Coronavirus: help and support

We’re well-equipped to keep Monzo running and support you with your money

We’ve asked all our staff to work from home unless it’s crucial that they come into the office. Remote working has always been a big part of working for Monzo, so we’re very used to it.

We’ve got multiple teams working on how we respond to this pandemic, so we can quickly adapt to changing circumstances and keep supporting all our customers.

Repaying and borrowing money

If you’re worried about repaying your loan or overdraft, please let us know

Whether you’ve been affected financially by coronavirus or not, if you’re worried about keeping up with your loan or overdraft repayments, or something’s changed in your circumstances, you should always let us know.

Please chat to us in the app to discuss how best we can help – there are a range of ways we can support you. We know how difficult it can be to ask for help, but we care and we’re here to listen and help however we can.

We’re not part of the government’s small business loan scheme
We can’t offer emergency loans and overdrafts outside of the above, including for small businesses.

That includes the government's Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). But we're looking into ways we can support small businesses and we'll share an update as soon as we know more.

We’ve put together some useful places you can turn to for help with essentials at the bottom of this page.

Managing your account

We’ve made it easier to use contactless

To keep you safe and help stop the spread of coronavirus, we're making it easier to use contactless payments and avoid touching card machines when you pay in shops with your Monzo card:

• You can use contactless to pay for purchases up to £45 if the merchant lets you (merchants across the UK have been adopting the new £45 limit since 1st April 2020, but some might not be ready just yet!)
• You can spend up to £100 with contactless on your Monzo card in total, before you have to enter your PIN
• You can still use Google Pay or Apple Pay without needing to enter your PIN

Security rules for all banks mean after you spend a certain amount of money in shops using contactless, we’ll do an extra security check by asking you to use Chip & PIN for your next payment.

Because of coronavirus, we've raised that limit to £100 so you don't have to enter your PIN as often.

Using cash

In keeping with government advice, many retailers are limiting the use of cash and asking people to pay by card if possible. Please be mindful of this when withdrawing cash - as it may be easier for you to pay using contactless during this time.

The contactless payment limit has been increased from £30 to £45. although this may take some time to roll-out across all retailers.

Getting a friend or family member to manage your account if you’re sick

If you need someone to help you manage your account, chat to us in the app to talk through the option that’s best for you. Whether you want to send spending notifications to someone you trust, or if you need more formal help managing your money, we can help.

You can still pay in cheques, but they might take longer to reach us

From 19 March, Royal Mail standard post, including Freepost, will take longer to arrive. Royal Mail are prioritising items posted by special delivery, but they’re not guaranteed to arrive by 1pm the next working day.

If it’s urgent, we recommend sending your cheque by Royal Mail’s ‘Special Delivery Guaranteed by 9am’ service, which is still guaranteed. Once we’ve got your cheque, it takes 4 working days to put the money in your account.

From Monday 18th May, we'll be unable to process cheques physically dropped off at our physical office in London. We're in the process of moving to our new London home, so we'll resume this service once we're settled in.

Please continue to follow these instructions on sending us cheques and post.

If anything changes, we'll let you know here and on our blog.

Claiming back money on flights or events you can’t attend

If something you’ve booked has been cancelled by the merchant you bought it from because of coronavirus, clarify the refund policy with them directly. If you decide not to travel or go to an event, it may be harder to get a refund. Depending on the circumstances, we might be able to help get you a refund, and we’ve summarised your options here.

Your savings

The money in your Savings Pots is safe

Each provider you open a Savings Pot with has its own FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) protection of up to £85,000.

The FSCS apply this limit to each person and to the total amount of money you have with the provider, whether held through Monzo or not. This means if you have separate accounts with our savings providers outside of the Monzo app, then the money you have in those accounts also counts towards the limit of £85,000.

Coronavirus doesn’t affect adding or withdrawing money from your Savings Pots

The money you put in your Savings Pot is held by the provider you signed up with. So as usual, we need to allow some time to move the money back into your Monzo account. We'll do this before 5pm, the next working day.
With Fixed Term Savings Pots, the money can only be released on the date you originally agreed when you opened the Pot.

If you’re in financial difficulty and need the money sooner, providers might be able to release your money early. But we’ll need to ask for evidence to show your circumstances and then send them a request. We won't charge any sort of penalty fee if you need to withdraw money early from your Savings Pots.

ISA transfers are normally completed within 15 working days. But there may be a delay of a couple of days at the moment, due to Royal Mail running a reduced postal service.

Getting help if you’re worried about coronavirus and your money

Coronavirus is affecting lots of people’s income and employment, as well as the ability to manage their money. We’ve summarised some different places to go for support and advice.

The Money Advice Service also offers free and impartial support. They have a dedicated page on coronavirus and your money and a Money Navigator Tool that might help you assess your financial situation.

Benefits and daily living expenses
If you're unsure of what benefits you are entitled you could try using the Turn2Us benefits calculator.

For emergency food, the Trussel Trust might be able to help you. It’s also worth checking with your local job centre, GP, and the Citizens Advice Bureau as sources of food vouchers too.

For emergency utilities this page from Stepchange is a good place to start.
Find out more about how your energy supplier can support you if you are encountering financial difficulties due to coronavirus here.

Domestic abuse

If you're experiencing domestic abuse and in immediate danger call 999 and dial 55 if you can't speak.

The National Domestic Abuse Helpline (0808 2000 247) is available for free 24 hours a day and the government has pledged another 2 million pounds to fund charities running similar helplines as part of their #YouAreNotAlone campaign.

Carers
Carers UK has useful guides for working carers on requesting flexible working and taking time off for sickness or self isolation here and here.
The Government will be publishing specific advice for carers soon.

Freelancers and contract workers
This page will help you if you need an advance on your universal credit.

This page has all you need to know about statutory sick pay

If you’re a freelancer you can find updates and helpful advice from the IPSE (The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) on their coronavirus blog post.