As a company, we’re focused on building privacy and security features to give customers peace of mind and make Monzo the safest place for you to manage your money.
We’ve launched a new trio of controls you can add as an extra layer of protection on payments and pot withdrawals over a daily allowance – to help stop fraudsters in their tracks, even if they get hold of your phone.
Nothing like this exists in the industry yet and we think it solves a really pressing problem, so we’re excited to share it with you.
Why we built it
If you manage your financial life on your phone, it can feel like you’re carrying all your money around with you in your pocket, and taking it everywhere you go.
And it doesn’t help that phone theft has been rising - with one stolen every 12 minutes in London, according to data from the Met Police (June 2023 - July 2024).
We challenged ourselves to tackle this problem, and see if we could give customers more protection when moving larger amounts of money.
This new feature is designed to give you an optional additional layer of safety when making bank transfers or withdrawing from your savings. It will also make it harder for fraudsters to take money out of your account if you’re a target of shoulder surfing, impersonation scams or if your phone is stolen.
How it works
If you choose to set up added security, we’ll ask you to create daily allowances for sending bank transfers and withdrawing money from an Instant Access Savings Pot. If you want to move money over these allowances, we’ll do an added security check (on top of the usual biometric or PIN authentication and fraud checks we already use).
Three new security controls
To pass the added security check, we’re introducing a trio of new controls. Choose at least two of these controls for an extra layer of protection. We’ll only ever ask you to pass one, and the others are backups. Each one has different benefits, so you can pick the ones that suit you best.
Known locations – leave your savings at home
Choose a known location only you can send large sums from – it could be your home, or where you work. They’re places where you’re comfortable moving large amounts of money that fraudsters are unlikely to have access to.
Trusted contacts – choose a friend or family member to double check
Ask a close friend or family member with Monzo to double check any bank transfers and savings withdrawals over your daily allowance.
You’ll consent to them seeing some details about the action you’re taking. Then we’ll ask them to confirm it’s really you and check that it looks safe.
As someone who knows you, they’ll be able to provide a safety check and flag if anything looks suspicious. For example if they know your phone has been stolen or that you’re not planning any large purchases.
If you choose to ask a trusted contact to review a bank transfer or savings withdrawal, we temporarily put the payment on hold until they complete their review. Once they’ve done that, we’ll ask you to confirm the payment with biometrics or PIN as usual, as only you can actually approve a payment.
Secret QR codes
We’ll email you a secret QR code to print out and keep somewhere safe, or store digitally on another device you don’t carry around. So when you want to move money over your daily allowance, you scan the QR code to confirm it’s you.
Each secret QR code includes a high-security password that only works with your account. And it only works when you scan it in the Monzo app during an added security check. It doesn’t include any personal information or allow access to your account by itself.
Choose at least two controls
When we ask you to do an added security check on a larger payment, you can pick from any of your chosen controls. You need to have at least two of the three set up so you have a backup.
If for some reason you can’t use any of your chosen controls, you can still proceed with your payment by confirming your identity with a short selfie video. So you’ll always be able to access your money.
And if you want to change your controls or allowances, you’ll have to pass an added security check. So if a fraudster does access your phone without your consent, they can’t switch off your added security or add any new controls.
Getting started
To get started with added security, head to “Privacy & Security" settings in your Monzo app. You can get there by tapping on your profile at the top left of the Overview screen, then tapping on “Settings”. From there head to “Privacy & Security” settings, tap on "Added Security" and follow the prompts that will take you through the set-up flow.
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UK residents only. Ts&Cs apply.