Digital bank Monzo is reportedly in the early stages of creating a UK mobile phone service, setting up a new front in its contest with established telecoms operators and rival FinTechs.
People familiar with the plans told the Financial Times the lender is studying a digital-only sim proposition that would sell monthly contracts and operate as a mobile virtual network operator by leasing capacity from an existing network. The move would diversify income beyond current accounts and loans while letting Monzo cross-sell to its 13 million domestic customers.
Monzo confirmed the project was underway, saying it aimed to solve pain points it had identified in the market. “When we heard from our customers that mobile contracts can be a pain point, we set out to explore how we could do this the Monzo way,” the company said in a statement.
Industry analysts believe a banking brand with a large, digitally engaged customer base could cause disruption. James Robinson, senior analyst at Assembly Research, said the newcomers “have millions of customers in the UK to cross-sell services to and will propose attractive offers on price and other terms such as roaming charges”.
Monzo is not alone in eyeing telecoms revenue. Revolut and Klarna have announced similar ambitions this year and Octopus Energy is also weighing an entry, raising competitive pressure on established operators EE, Vodafone Three and Virgin Media O2. Market research from Enders Analysis shows mobile virtual network operators added 1.6 million customers in 2024 while the four big network owners lost 180,000.
Launching a connectivity offer would give Monzo a new subscription product at a time when digital banks are striving to secure primary account status and deeper customer relationships. The bank has yet to disclose pricing or a start date, and will need to negotiate wholesale capacity as well as regulatory approvals before any service can go live.
The initiative follows Monzo’s latest vote of confidence from the Competition and Markets Authority. In results published last week the challenger bank ranked first for both personal and business current account satisfaction.
The annual survey, run by Ipsos and BVA-BDRC, measures service quality across mobile banking, branches and overdrafts for the period July 2024 to June 2025. Daniel Turnbull, senior director of markets at the CMA, said the data “puts power into customers’ hands. Whether it’s for a personal or business account, people can see how their bank fares against others – and stay or switch, according to their needs”.
