Monese business account review
The Monese business account sits alongside its personal account, with both managed from the same app. Here's what you need to know about this digital-only bank account for UK businesses.
![Monese Monese](https://www.finder.com/niche-builder/5d3afaa33d22d.png)
Monese is a digital-only bank that allows UK businesses to open an account without a proof of address and without running credit checks. In this review, we outline the features and fees of the Monese business account, and weigh up its pros and cons.
Monese launched in 2015 as the first 100% mobile current account in the UK. Like many of its digital competitors, it doesn’t have any physical branches. It works through a mobile app, which allows you to manage your Monese accounts and cards easily.
Monese operates both personal and business accounts, which are currently available to anyone living in the EEA and the UK, although to open a business account your business does also need to be registered in the UK.
A Monese business account costs £9.95 a month. In return, you get:
There are many business account options available and it can be tricky to decide if Monese is the right one for your business. We’ve highlighted some key factors here to help you decide.
First of all, given the balance limit, a Monese business account is probably more suitable for small and medium businesses.
Moreover, some of its fees are cheaper than other challengers’ business accounts, but it doesn’t come for free. If you are planning on making only a few transfers and payments then you won’t get much value for your £9.95 monthly charge, and a free account that charges for each transaction may be more suitable for your needs.
Monese is competitive when it comes to money transfer and card payment fees, both in the UK and abroad, so it could be a good option if you travel a lot or do business out of the country.
In terms of data security, Monese only allows you to access your account from a single device, making it impossible for fraudsters to tamper with your account from another location. Monese also uses state-of-the-art security features like 3D secure, biometric login and backend encryption, to give peace of mind that your money, personal data and account are safe. You also get a notification on your phone every time you make a payment, and if your card is lost or stolen, you can block it instantly from the app.
Online customer reviews are for Monese as a whole, rather than for its business account specifically. However, to give you an idea on how the brand has been judged as a digital banking provider, we’ve rounded up its app ratings and Trustpilot scores (March 2021).
On the App Store, the Monese app is rated an average of 4.8 stars out of 5, by more than 38,000 reviewers. Over on the Google Play Store, it receives an average score of 4.5 stars out of 5, based on almost 63,000 reviews from Android app users.
On Trustpilot, Monese has a mark of 3.7 out of 5 and a rating of “Average” from nearly 19,000 reviews. Many users praised the company’s customer service and the mobile app, but some highlighted issues with blocked accounts.
Pros
Cons
![]() | |
Product Name | Monese |
Overseas transaction charge | £2000 allowance with 2% fee after |
Overseas ATM charge | £4 |
International transfer charge | Free to other Monese accounts - 2% to non-monese - £2 minimum |
Email support | |
---|---|
Telephone support | |
In-app or live chat | |
Contact form | |
Branch support |
Considering there aren’t many free business accounts out there (the exception being Starling’s business account, which is well worth a look), the Monese business account does make for a decent deal, as although it comes with a monthly fee there aren’t individual transaction fees to make or receive UK bank payments or direct debits. However, it doesn’t integrate with any accounting software, there’s a limited number of free ATM withdrawals and you can’t deposit cheques.
Get started by visiting Monese’s website and sign up for an account. If you have read this review and decided that Monese’s account is not for you, you can also compare other business bank accounts on the market.
All in all, Monese offers a solid digital-only business account, even though it’s not at the top of the market. Fees are competitive, the set up really easy and quick, and travelling or doing business abroad is cheaper and easier than with the vast majority of traditional business accounts.
We explore how to find the right bank account if you’re a freelancer.
Looking for sign-up deals and bonus codes for a new Tide account? Check out your latest options.
We look at business survival rates, how the chance of business failure varies between industries and some of the reasons businesses stop trading.
Most banks let you apply for a business account entirely online — you might even have your account open in a matter of minutes.
We explore the latest small business statistics in the UK, including the number of SMEs and how this varies between industries and regions.
43% of Brits have a side hustle in 2024. The average income from side hustles in the UK is £207 a week or £900 a month.
We’ve put together some tips and information on how to open a business bank account in the UK as a non-resident.
Discover everything you need to know about opening a business bank account if you’re self-employed
Mettle is a spin-off venture from parent bank NatWest – find out more about what this business banking app has to offer small businesses.
Challenger Countingup draws accounting and business banking together in one account. Our review looks at how it works and what it costs.