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A comment on How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years.

Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by lysergia on Monday August 08, 2022 @11:36AM (#32386797)
I downloaded Monzo on the Play store and installed it. During registration it asked for personal data like my address etc then proceeded to tell me it’s a UK only app. I was shocked. I’m in the EEA and thought I could use the app. It should be clear in the app’s description that it’s a UK only affair. I imagine this has happened to many more people other than me.
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by surfer7837 on Monday August 08, 2022 @01:07PM (#32388175)
Kind of hard to determine if you're a UK tax resident without some details, no?
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by lysergia on Monday August 08, 2022 @01:19PM (#32388340)
There’s no mention of it being a strictly UK affair in the app description. I imagine 100s of people download it each day, fill in the form and then bail once they realize it’s UK only.
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by ralphmelish on Monday August 08, 2022 @01:50PM (#32388712)
I've just checked the description in the Play Store and it says 'Open a full UK bank account'. Maybe that is new, but it is pretty clear.
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by berdario on Monday August 08, 2022 @03:19PM (#32389780)
That doesn't mean that it's closed to non-residents.
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by nsteel on Monday August 08, 2022 @04:48PM (#32390822)
Don't all UK banks require a UK address?
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by Nextgrid on Monday August 08, 2022 @06:41PM (#32392041)
But that's not something you'd expect a non-resident to know. Making account opening criteria transparent wouldn't hurt anything and would save everyone time.
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by nsteel on Tuesday August 09, 2022 @06:18AM (#32396008)
I wouldn't expect a non-resident to know without doing research. But I would expect them to do that research because opening a bank account in another country because it is not a standard thing to do. I don't think it's the job of an app store page to explain this.
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by Jamie9912 on Monday August 08, 2022 @02:02PM (#32388851)
You don't need to be a UK tax resident to have a Monzo account. I have UK citizenship, but am not a resident or tax resident
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by BillinghamJ on Monday August 08, 2022 @02:12PM (#32388974)
FYI, I'm pretty sure they actually do require you to be a resident, though a lot of people get away with not updating their address

https://monzo.com/help/legal-stuff/tax-residency-not-uk

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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by ralphmelish on Monday August 08, 2022 @01:20PM (#32388361)
It is not a simple app, it's a bank. Not sure how you expect to open a UK bank account not living in the UK...

Edit: I've just checked the description in the Play Store and it says 'Open a full UK bank account'. Maybe that is new, but it is pretty clear.

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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by berdario on Monday August 08, 2022 @03:20PM (#32389802)
Non-resident accounts exist (though they are generally more expensive), and several countries don't even require any proof of residence (i.e. you can open a bank account while on a tourist visa)
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Re:How we got customers to sign up to Monzo in the early years by ralphmelish on Monday August 08, 2022 @04:27PM (#32390580)
I know they exist, but they are not the norm. They even call them 'international bank accounts' in most cases (I think HSBC calls it that, or Barclays). Most common bank accounts will require proof of address in the respective country. I don't think it is expected to specify all that in the app description.
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