Can the new kid on the block Chase rival the poster child of digital banking Monzo? Our guide compares their free account features side by side to help you decide which one might be your best option.
With the free Monzo current account, you get its well-known coral-coloured card, while Chase’s only (and free) current account comes with a blue numberless card.
Neither bank has branches, with the accounts being fully managed via a mobile app. Chase pays a monthly interest rate of 1% AER on current account balances and is presently offering a linked saver account, where current holders can deposit savings on an easy-access basis and earn 3.85% interest (AER).
Both Chase and Monzo have a UK banking licence, which means individual customer funds up to the value of £85,000 are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) should a bank go under.
You can apply for an overdraft with Monzo – the interest rate you’re offered will depend on your personal circumstances and credit score – but Chase doesn’t offer any overdrafts yet.
Chase was a joint winner in Finder’s 2024 Customer Satisfaction Awards, with 100% of customer saying they would recommend the current account. Monzo was not far behind, with a “would recommend” score of 98%.
One other point to note is that while Monzo doesn’t offer cashback, Chase offers 1% cashback on card spend (up to £15 per month). However, from 1 March 2024, customers will have to deposit a minimum of £1,500 a month in order to earn cashback.
With both the app-managed Chase and Monzo accounts, you can set up direct debits, receive your salary and make bank transfers (although with Chase, noticeably not international payments). You can also freeze and unfreeze your debit card and reach the customer service teams through an in-app chat.
Both offer “round-ups”, where you can round up your card transactions to the nearest pound and put that money to one side. Chase keeps this round-up balance separate from your main current account balance and will pay 5% interest (AER) on it, but only for the first 12 months. After this, your money will be transferred to your current account and you can start rounding up again. With Monzo, this spare change will go into a “savings pot” with no interest earned on it.
Unlike Monzo, Chase has no spending categories, specific budgeting tools or saving pots available.
Neither app has a cheque-scanning feature, although you can post cheques to Monzo to deposit into your account and pay in cash at PayPoints for a fee of £1. Chase doesn’t accept cash or cheques into its current accounts.
Winner: Monzo. While Chase has launched its account with a decent range of app features, Monzo’s more established app shines through, particularly when it comes to spending insights and budgeting.
Spending on your Chase or Monzo card is free in the UK, and both cards currently have the standard contactless limit of £100.
You can also add your Chase card or Monzo card to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay.
As mentioned, Chase customers can also earn 1% cashback on their spending (up to £15 per month), but there’s no cashback offer with Monzo.
Chase offers unlimited free ATM withdrawals in the UK, while Monzo lets you withdraw up to £400 for free every 30 days in either the UK or EEA (it’s a combined limit), then there’s a 3% charge.
Winner: Chase. The bank edges it with its free UK ATM withdrawals, compared to Monzo’s free limit of £400 per month, plus its cashback offer.
Round 3: Using the card abroad
Free foreign transactions
Unlimited
Unlimited
Free foreign ATM withdrawals
Up to £1,500 per month
Up to £400 in EEA and £200 elsewhere every 30 days
Chase and Monzo are the same when it comes to using their respective cards to make purchases abroad – neither charges a fee. Plus they both use the competitive Mastercard exchange rate for foreign transactions.
When travelling with your Monzo card, there’s a £200 limit on free cash withdrawals overseas every 30 days – after which there’s a 3% charge. And if you’re in Europe, then the combined UK and EEA monthly free limit of £400 applies, before the 3% fee kicks in.
Chase doesn’t have fees for making ATM withdrawals anywhere overseas, but it does have a monthly withdrawal limit of £1,500 (and that’s a total cut-off point, rather than a fee applying to amounts over that). The daily withdrawal limit within that £1,500 monthly limit is an industry-generous £500 per day.
Winner: Chase. For its fee-free card purchases and ATM withdrawals overseas (although the £1,500 per month cut-off limit may prove troublesome for some account holders on longer trips abroad).
Both Chase and Monzo offer free current accounts (which are the subjects of this guide), but that’s where it ends for new entrant Chase (apart from the linked saver account mentioned above).
Monzo also has joint accounts, business accounts and teen accounts (for 16- and 17-year-olds) on its roster, but no kids’ account yet.
You can apply for either a Chase or Monzo account through their respective mobile apps in a matter of minutes, with no hard credit checks.
The banks’ cards are free to receive, and they should arrive within 7 working days.
Winner: A tie. The sign-up process is similarly easy for both.
Overall winner: Is Chase better than Monzo?
New entrant Chase is certainly gaining a lot of attention. Although the bank is a massive player in the American banking market, it hasn’t quite brought all of its account features to the UK yet. For that reason, if you want a fully rounded current account with a well-designed and engaging app, then you’d probably be better off going for Monzo. But what is tempting from Chase are some of the financial offers with its current account – namely the linked 3.85% AER saver account, 1% on current account balances, 1% cashback on card spend and 5% interest on round-up balances. If any of those catch your eye, and they outweigh the more advanced features of Monzo for you, then maybe Chase is the way to go.
Banking scores
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
Finder scores, in blue, are based on our expert analysis. We also show reviews from users, where we've received more than 10, with a score in yellow. We gather more reviews from customers every year in Finder's customer satisfaction survey.
We show offers we can track - that's not every product on the market...yet. Unless we've said otherwise, products are in no particular order. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations of these) aren't ratings, though we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it. This is subject to our terms of use. When you make major financial decisions, consider getting independent financial advice. Always consider your own circumstances when you compare products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Kate Steere as part of our fact-checking process.
Michelle Stevens is a deputy editor at Finder, specialising in banking, finance, credit and mortgages. She has a journalism degree from the University of Sheffield and has been a journalist for 15 years, writing on topics including fintech, payment systems and retail. In her spare time, Michelle likes to travel, explore new foodie experiences and attempt to improve her own culinary skills. See full bio
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