Hi Everyone,
I am a US citizen living in the UK. I have a UK Monzo, how do I get a US one? I’m so sick of Bank of America that I want to use Monzo exclusively; however, struggling to see how to get the US account.
Do I have to change the settings on my phone to the US, download the US app, and sign up that way?
Thanks!
I don’t think you can have both UK and US accounts at present, but I may be wrong
You can as long as you have an SSN from the U.S, you can join the waitlist and message them, they’ll bump you up the list if you explain you have dual citizenship
I have both UK and US accounts…as @andrew_fishy said, apply, but with a different email (!) to your UK account and US Phone #, then message then in app. You will need a US mailing address for them to send you the card in the US. Once enabled, you have both of them visible in the app.
Just an FYI…many company’s are global but will completely mess up if you use the same email…have learned the hard way. E.g. Exprian, Transunion, etc. are all global company’s but you may have had accounts with them in the US already. Before you try to sign up with any of them for your UK history, etc. use a UK specific email.
Good luck!
Hi @val321 , @andrew_fishy – I applied with a different email address, and just had my US beta invitation come through. The instructions say to go to log in from the app, and set up from there. Just to confirm what you meant: should I sign out from my current UK user, then set up the US one, then message them within the app to request the change over?
Hey @holly2, while we were offering both US and UK accounts to customers for a brief period of time, at the moment I’m afraid we are only able to offer UK accounts to UK residents, and US accounts to US residents. Should this change in the future we’ll be sure to let you know, sorry for any disappointment this may cause 
In this case, going forward, does this mean that moving from one country to the other will require closing the account from the country you’re leaving?
Be interested to know this as well as I am in the process of moving to the USA this year. I was hoping to keep my UK account for payments in the UK and when I come back to visit family.
That’s correct - you’ll need an account for whatever country you become a resident of. If you do move between the US and UK in the future, just let us know and we can close your account and set you up with one for the new country.
I presume it’s not possible to have a U.S account as a UK resident due to laws over there, but it would be super helpful for U.S services and sending cash to U.S residents without transaction fees
The strange part is, technically there’s no US law that prohibits non-residents from having US bank accounts; so long as you can satisfy the bank that you have a valid reason for wanting one, and satisfy the bank that you are who you say you are and that your intentions are purely above board, you can have it. In Canada, for instance, large banks with US operations even market this to their customers who travel to the US or have dealings there- if you want, you can sign up for a US bank account, debit card, access to local instant payment networks, etc all without leaving Canada. And while I don’t think they actively market it, I believe HSBC also offers this to their Advance and Premier customers outside the US should they want US accounts. I’m wondering if this is something specific to the partner bank that Monzo is currently working with for their US product, and that it might change when they become a bank in their own right on this side of the pond.
I hope so, as currently you need an SSN - Yes, I have a TransferWise (now Wise) U.S account, but since the card was not issued in the U.S it’s not valid for certain things, which is just strange. I mean, I am unsure how often I would use it as I only travel every couple years and it costs them money to run it, so maybe they’ve thought about it and realised that. eating the fee if I do buy a U.S service may just be better
Most U.S accounts are like $10 a month in monthly “account maintinance” fees
Granted, if it’s simply a matter of having a US issued card, AmEx credit/charge cards often slip past region-based BIN checks. I’ve often used my US-issued AmEx card paired with a local address on other countries’ online services with little issue. A 3% forex fee (which AmEx seems to charge across the board on their UK cards) is significantly less than paying $10/month at a major bank if it’s just a couple of US online services you’re paying for.
That’s very helpful to know!
Slightly annoying that merchants do region blocking at all, though, as otherwise it would be possible to use a card without foreign transaction fees.
You can look at TransferWise or Revolut as you can have US account numbers with them, I got some USD in my TransferWise borderless account and have received some USD from relatives recently as a gift
I have an Amex card - how can I find out if it is U.S issued?
You can put the first 8 digits of your card number into a BIN checker (but really, it would be obvious to you anyway - did you take the card out under an American address?)
No, so that would be a no then. How am I meant to get the card? Have someone I trust ship it to me I guess
This was more for Privacy.con, but virtual cards are now a thing, so isn’t really needed as much for me
See, the clever bit is that it’s not necessary for the card to be US issued for it to appear to be US issued to a merchant. That’s what I’m referring to with AmEx. As long as I provide a local address when paying with it online, most merchants treat it the same as a local card. It’s only failed me once, with iTunes Japan. Otherwise, I’ve successfully used my US issued card in Japan with other online services that otherwise refuse non-Japanese bank cards, as well as Canadian sites, a French phone provider (the first time I visited Paris I got a SFR monthly plan because I’d wanted EU roaming, and apparently they didn’t offer it on PAYG but also didn’t want me going elsewhere so managed to get me signed up on a monthly billed basis using my US AmEx card as the payment method and the store address as my billing address with my US home address as my mailing address), etc.
ohhhh, right 