonder if Monzo will pay the debit card stamp tax (yes, Ireland actually taxes debit and credit cards - 12 cents per ATM withdrawal for debit up for 5 EUR/year; 30 EUR/year flat rate for credit - this tax replaced the old tax on cheques - 50 cents each, if I remember correctly).

N26 is currently paying this for their Irish customers.

Ireland has absurdly expensive banking - and the concept of taxing people on accessing their money is just ludicrous. Monzo will be some much-needed competition. However, Ireland also has even more strictly regulated debit interchange than the EU regulation - 0.1%. So it’s tough to stay in business and not charge absurd fees (some Irish banks charge for every purchase you make, for example).

It’ll be interesting to see how Monzo does it. Getting customers in Ireland should be easy - N26 has done very well. Making money, however…

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Know this is an older topic but found an up to date list of the southern bank charges. It’s very, very silly http://www.moneyguideireland.com/comparison-of-bank-charges-in-ireland.html

The 5 yo-yo ATM yearly charge is basically because the country is skint

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English is like 97% of the populations mother tongue, I dont know anyone who speaks Irish on the regular. And anyone who does also speaks fluent English… So I cant see this being a requirement.

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Hi Paul,

Is there any timelines for the Republic of Ireland launch yet? I’m super excited about this after seeing my friends app whilst in Northern Ireland.

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Did this happen?

Nope, I asked him but the timing wasn’t right for him. Will ask again soon :slight_smile:

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