Monzo to Expand to Ireland

[Lightning]

Monzo plots Irish expansion as it posts first profit

UK neobank plans to use Ireland as ‘gateway to European markets

www.irishtimes.com

"“In Europe, Ireland will act as our gateway to European markets and we’re in the early stages of setting up an Irish office,” Mr Anil said in the company’s annual report published on Monday."

Early days but good to see more competition on the way.

Avant Money (expanded offering), Monzo, Trading212 (expanded offering) and Trade Republic (expanded offering) and possibly others on the way.

Monzo offer some good GBP deposit rates, so hopefully Monzo will offer some good EUR deposit rates when they launch here.

 

[penguins]

That's excellent news!! I used Monzo when I lived in the UK and I loved all the nifty features that helped with budgeting and saving.

I know Revolut does exactly the same, but I'm still hesitant to use it as my main bank account (to get my salary paid in, save a house deposit, etc.) due to the fear of being locked out by random AML etc. checks. I've never heard of that kind of issues with Monzo (though I could be wrong of course!).

 

[Lightning]

Independent.ie reporting that the Irish launch will occur in the "coming months". Might not have too long to wait.

UK digital bank Monzo plans Irish base as it targets expansion across the EU

UK digital bank Monzo says it has plans for an Irish office as part of a bid to enter the European Union market.

m.independent.ie

 

[Lightning]

Irish Times have more on this today here: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/06/06/monzos-irish-plans-already-in-train/

Monzo are already engaging with the CBI and ECB on authorisation. Hopefully authorisation goes smoother than it did with Starling.

 

[Connard]

Irish Times have more on this today here: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/06/06/monzos-irish-plans-already-in-train/

Monzo are already engaging with the CBI and ECB on authorisation. Hopefully authorisation goes smoother than it did with Starling.

Hopefully the rollout doesn't take too long. The more competition we get here the better.

 

[MrEarl]

I got the feeling that they were using Ireland now as a base for access to the Euro one, rather than actually being intetested in winning Irish business, tbh - am I wrong?

 

[penguins]

I wondered about this too. On one hand, Revolut has such a big market share that Monzo might feel they're unlikely to get enough people to switch (I think I read that 4 in 5 Irish adults have Revolut?). On the other hand, I think they could get people to switch by highlighting that they are a fully licensed Irish bank unlike Revolut. I know for sure that I'd be more willing to get my salary paid into an Irish regulated bank.

I find it annoying and fiddly to track my spending when using my AIB card for half my transactions and my Revolut for the other half so I would really welcome a digital bank where I can move 100% of my banking!

 

[nest egg]

Ireland is likely a good test bed for Monzo, as we're in the EU/Eurozone but English speaking, and have a similar legal/banking system to the UK. Even if they're late to the party, it would be a useful stepping stone for a UK bank intent on European expansion to offer accounts here.