Among foreign shopaholics, Revolut is the number one card and account. Hardly anyone remembers and knows that before Revolut appeared, Monese was another non-banking company allowing setting up foreign accounts. Is the offer of Monese account attractive? With the great popularity of Revolut and the free basic offer, it would seem that Monese is doomed to lose. However, it is not quite so. Below I discuss where Monese came from and why it can still have people willing to buy it. There is also a promotion ;-)
Polish version - polska wersja tego wpisu jest TUTAJ.
For how long and for whom is Monese?
Monese service started much before Revolut, in September 2015. The main goal of the fintech (a company combining technology with finance) was to address the need for immigrants to have a bank account in the UK. Opening an account in a British bank was stressful for many of them, sometimes it turned out to be very difficult and expensive. This was the story of the company's founder, Norris Koppel, who came from Estonia. He was refused an account because he did not have a credit history or accounts to confirm his address. Koppel found a market niche and found a way to fill it. The smartphone app allows you to set up a GBP and EUR account, make transfers, order a payment card for each person who had an identity card from a wide range of Monese recognized by Monese. In this collection there are also documents from Poland!
What kind of accounts does Monese offer?
It should be noted that Monese is not a bank, and the accounts created for customers are probably merged with the bank as Monese accounts. Therefore, they are not subject to bank guarantees. I would rather recommend them for payments and settlements in pounds or euros, but not for savings. You access account using mobile app, there is no Internet app. Mobile app is easy to learn and understand, offers several languages for user.
Monese offers several service packages to set up accounts in three plans: Starter, Plus, Premium. Details of the plans can be found HERE.
In the basic plan Starter - the account is free of charge, but you pay for the related services: withdrawing cash from an ATM costs 1 GBP, currency exchange is a margin of 2% (not less than 2 GBP), topping up with a bank card 0.35%. The Monese Debit Card is apparently free, but you pay GBP 4.95 for delivery.
Plan Plus is especially popular. It costs GBP 4.95 per month. Free debit card delivery, 6 ATM withdrawals free of charge, currency exchange margin 0.5% (minimum 2 GBP), top-up with bank card 0.35%.
The Premium Plan is GBP 14.95 per month and as you can probably guess, there are no extra charges.
From the perspective of Revolut's user it might seem expensive, but remember that we often use British ATMs to pay commissions as well. With larger and regular withdrawals you may find that Monese is cheaper in this area. Consider also the historical aspect: Monese is chasing its rival now, because previously the company had little competition. It is still an attractive choice for immigrants in the UK in the shadow of the banks' proposals.
What about transfers?
Monese declares to use favorable exchange rates and zero additional fees. The exchange rates can be found on the Monese TU website. There are also internal transfers included in the offer. On the other hand, Monese account can be funded by external transfers, of course, without any charges on the Monese side (unlike bank card deposits).
What about security?
If it is not a bank, then of course there is limited trust. But this trust has a high limit, because the company exists a few years and has a lot of positive opinions on Trustpilot. Monese is under supervision of the British regulator, the FCA (Financial Regulation Authority).
There is a promotion!
Monese is currently (December 2019) offering an award in the "Refer a friend / Invite friends" referral program. Check them out before you read them again as the terms and conditions of the promotion change. To start with we get 5+15 GBP and to start with we get 5+15 GBP and to start with we get 5+15 GBP (promotion rules have changed in November 2019). The conditions for receiving the prize are as follows: a new user, using the application, should open an account and order a card, then fund the account and make a transaction.
You can also start by creating an account in EUR, but then the prizes will also be in EUR and in the same amount, i.e. in PLN - smaller. So, if you open an account and make a transfer, you will get the first 5 GBP. Another 15 GBP can be received for a card payment of 500 GBP or an international bank transfer. In addition, you have the chance to receive £20 for each referred person if the same conditions are met. As part of the promotion, the card will be delivered free of charge, so we can stay on the free Starter Plan. An interesting fact: the Monese card works with Apple Pay.
So how does one do it? How to open a Monese account, order a transfer?
Meeting the conditions of the promotion will be especially easy if you have a Revolut card, about which I will be in a moment. It is also worth mentioning that most Monese websites are available in Polish, without language barriers. Let's start with Monese. We download the application from Google Play or App Store. You can also do it from the Monese website - after entering the phone number you will get a link in the notification. Monese has recently polished the application and some of its pages. When creating an account we choose whether we want to have an account in GBP or EUR, we answer questions about e-mail, country of residence and enter a command code. And here's a remark - entering the refferal code at this stage IS NECESSARY to receive the prize! We will also order the invoice card immediately. Along the way you will be asked to define the PIN code for the application, but you can also use your fingerprint. We will also be asked to scan the identity document and the self.
My refferal code is: MICHA729
And how to make a transfer from Revolut?
First, let's save information on which account to make a transfer. In the Monese application we use the Account option at the bottom of the screen. You will see the sort code and account number - we carefully transcribe this information. It is better to check it twice! Now we can go to Revolut. If you do not have a subaccount in Pounds in Revolut, you can open it in a few seconds (button with sliders in the top right corner of the Accounts tab or exchange of f. e. Polish zloty for Pounds). Go to payment and choose bank transfer. Add a new recipient by typing yourself, pointing to the UK as your destination country and entering your GBP account. Here you have to rewrite it as two pieces of information: the billing number (i.e. the sort code) and the account number. This billing number is a kind of routing code that identifies bank. Enter the amount of the transfer and you're done! Now you just have to be patient, it may take a few working days. When the card (and money) comes, you need to activate it, and then you can perform the first transaction, such as paying with a card for rolls in a store.
Unfortunately, earning the remaining 15 GBP is not so easy. If you are lucky, you can buy pounds in Revolut when the pounds are cheap (or earn, if you are UK resident), send them to Monese and pay by the card when the pound rate rises - this way you will save on the exchange rate difference and make a GBP 500 limit eligible for the prize. You can also use Monese card to top up Revolut!
Another way to grab reward, where no card is required. You can place transfers: first buy&sent money on working day from Revolut (if you are not UK resident), and then make an international transfer to some other currency account. It is possible to do even using smaller amount, but you need to exchange amount to GBP back and repeat transfer again and again. In such a case do not try to do it in just one week/day, as Revolut can block the account.
