How to open a Monzo Business account: step by step

Before you start: three checks

Five minutes of checking saves a declined application or a missed reward.

1. Is your business eligible? Monzo Business is for sole traders and private limited companies (limited by shares). It cannot open accounts for partnerships, LLPs, PLCs, charities, CICs, companies limited by guarantee, trusts and funds. You must be 16 or over and the business must be UK based and UK tax resident only, earning mainly from trading, not investments. Our Monzo Business eligibility guide goes through the edge cases, including landlords and holding companies.
2. Have you ever had a Monzo account? If not, open a referral link before you download the app. That is what makes you eligible for the £50 reward. If you have had any Monzo account, personal or joint included, there is no reward, and you apply from inside your existing app instead (see below).
3. Which plan? You choose during sign-up. Lite is free, Pro is £9 a month and Team is from £25 a month, with no minimum term; downgrades refunded pro rata. Starting on Lite and upgrading later is fine. Our plan comparison, linked at the foot of this page, sets out the differences.

What you need to open a Monzo Business account

Monzo’s help pages list the following. Having them to hand before you start is what makes a same-day opening likely.

You will also answer questions about the business: what it does, which industry it is in, which countries you trade with and your expected turnover. Answer plainly and accurately. Vague answers are a common reason for an application being held for more information.

For limited companies, Monzo suggests checking that your Companies House record is up to date before you apply, because it reads your details from there. You can look up your company on Companies House’s company search. Our general guide to the documents you need to open a business bank account covers other banks too.

Monzo also notes that the email address and phone number you use become your Monzo identity. If you ever open another kind of Monzo account later, you will use the same ones, so pick an email you intend to keep.

How to open a Monzo Business account, step by step

1. Open a referral link on your phone (only if you have never had a Monzo account) and enter your mobile number. This starts the 30 days referral window, so do it when you are ready to apply.
2. Download the Monzo app from the App Store or Google Play and open it.
3. Enter your email and choose a business account when asked what kind of account you want.
4. Tell Monzo whether you are a sole trader or a limited company, then answer the questions about the business.
5. Verify your identity with your photo ID and the in-app checks.
6. For limited companies, verify people with significant control (see below).
7. Choose your plan. Monzo confirms the exact plan benefits in the app at this point.
8. Wait for the decision. Most come the same day. Reply quickly if Monzo asks for anything.
9. Add money and make your first card payment, using Apple Pay or Google Pay if the physical card has not arrived. If you used a referral link, this completes it.

The sole trader path

A sole trader is the simplest application. There is no company to look up and nobody else to verify: you are the business. Monzo asks about what you do and how you will use the account, checks your ID and proof of address, and in most cases opens the account the same day.

A few things are specific to sole traders. The account is in your name trading as your business. Sole traders can have a team of 3 (you plus 2) on the account. All plans include free Making Tax Digital for Income Tax software, built on Sage, which matters if you fall into Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. And Monzo’s own overdrafts and loans are aimed mainly at sole traders, subject to status; the overdrafts and loans page explains where limited companies stand.

If you are not sure whether you need a separate account at all, our guide on whether a sole trader needs a business bank account sets out the legal position and the practical case.

The limited company path

A limited company application starts the same way, then Monzo looks up the company at Companies House. To be eligible the company needs to be active (not dormant) at Companies House, with an active director, limited by shares, tax resident only in the UK, and mostly earning from selling goods or services rather than from interest or investments. And the person applying must be a director: an employee or company secretary who is not a director cannot open the account.

If you are a new company, you can apply as soon as the company appears on Companies House with an active status. Monzo cannot support dormant companies.

One person can open Monzo Business accounts for up to 3 businesses per person, each meeting the eligibility rules in its own right. Once the account is open, other directors and staff can be added as team members within your plan’s limits.

Director and PSC verification

For a limited company, Monzo checks the people with significant control at sign-up: the people listed as having significant control on the company’s Companies House record. A person with significant control is broadly anyone who holds more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or otherwise controls the company; the GOV.UK guidance on people with significant control has the full definition.

In practice, for a one-person company, you are the director and the PSC, and verifying yourself covers both. Where there are other PSCs, Monzo needs to confirm who they are: either they show their ID during the process, or, if they already have a Monzo personal account, Monzo can use that to verify them. Get their agreement in advance so the application does not sit waiting.

If your Companies House record is out of date, for example a former shareholder still listed as a PSC, fix it there first. Monzo works from the public record, and a mismatch is a reliable way to slow things down.

How long it takes to open

The application is a matter of minutes if your documents are ready. The decision, Monzo says, comes the same day for most accounts. Some applications are held for extra checks, which is normal at any bank and not a sign of a problem: Monzo has legal duties to understand who it banks and what the money is for.

You do not need to wait for the physical card to start using the account. Once approved you can receive payments, make transfers, and add the card to Apple Pay or Google Pay. The card arrives by post.

If you opened a referral link, remember the 30 days window runs from when you entered your mobile number, so a long review eats into it. The Monzo Business referral page explains the timing in full.

If you already bank with Monzo personally

Existing Monzo personal or joint account holders apply from inside the app they already have: go to Home, tap +, and choose to apply for a business account. Monzo already holds your identity details, so there is less to do. The business account then sits alongside your personal one in the same app.

The one thing you cannot get is the referral reward. The terms exclude anyone who has ever opened a Monzo account, so a referral link does nothing for you, and there is no point opening one. The business account itself is the same.

Should you just use your Monzo personal account for the business instead? For a sole trader it is legal, but it muddles your records, and many personal account terms restrict business use. Our comparison of Monzo Business and a Monzo personal account sets out the trade-off.

Switching from another bank with CASS

If you already have a business account elsewhere, you can move to Monzo Business using the Current Account Switch Service. Open the Monzo Business account first, through a referral link if you qualify, then request the switch in the app. Monzo gives the switch as 7 working days via the Current Account Switch Service.

According to the Current Account Switch Service’s business FAQs, small businesses can use it if annual turnover does not exceed £6.5 million and they employ fewer than 50 people. You choose a switch date at least seven working days ahead, not a weekend or bank holiday. On that date your balance and regular payments move across, your old account is closed, and payments sent to the old details are redirected automatically, with the sender told your new details.

Do not set up new payments at the old bank in the seven working days before the switch: they will not move. Set them up on Monzo instead. Our guide on how to switch business bank account covers what moves and what does not, including card payments, which you need to update with each supplier yourself.

You can also run Monzo alongside your existing bank rather than switching outright, and many businesses do for a while. Nothing requires you to close your old account.

Your first week with the account

• Make the first card payment if you used a referral link, so the reward completes.
• Tell clients your new details and update your invoice template.
• Set up Tax Pots on Pro or Team: a percentage of every incoming payment, moved automatically. Our Monzo Business tax pots guide explains how sole traders and companies use them.
• Connect your accounting software: Xero, FreeAgent, Sage and QuickBooks on Pro and Team.
• Add team members if others need access, within your plan’s limits.
• Turn on biometric login and make sure notifications are on, so you see every payment.

If you are still weighing Monzo against other banks before you open anything, the best business bank accounts comparison is the place to start. Eligibility criteria apply. The £50 is for people who have never had a Monzo account and complete the steps within 30 days.