Monzo Max

Monzo Max is the top paid plan on a Monzo current account.

The plan runs on a three-month minimum term, and you have to be a UK resident aged 18 to 69 to take it out¹. The insurance is arranged through named providers rather than by Monzo itself: the phone cover is provided by Assurant General Insurance and the breakdown cover by the RAC³. The travel cover stops being available on the first Max anniversary after your 71st birthday, even though the plan itself can carry on².

Max sits alongside three cheaper Monzo plans, Extra, Perks and Max, which start from £3 a month¹. It is a subscription attached to a free current account, not a separate account, so the money in the account stays protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the usual way⁵.

What Monzo Max includes: insurance, breakdown cover and perks

Max is built on top of the two cheaper plans. Monzo describes it as everything in Extra and Perks, plus worldwide travel and phone insurance and UK and Europe breakdown cover¹. That means the budgeting side of the plan comes first: custom categories, virtual cards, advanced roundups and an auto-spreadsheet, which are the features the paid tiers are known for³.

The insurance is the part that distinguishes Max. The phone cover protects a phone and accessories against loss, theft and accidental damage anywhere in the world, with accessories covered up to £300, and you can make up to two claims in a 12-month period³. The breakdown cover is personal rather than vehicle-based: it covers you and up to five family members, in any valid vehicle, as driver or passenger, and includes at-home assistance, onward travel and vehicle recovery³.

The plan also carries a Railcard, which is where the cancellation rules bite hardest, and partner perks that Monzo values at over £300 a year³. The advanced version of Monzo's credit insights feature, which shows your credit score, comes with Extra, Perks and Max rather than with the free account⁶.

Monzo Max for families and joint accounts

Family cover is an add-on rather than a separate plan. That is the figure to compare against buying travel and phone cover separately for a household, and it is the only part of Max that scales with the number of people covered.

Joint accounts work differently. Max is a personal plan, but several of its features reach across to a joint account: custom categories, virtual cards, advanced roundups and the auto-spreadsheet can all be used on a joint account with Max³. Advanced roundups are available on a joint account with Extra, Perks and Max⁸. If both account holders have Extra, Perks or Max, joint savings get boosted interest³.

There is a limit worth knowing. Monzo's terms for the older Plus plan state that on a joint account only the plan holder benefits, and the same principle applies to plan features generally: the subscription belongs to one person, and the joint account benefits are an extension of it rather than a second subscription⁹. Connected accounts, which let you see other banks and credit cards inside Monzo, are available with Extra, Perks or Max¹⁰.

How the Monzo Max monthly charge and extra fees work

Monzo's plans as a group start from £3 a month, which is the Extra tier, so Max is the most expensive of the four¹. The charge is monthly and continues for as long as the plan runs.

Beyond the subscription, the fees that catch people out are the ones triggered by cancelling or by using the card abroad:

• Max card replacement: £5 if you lose your Max card or it is stolen²
• Cooling-off cancellation: £5 if you have ordered a Max card and cancel within the first 14 days²
• Railcard cancellation: £23 if you have ordered a Railcard and cancel in the cooling-off period, or £2.09 a month for each month left until your next Max anniversary if you cancel later⁵

The plan can be paid from a pot rather than the main balance, and Monzo lets you set the payment up from the plan homepage, from the Payments tab under scheduled payments, or from a Bills Pot¹¹. If a payment fails, Monzo's approach on the older Plus plan was to cancel the plan on the seventh failed attempt once outside the minimum term, so a failed payment is worth watching¹².

Who can get Monzo Max

The eligibility rules are short. You need to be a UK resident aged 18 to 69, and you need an active Monzo card before you can sign up¹. Monzo states the age range as 18 to 69 for Max across its plan pages, and the same range appears on the pages for the features that come with the plan¹⁴.

One point of confusion is worth flagging. Some Monzo pages describe the plan as being for those aged 16 to 69, and the terms describe the age requirement as 18 or over. If your age is close to either end of that range, the plan terms are the document that governs the contract.

