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
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.
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.
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
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?)
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.
Also, to come back to this, while what Wise and Revolut provide does help, unfortunately it’s only half the puzzle. For example, Wise only allows US-based customers to do direct debits with their US details (it’s “coming soon” for other countries), and neither Wise nor Revolut are able to link into Zelle, the main fast payment system in the US. I do hope that once Monzo becomes a bank in its own right, that it can manage what the Canadian banks did and let UK residents open full US accounts without having to actually be in the US, and to a degree vice versa (my Revolut account is my main UK banking presence right now, and while it does the job for the few things I need it for at the moment, on a certain level I’d prefer working with Monzo over them- for example, were I to want to pay more for a premium banking experience as I need it, Monzo’s shorter commitment periods for Plus and Premium are more appealing than Revolut’s 12-month contracts).
They’re not a bank.
But they are still regulated
In my case I’m in the reverse of your situation- I’m US-resident, so my options for a UK banking presence are very very limited. If I drop Revolut, then at the moment there’s only Wise (also not a bank) or piggybacking on my sister’s HSBC Premier status (US-based Premier customers can share their status with up to 4 family members, which could then be leveraged to set up Premier accounts in other countries).
No, I’m not, that’s why I mostly frequent the US sub-board and mentioned having a US-issued AmEx (as well as banking across the US-Canada border- I’ve also got a Canada-issued AmEx and a couple bank accounts there). If I was UK-based I’d already have a Starling account as well as Monzo.
Just browsing and thought I’d check out the Monzo US website, got to say I’m very disappointed. Compared to the UK site it doesn’t look great, nothing about it is inviting or shouts out sign up and join the Monzo US journey.
I really want Monzo US to be a success, therefore I hope the website is updated soon.
Granted, on this front, part of it is that Monzo US doesn’t have that many features to advertise at the moment. Right now the US account is just a prepaid card product, and a pretty basic one at that, aside from Pots and budgeting functions. For example, taking the current content of the UK page-
Plus and Premium? Not available in the US.
Interest on savings in Pots? Also no.
Direct debit management? Not here yet, and given the nature of the US payments system I’m not entirely sure it’ll be able to be brought over in that form.
That being said, style-wise it could definitely do with some polishing, at least mirroring the formatting of the UK front page. But nothing about it screams “cheap” so far, just “generic”. Nothing distinctly “Monzo” about it, is how I’d put it.