Monzo has received regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority to provide targeted support to its customers.
The UK-based digital bank joins a cohort that includes Royal London, Vanguard, Quilter, Legal & General, and Zopa Bank in receiving the green light.
Monzo launched its investment product in 2023, reporting at the time that approximately a third of customers using the feature were first-time investors. The bank has since grown that base to more than 500.000 customers investing through its platform, according to a company official.
Targeted support is positioned as the next step in expanding that reach. Through the process of enabling firms to provide guidance tailored to groups with shared financial profiles (rather than requiring full individual advice), the framework lowers the regulatory burden associated with delivering investment-related recommendations at scale. For a digital bank with a broad, consumer-facing customer base, the mechanism offers a route to addressing what the company describes as widespread uncertainty among customers who want to invest but are unsure how to start.
Regulatory context
The targeted support regime sits within the FCA's broader effort to address the UK's 'advice gap', the gap between consumers who would benefit from financial guidance and those who can access or afford regulated advice. The framework is distinct from full financial advice and does not require the same level of individualised assessment, making it more operationally accessible for firms serving large customer volumes.
According to the Financial Times, Monzo's approval positions it to use targeted support within its existing investment offering, with implications for how it engages customers around longer-term financial planning. The scale of its existing investor base suggests a meaningful addressable audience for the capability from launch.
The broader picture across firms that have received approval, spanning insurers, asset managers, a savings platform, and now a digital bank, reflects the range of business models the FCA intends the framework to serve.
