Monzo Unveils Three New Fraud Prevention Measures

Monzo has implemented three security controls to mitigate the risk of fraudulent payments from customer accounts resulting from shoulder surfing, phone theft, or impersonation scams.

The options, Known as Locations, Secret QR codes, and Trusted Contacts, are choices for customers to use if they want to. These will be introduced gradually in the next few weeks. Customers should set up at least two of these options. They can also decide the amounts when each one is used for bank transfers or taking money out of savings pots quickly.

Monzo Seeks To Enhance The Security Of Its Customers’ Accounts

Known Locations lets customers pick places like home or work where they must be when they want to make bank transfers or withdrawals over a certain amount from their savings. If they’re not in one of these places they’ve chosen, the transfer won’t go through.

Customers can also ask a trusted family member or friend who uses Monzo to check if a transaction over their chosen limit seems safe or suspicious before they go ahead with the transfer or savings withdrawal.

Secret QR codes are stored on another device and must be used together with the customer’s phone to confirm a payment or savings withdrawal that exceeds their chosen limit.

Priyesh Patel, a senior engineer at Monzo, revealed that as scammers get smarter, Monzo is investing more to stay ahead and protect its customers’ money. Whether users choose to set their safety zone with Known Locations or have a trusted contact double-check their payments, these features give customers peace of mind. It also makes them take a needed moment to think in a serious situation.

Monzo’s Broader Aim Is To Maintain Its Growth And Profitability

The new controls came after Monzo introduced the Call Status tool, which helps stop impersonation scams by allowing customers to check the app to see if they are actually talking to Monzo.

Patel stated that the Status tool has been used to report over 4,000 fraud attempts so far this year.

Monzo noted that these new features are the first of their kind in mobile banking, as the industry faces very high levels of fraud.

Established in 2015, Monzo’s mobile-only banking services quickly became popular, and the startup reached unicorn status in 2018. The firm faced financial issues and big losses during 2020-2021 but eventually recovered.

Monzo became profitable in 2023 and now has nine million users in the UK. In March, it raised £340 million in new funding, reaching a valuation of £4 billion. It reportedly got an extra £190 million in May.