Monzo Helps 700,000 Customers Control Gambling Spending
Challenger bank Monzo says it has blocked £9,000,000 in gambling transactions in 2024 as part of its blocking options for customers.
Monzo’s gambling block is being increasingly used in the UK. © Maria_Domnina, Pixabay
Key Facts:
- £9 million worth of gambling transactions have been blocked by Monzo this year
- The challenger bank reports an 8% year-on-year rise since 2023
- Over 700,000 customers are using Monzo’s gambling block
- The average cooldown period is now 10 months, up from 3 months
Monzo has released a new report that says the £9 million figure of blocked gambling transactions is up 8% on the data for 2023.
Furthermore, over 700,000 Monzo customers are using the bank’s gambling block, with more than 70,000 of them having also embraced the self-serve additions it made.
Monzo has reported a 20% rise in blocked gambling payments each month, a rise from £657,000 in 2023 to over £800,000 a month so far this year.
The average cooldown period used by Monzo customers is up from 3 months to 10 months.
More than 10 million people in the UK use Monzo, which was only founded in 2015.
Controlling Gambling Urges
Monzo said in its report that more than two-fifths (41%) of customers are choosing to use the maximum industry-first 12-month cooldown period when opting to block gambling payments.
The bank’s vulnerability manager, Kate Graham, said the idea of the block is part of Monzo’s aim of helping its customers to “transform their relationship with money”.
One of the ways Monzo does this is by enabling customers to write a ‘note to future you’, a self-management tool that gives them time to reflect if they are tempted to bet.
So far, around 8,500 Monzo customers have used the ‘note to future you’ tool from the bank, with data from the Gambling Commission recently showing the UK saw a 12% rise in gambling transactions to £1.46 billion.
Graham said in a Monzo statement: “Hearing from them about the impact our latest additions to the tool have made is fantastic, even more so because so many customers are controlling the urge to gamble by reading notes they’ve written to themselves in the Monzo app and choosing longer cooldown periods than ever.”
GamCare Backs Monzo Measures
Monzo’s gambling block measures have been welcomed by GamCare, which helps to support people in the UK who are affected by addiction issues.
Raminta Diliso, financial harm manager at GamCare, said: “Financial harm is a significant issue for many of the people we support, and tools like Monzo’s gambling block are an important part of tackling this challenge.
“It’s great to see banks offering these features, and we support the range of options Monzo provides to their customers.”
“Longer cooling-off periods, such as the 12-month option, can play a crucial role in supporting recovery and helping individuals regain control over their finances.”
GamCare pointed out that anyone who is finding it hard to keep control of their spending on gambling is able to get help via the National Gambling Helpline at 0808 8020 133.
The National Gambling Helpline is free and available around the clock.
