Monzo launches accounts for 16-18 year olds

The decision is said to open up the bank to more than 1.5 million new young people. Monzo says that 16- and 17-year-old customers can sign up for a Monzo bank account by downloading the app. They’ll then receive a contactless debit card in the post the next working day. Certain banking features, such as overdrafts and spending on gambling, will be blocked until customers turn 18.

With more than 860,000 registered account holders and set to cross 1 million accounts in the next few months, Monzo has employed a number strategies to grow customers. These have included friend-to-friend payments, either to people who already bank with the startup, or via the Monzo.me service, which gives users a payment link to share with friends.

More recently, the challenger bank launched ‘Nearby Friends’, geolocation functionality that uses Bluetooth to let you see anyone else that uses Monzo who is nearby so that you can initiate a payment without needing their phone number to be in your contact book first.