Yes, Monzo is as safe as any major UK bank. They're authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the PRA (firm reference number 730427). Your deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000 per person, the same protection you get with NatWest, Barclays, or any other UK high street bank. That FSCS limit was raised from £85,000 to £120,000 on 1 December 2025.

Beyond the regulatory side, Monzo uses bank-grade security including biometric login (Face ID or fingerprint), instant card freezing if you misplace your card, and real-time transaction notifications for every payment. There's also a security hub in the app where you can review connected devices and active sessions.

Since launching in 2015 (and getting its full banking licence in 2017), Monzo has grown to 15 million customers and FY 2025 revenue topping £1 billion. It isn't a flash-in-the-pan fintech anymore. It's a mainstream UK bank.

Worth flagging: the FCA fined Monzo £21 million in July 2024 for control failings around anti-money-laundering checks between 2018 and 2020. No customer money was at risk, FSCS protection wasn't affected, and Monzo has since strengthened its onboarding and monitoring systems.

It's the sort of growing-pain fine you'd expect from a bank that scaled from 600,000 to nearly 6 million customers in four years, and the FCA's notice noted Monzo's cooperation in resolving it.

Monzo works well for anyone comfortable with app-only banking. It's particularly popular with younger users and frequent travellers thanks to the fee-free spending abroad. The instant notifications and budgeting tools make it excellent for anyone trying to get a better handle on their spending.

If you need branch access or prefer speaking to someone in person, Monzo won't be right for you - everything is done through the app or in-app chat. But for those who rarely visit a bank branch anyway, it offers a genuinely better experience than most traditional banks.