Persons with Significant Control - Monzo definition is different to official definition

Monzo Chat Business Banking
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Just had an email from Monzo asking me to provide documents to verify my fellow director as Monzo say they are a PSC.

Monzo states that a PSC is someone who owns 25% OR MORE of the company.

They then helpfully point out that you can check the PSCs on your Companies House entry, and link to a gov.uk page which defines a PSC as someone who owns MORE THAN 25% of the company.

As the other director owns exactly 25% they are therefore not a PSC but Monzo are treating them as such.

Edit - tagging @jrdn as they have commented on previous business banking threads.

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Surely what you’ve just said contradicts it?

OR more is the factor here surely? 25% or more than 25%

This then makes them a PSC? They would need to be 24.9999999% or less to be exempt from this?

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No. Read again. Official definition is different to Monzo’s.

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Ahh you’ve added more to your post.

Have you contacted Monzo directly?

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My only addition was to tag jrdn.

No, thought tagging a Monzo business banking person here might be more productive than a “losing the will to live” conversation with customer service.

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I cant comment on why this is the way it is but I know from experience in my previous role at Metro Bank we also followed the same 25% or more POSCs verification process.

Hopefully this can help in some way to show its not just Monzo being Monzo? :pray:

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OK, so not just Monzo, but still wrong. Your email directs me to Companies House to check PSCs, and the other director is not listed as a PSC… because they’re not a PSC!

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What’s the problem just following monzos guidelines?

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Well, I have verified the person, because I don’t want my account closing.

But the problem is, it is wrong.

If Monzo said they needed me to verify anyone who owned 25% or more of the company then that would be different from asking me to verify people as PSCs when they are not.

Greater than or equal to is not the same as greater than…

Edit: there will be quite a large number of limited companies where ownership is split 75/25 and it just causes unnecessary work for the customer and for Monzo if everyone has to verify those 25% owners.

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Anyway, I will leave it there. They’ll fix it or they won’t…

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That’s not the only condition. It also depends on the voting rights, ability to appoint directors, and/or excercise influence.

I don’t know exact statues of the company in question, to see if other conditions are triggered to become PSC.

For example, at my employers’ most PSC did not have nowhere near 25% of shares.

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That’s true of course @xnox. But ownership seems to be the criteria they are using in my case.

And I will reiterate that they pointed me to Companies House to check the PSCs for my business, and the person they say is a PSC is not listed there. Reason being, on my annual Confirmation Statement I didn’t report them as such based on the criteria on the online form, and the advice of our accountants.

If Monzo are using their own criteria to decide who is and isn’t a PSC (ignoring the Companies House records) that should be made clear, and they should not then point you at Companies House to check.

And now I really will butt out :blush:

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