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Comment by lysergia | Hacker News Reader

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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Kind of hard to determine if you're a UK tax resident without some details, no?

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.

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.

That doesn't mean that it's closed to non-residents.

Don't all UK banks require a UK address?

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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)

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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