Summary
Monzo, a digital bank, was fined £21 million by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for not properly checking addresses on account applications, allowing openings with fake addresses like 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace. The problems, found during an FCA investigation, led the bank to take on risky customers and happened mainly between October 2018 and August 2020.
Key Facts
- Monzo did not verify the addresses on some account applications, allowing fake ones like famous UK sites.
- The FCA fined Monzo £21 million for its weak anti-financial crime systems.
- The problems occurred mainly from October 2018 to August 2020.
- Monzo's customer base grew significantly from 600,000 in 2018 to over 5.8 million in 2022.
- The bank failed to keep its financial crime controls in line with its rapid growth.
- Monzo does not have physical branches; it operates only online.
- The FCA found Monzo breached rules by opening accounts for high-risk customers between August 2020 and June 2022.
- Monzo's CEO stated that issues have been fixed and improvements made since the investigation.
