I need to transfer USD from a US account to my UK Monzo account. I need a routing number but I don’t have one with my UK account. I can’t transfer the funds using Transferwise. Is it possible to open a US Monzo account alongside the UK account? Any other ways to transfer these funds? Thanks!
You won’t be able to do this with Monzo.
Are you able to share why you can’t do this via TransferWise? They offer a USD account with a routing number which is what you need.
The US bank told me they do not recognise transferwise
1 Like
Contact Monzo and ask for your SWIFT account details, this will allow for the individual in question to transfer money directly into your account.
If you search “Monzo SWIFT” there is lots of information on the monzo SWIFT code but according to varies websites Monzo is currently not connected to the SWIFT system.
If the above is true then your friend will need to use a thirdparty service such as Transferwise or you are free to open and account your self who will provide you with a virtual USA account number.
SWIFT is not officially supported by Monzo yet and some banks might not have routes for Monzo (so the payment is potentially going to get stuck in limbo for a few days/weeks before eventually being returned back to the sender), furthermore I don’t know how a USD payment would be handled since Monzo is a GBP-denominated account (assuming the routes are fine, if the sending bank converts to GBP it should work, if they expect the recipient bank to convert it I have no idea what’s going to happen).
Your best bet is to open a Transferwise Borderless account if possible, alternatively I believe Starling Bank also offers USD accounts. Other modern e-money institutions like Revolut might also offer USD accounts but keep in mind that they are e-money institutions and not banks and thus are regulated differently.
Normal banks including US banks do normally provide s SWIFT account and allow you to transfer money to other normal bank accounts. Rather than opening a transferwise account, it may make sense of opening a normal bank account instead or maybe Monzo could become a normal bank and connect up to the SWIFT system.
Monzo converts it from whichever currency to GBP when it credits Monzo. At least, that is what Monzo did when I sent €1 as a test last year from my Irish bank account. If that also works for USD, I don’t know.
On topic, as with anything that is not officially supported by Monzo, everything is done at your own risk.
Yes, I did create a custom category for it.
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.