Monzo Business eligibility: who can open an account (and who cannot)

Monzo Business eligibility: the short version

Monzo is explicit that meeting these criteria lets you apply but does not guarantee an account. Like any bank, it makes its own decision on each application.

Who can open a Monzo Business account?

Two kinds of business: sole traders, and private limited companies limited by shares (the usual “Ltd”). Monzo says these two make up around 90% of UK businesses, which is why it has concentrated on them.

Sole traders are self-employed individuals trading in their own name or under a trading name: freelancers, tradespeople, consultants, online sellers, drivers and so on. Monzo’s criteria do not mention VAT registration or a minimum trading history.

Limited companies must be registered at Companies House, limited by shares, with an active (not dormant) status and an active director who is not disqualified. The person applying must be a director. Most one-person and small companies fit this shape, including contractors working through their own company.

Business types Monzo cannot support

Monzo lists partnerships, LLPs, PLCs, charities, CICs, companies limited by guarantee, trusts and funds among the business types it cannot open accounts for. Its eligibility page also names:

• partnerships of any kind, including limited liability partnerships;
• clubs and other unregistered organisations;
• other registered business types, such as unlimited companies, industrial and provident societies and Royal Charter bodies.

Monzo explains that these structures require it to gather and store different information and follow different rules on how the account is run. It says it might offer accounts to some of them in future but that this is not in its plans at the moment. So if you are an LLP or a charity, waiting is not a strategy.

Monzo Business also cannot be used as a client account: one that holds money on behalf of someone else, as a solicitor or letting agent might. If your business needs to hold client money separately, you need a provider that offers designated client accounts.

Industries Monzo will not bank, whatever the business type

Some industries need extra checks and controls that Monzo has chosen not to put in place for now. Its eligibility page lists:

• currency exchanges, including virtual currencies, and money services businesses;
• precious metals and stones, such as jewellery;
• regulated or unregulated financial investment, loan, foreign exchange or banking businesses;
• selling or making CBD products;
• public administration, defence and compulsory social security;
• extraterritorial organisations and bodies.

Monzo adds that it may decline businesses in other industries if it does not think an account is appropriate. That is a normal caveat for any bank, but it means the list is not exhaustive. If you are in a borderline sector, ask Monzo through its website before applying.

The trading, not investments, rule

For limited companies, Monzo requires the company to make money mostly from selling goods or providing services, not mostly from interest or investment income. This is the rule most likely to catch people who otherwise look eligible.

• Holding companies whose income is mainly dividends from subsidiaries, or interest, are unlikely to qualify.
• Investment companies holding shares, funds or cash are in the same position.
• Property companies are a grey area. A company whose income is mainly rent from properties it owns is earning from an investment, not from selling goods or services. A company that provides property services, such as lettings management or development and sale, is more clearly trading.

For individual landlords the picture is less clear-cut. Monzo’s free Making Tax Digital for Income Tax software, built on Sage is aimed at sole traders and landlords, which suggests Monzo expects some landlords to bank with it. But Monzo does not set out how it treats a person whose only income is rent. If that is you, read our page on business bank accounts for landlords and ask Monzo before applying, rather than assuming either way.

Residency, age and location

The business must be UK based and UK tax resident only. A company that is tax resident in the UK and somewhere else as well does not qualify. If your business is based or registered outside the UK, Monzo cannot offer an account.

You need to be 16 or over. So a 16 or 17-year-old sole trader can apply in their own right.

You also need to be in the UK when you apply, and not on a VPN. Monzo says this is so the application does not look as if the business is based abroad. If you travel a lot, apply when you are home.

Directors and people with significant control

For a limited company, the person applying must be a director. Monzo also verifies the people with significant control shown on the company’s Companies House record when you sign up. Each of them needs to show their ID during the process, or already have a Monzo personal account that Monzo can use to confirm who they are.

If a PSC cannot or will not be verified, the application will stall. The usual causes are an out-of-date Companies House record, or a PSC who lives abroad and is hard to reach. Sort these out first. The how to open a Monzo Business account guide explains the verification step in more detail.

Up to three businesses per person

You can have Monzo Business accounts for up to 3 businesses per person. Each account must be for a different business, and each business must meet the eligibility rules on its own. A director of three trading companies can bank all three with Monzo; a director of a trading company and an LLP can bank only the company.

Existing business customers apply for an additional account from their profile in the app. Each business can choose its own plan.

No Monzo personal account needed

You do not need to have a Monzo personal account to open Monzo Business. You can download the app and apply for a business account directly. If you already have a personal or joint Monzo account, you apply from inside that app by going to Home, tapping + and choosing to apply for a business account.

Common situations, and how the rules apply

These are the questions we see most often. Where Monzo’s published criteria do not settle the point, we say so; in those cases the reliable answer is Monzo’s, so ask before you apply.

I have just started freelancing alongside a job

A side business run as a sole trader fits Monzo’s criteria: you are a sole trader, and the income comes from selling goods or services. Monzo’s criteria do not set a minimum turnover. If you have not yet registered for Self Assessment, our guide on whether sole traders need a business bank account covers what HMRC expects.

My company was registered last week

You can apply once the company shows as active at Companies House with you as a director. Being new is not a barrier; being dormant is. If you filed dormant accounts and are now starting to trade, make sure the company’s status and details are current before you apply.

I am a contractor working through my own limited company

A personal service company that invoices clients for your work is trading: it sells services. That fits. If instead you are paid through an umbrella company, you are an employee of the umbrella and have no business of your own to bank. Our page on business bank accounts for contractors covers both set-ups.

Another company owns shares in mine

Monzo verifies the people with significant control on your Companies House record, and its published criteria do not say how it handles a company listed as a controlling shareholder. If your ownership involves another company, a trust or overseas shareholders, ask Monzo before applying.

I sell on Etsy, eBay or Amazon

Online sellers are selling goods, so a sole trader or limited company selling online fits the rules. If you are paid out in currencies other than sterling, read the currency section of our alternatives page as well; see also accounts for Etsy sellers.

Eligible for the account vs eligible for the £50 referral reward

These are two separate tests, and people often pass the first and fail the second.

• The account: the business type, residency, age, industry and trading rules above.
• The £50 referral reward: you must have never opened a Monzo account before, of any kind, and complete the four steps within 30 days of opening a referral link. Having a Monzo personal account now, or having had one years ago, rules you out.

The full rules are on our Monzo Business referral page, and the Monzo bonus checker works through both tests in five questions.

Eligibility criteria apply. The £50 is for people who have never had a Monzo account and complete the steps within 30 days.

If you are not eligible: what to use instead

Being turned away by Monzo is not a judgement on your business, just a mismatch with its current scope. Most excluded businesses have good options elsewhere.

• Partnerships and LLPs can open accounts with the high-street banks and with some app-based providers. Our comparison with the high-street banks covers Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander.
• Charities, CICs and clubs generally need a charity or community account from a high-street or specialist bank.
• Holding and investment companies may be better served by a high-street bank or a savings-focused provider.
• Businesses in excluded industries may need a specialist provider that runs the extra checks those sectors require.

Our Monzo Business alternatives page sets out the specific situations where another account fits better, and the best business bank accounts comparison covers the wider market. Monzo’s own eligibility page is at monzo.com: business eligibility.