You cannot take Max out without a Monzo current account, because the plan is charged from the account. The current account itself is free to open and takes about 10 minutes to apply for¹⁶. If you are struggling to sign up, Monzo's guidance is that you need an active card, so activating the card when it arrives and trying again is the fix¹⁷.

How to sign up for Monzo Max

Signing up happens inside the app rather than through a form on the website. Monzo's own instructions are to sign up for Extra, Perks or Max by tapping a link in the app¹⁸. There is no branch to visit: Monzo has no branches, and accounts are opened on a phone¹⁶.

The order of events is:

1. Open a Monzo current account and activate the card when it arrives¹⁶
2. Open the app and go to the plan sign-up link¹⁸
3. Choose Max, and choose whether to add family cover at the extra £4 a month³
4. Set which account or pot the monthly charge is paid from¹¹

If you are moving from another bank rather than starting fresh, Monzo supports switching personal, joint and business accounts, and the Current Account Switch Service handles the transfer of your payments¹⁹. A joint account is opened from inside the app by tapping the plus icon and choosing to apply for a joint account²⁰.

The minimum term: cancelling or downgrading Monzo Max

Max comes with a three-month minimum term. You agree to keep the plan for at least three months, which means paying the monthly charge for at least three months². During that period you cannot downgrade to a cheaper plan: Monzo's guidance is that you would need to wait until the minimum term ends to downgrade²¹.

After the three months, you can cancel at any time and you keep your Max benefits until your next payment date⁵. Cancelling is free at that point. If you close your Monzo current account, Monzo also cancels Max, and if you are still inside the minimum term you need to pay the remaining monthly payments before the account can be closed⁵.

There are two routes out during the minimum term. The first is financial hardship: Monzo says you can ask to cancel if your circumstances have changed in a way that makes the plan unaffordable, giving examples such as bankruptcy, an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or a debt relief order, and you contact Monzo through the app with evidence⁵. The second is the cooling-off period, which is the first 14 days, when you can cancel and get the monthly payment refunded, less the card and Railcard fees if you ordered either⁵.

Using Monzo Max abroad: cash withdrawals and exchange rates

Max raises the fee-free cash withdrawal allowance abroad. Within the UK and the European Economic Area, Monzo lists fee-free withdrawals as unlimited for Premium, Perks and Max customers²³.

On spending, Monzo uses Mastercard's exchange rate with nothing added on top²⁴. That is the rate applied to card spending abroad, and it is the same basis Monzo uses on its Flex Build card, where it states it charges Mastercard's exchange rate and nothing else²⁵.

The £600 figure is consistent; the treatment of deposits and the UK and EEA position is not. Check the current terms before relying on either.

Complaints, fraud help and FSCS protection for Monzo customers

Monzo is a fully regulated UK bank, and eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme²⁶. It appears on the Financial Services Register under firm reference number 730427, and on the Bank of England list of UK banks authorised to accept deposits²⁷. FSCS protection also covers Monzo investment accounts if Monzo or its custodian or platform providers fail, and applies to Under 16s accounts²⁶.

That protection covers the money in your account, not the value of an insurance claim. Investment accounts held through Monzo are covered separately, with protection applying if Monzo or its custodian or platform providers fail²⁹. Under 16s accounts also carry FSCS protection³⁰.

On fraud, Monzo has a call status feature that it says helps prevent around 1,000 fraud attempts a month³¹. If someone calls claiming to be Monzo, the guidance is to open the app: if Monzo genuinely needs to speak to you, a notification appears there³². Impersonation scams can be reported in the app by tapping Help, searching for reporting a scam, and completing the form³². Monzo also advises against using public wifi for mobile or online banking, because most public networks are not securely encrypted, and recommends mobile data on your 4G or 5G network instead³³.

For authorised push payment fraud, where you are tricked into sending money yourself, Monzo says it will reimburse eligible claims up to a maximum of £85,000, within 5 business days, or up to 35 business days for more complex cases³⁴. If you are unhappy with the outcome, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service³⁴.