Monzo Card

10 reasons to get a Monzo Card

money mondays

Suddenly at work, it seemed everyone had a Monzo Card. Except me. FOMO ensued. What was going on I thought? Usually, I am at the forefront of any new trends. According to Monzo 28,000 people, a week sign up to Monzo. So when one of my colleagues told me that he would send me a Golden Ticket to join, I didn’t hesitate to sign up.

What is a Monzo card?

A current bank that lives on your smartphone as an app and built for day-to-day money management. Visiblity and control are key factors to get your Monzo card.

More than one million customers use Monzo to manage their money and spend around the world.

What I also love is their values. You are able to exclude gambling from your transactions which is compassionate to their user base.

How to get your Monzo card:

  • Download the app to get involved
  • You do have to shout into your phone during the sign-up
  • You will also need your passport to confirm your identity
  • Use a Golden Ticket to get £5 when you start spending on your card

10 reasons to get a Monzo Card:

1. The card is orange


No more trying to find the card in your wallet each day. It is bright orange which means it is easier to find! Especially great during and after a night out.

2. Make payments using your phone

Gone are the days of trying to get your wallet out, then credit cards. You can set up payments through Apple pay and start using your phone. So simple to use!

3. Tracks your spending

On the Summary page, your transactions are all documented. You can see what you have bought throughout the day and everything is categorised. The Monzo card helps to manage your money on a daily basis. You can also set budgets for spending.

4. Schedule payments and standing orders

As well as being able to pay for items, you are also able to set up bill payments and standing orders. This way you can understand what committed spending you have during the month and whether you are overspending.

5. Split the bill

If you are eating out, you are able to split the bill with other Monzo friends. No more paying for it and then saying you will get the money afterwards (and then never do!). Simply split the fare or bill at the time. Monzo is also great for housemates – not only can you pay your rent through the app, but you can also create a shared tab where you can all contribute to ongoing expenses. No arguing over who buys what anymore.

6. Send your friends a Golden Ticket to get £5

Refer a friend and both of you will receive £5 when they start to spend using their new card. It’s a great referral scheme. Use mine to get you started! (Update: Promotion not longer offered through Monzo)

7. Send money by text or email

You can send money to any of your contacts simply by sharing a payment link via text or email. You can also transfer money straight into their account paying by bank transfer. The Monzo app also offers you the opportunity to Request money from someone.

8. Freeze your card

Most weeks I am scrambling around trying to find my cash cards. If you are in doubt, rather than cancelling your card you can simply freeze it.

9. Categorise your spending

Each time you pay for something using your Monzo account, it will categorise your spending automatically. The downside is that unlike my spending app, where I can add categories myself, these are all predefined. The guys at Monzo are obviously more well behaved than me as there isn’t a category for drinking/going out. Just ‘Entertainment’. However, this is a great way of tracking how you spend your money and where you may be overspending (my entertainment category is quite high this month!).

10. Savings Pots

I am looking to save £25 a week using the Regular Pot functionality in the app. However, you’ll need £1,000 to open a Flexible Savings Pot, which isn’t currently available due to its popularity, according to Monzo. Good job really as it might take me a while to save that! #savingsgoals

Top Tips Header

How to improve your finances using Monzo:

One of Broke Girl in the City’s Money Mondays Top Tips has been to track your finances using a spending app. I spent years using colour coded excel spreadsheets, which would alarmingly document my spending but would never curb it. Retrospectively looking at my financial crises didn’t motivate me in any way to change my spending habits. Mostly because I felt I was drowning in debt, I focussed solely on repaying debts rather than changing my financial spending.

I now use my Monzo card all of the time. My only advice, keep your phone charged at all times or at least have your physical card on standby. A bit embarrassing going to the shops without any cards only to find your phone has died.

If you have a Monzo card already, share your tips and feedback in the comments below: