Monzo banks on revamp to pave the way for international expansion

September 13, 2023: On Tuesday, it will start rolling out, allowing users to support with as little as £1. The feature, Investments, will permit Monzo’s customers to invest in several funds managed by asset management firm BlackRock.

The move will put Monzo into competition with large established banks like Chase, which offers online investment management through its Nutmeg subsidiary, asset administration firms, and younger startup competitors such as Chip, Moneybox, and Plum.

Monzo already lets its customers put their money into interest-yielding savings pots. But this is the group’s first move into the investing world.

The application process is relatively straightforward. Customers will be invited to a waitlist to access the product. Eligible users who’ve joined the waitlist will be asked to create an investment pot.

After that, they’ll be taken through a set of screens where they learn about the product and get to choose from three funds handpicked by BlackRock based on different threat levels.

The choice is split between three funds managed by BlackRock: Careful, Balanced, and Adventurous.

At the “careful” end of the scale is a low-risk, low-return fund; the “balanced” fund has medium-high risk and reward, while the “adventurous” one has almost higher-risk allocations with much larger potential returns.