Sorry, I should have been clearer. When I say we refund to a top-up card, what we essentially do is refund the amount left on your account (ie. in positive balance) via one of the top up cards you have used in the past 
Of course, we can refund that balance via bank transfer and in some of the more complex scenarios which @nanos mentioned where this would be more appropriate.
Does that help?
Actually, there’s conflicting evidence on the forum about your chance of success. In November, Tristan implied it’s possible.
But less than a month ago, Leon reported no success.
Though in his case, he technically has one of the forms of photo ID but it was a big hassle to get it. So maybe Monzo weren’t willing to be as flexible. 
Either way, I’d send support a message and see what they can do. You can’t be the only one with this issue (and a search on the forum shows you’re not!).
My partner tried, and the result of the conversation was to get photo ID 
She changed her name by deed poll many many years ago. so still has that letter, has birth certificate, national insurance card, some recent council tax / bills with her name on, even have some recent HMRC correspondence since her tax return (their online system also struggles with verification if you don’t have photo ID).
So she has all the documents a high street bank would ask for…
The amount of people on the Facebook and Twitter threads for this article that are going “oh no” or “end of the line for me, I liked topups” or some variant thereof is a bit depressing. Perhaps the choice of headline on this blog post was a mistake and people aren’t reading further. It’s not as if they can be accused of not saying “you can use the upgraded account in exactly the same way” too few times!
Agreed that this is something Monzo needs to sort out if the want everyone to upgrade, and more-so if they want to expand to millions of people.
As long as Monzo proactively asks me (well, the user in general) to which
card or bank details perform the refund, then it’s fine.
Still, from a few comments I’ve seen on fb this is not clear to everyone
I get that this is maybe driving efficiency on the service - but its quite disappointing that I can no longer have this service. I liked it - I topped up my “spending money” to my monzo card knowing that if I lost it, I could freeze the card in the App, and it basically was in no way tied to my main bank account of finances. At this point, I wouldn’t switch my main bank account to Monzo, for me its just nowhere near mature enough yet to make that change.
I liked the anonymity of the card etc - but if thats no longer offered I think I’ll have to find another option.
C
I’d rather not get a full bank account. It’s a pity because I like the app a lot
You can use the account in exactly the same way after upgrading. You don’t have to make Monzo your main bank. You don’t have to put any more money in your Monzo account than you want to.
You can use the Monzo current account in the way you’re talking about. No need to make it your main bank account. Just top it up with “spending money” as you do now.
What is it about having another bank account that you aren’t happy with? You can keep your existing bank account and continue to use the Monzo current account in the same way you’re using the prepaid card.
Promoting financial inclusion is incredibly important to us and our processes should reflect this, removing unecessary barriers and finding work arounds for tricky and sometimes unecessary admin hoops. We will offer a basic bank account which doesn’t require photo ID to sign up at some point in future - but it’s not on the roadmap for this quarter. As soon as we have more details I will share them of course!
I resent that it isn’t my choice.
Yea I get that it can be used the same way, I just don’t find it as attractive as I did before when I could drop a nominal amount of cash into my card knowing that in terms of fraud or other worries RE losing my card etc - I had nothing to worry about except the small amount that was in my card.
I’m in no way nervous of using technology to make life easier, the opposite - however, I liked the way the card / app was before. I know a lot of people will feel it is an enhancement, and of course, it is, but I’d prefer to keep things as the are at the moment, given I don’t intend to change bank. For me, I just don’t feel the upgrade and having another open account against my name is really worthwhile just to use for “spending money”. A pity really, I like the service.
C
But that hasn’t changed at all??
Well, it has. Currently my Pre-Pad card doesn’t have my name on it. Will this be the case with my new Debit Card? Course it won’t.
I’m not saying I think its a bad move by Monzo - I’m simply saying it is now no longer worth it for me. I may change my opinion on this in the future - but not now.
C
From Safety & privacy implications of names on cards - #2 by Rika
Looks like they intend to give you the option of having a nameless card in the future
Me too. The monzo prepaid card is exactly what I’ve been looking for and so many friends have been really impressed with the concept
Hey Mike, Just to be clear - it is completely your choice. You can either upgrade, and keep all the benefits of the prepaid but in a current account form, or close your account.
Just to understand your FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt - read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt) here and to appease my own curiosity, what difference does having your name printed on your card make ?