Monzo rejected customer as too old for bank account

A Monzo customer has been turned down for a bank account for being too old. Paul Greenfield, 72, applied for the bank’s £15 a month premium account to benefit from a higher interest rate and to access the travel insurance included, however he was later told that he was over the age limit.

“I chatted to Monzo, and they said they’d come back to me. But when they did, they said, ‘Sorry, you don’t qualify. You have to be between 18 and 69.’”

Monzo later confirmed that its decision was related to the travel insurance.

Mr Greenfield, who has banked with Monzo since 2019, said he was shocked by the rejection and feels he has been discriminated against.

“I love Monzo. The app is amazing. I love technology because I’ve had 50 years in the tech industry. So when a technology company treats me like this, I’m shocked.”

In the end, Mr Greenfield got his travel insurance from Revolut for £7 a month “without any questions”.

A Monzo premium account costs £15 a month. Customers receive an interest rate of 4.6pc, a white metal card, and worldwide phone and travel insurance.

The terms and conditions state that applicants must be aged 18 to 69. An exemption from the 2010 Equality

Act allows financial services providers to refuse to provide a product or service because of age without it being classed as discrimination.

James Daley, of Fairer Finance, said: “Obviously there is a higher risk of illness when you’re older, so it’s quite common for travel insurance policies and packaged bank account policies to have maximum ages.”

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said it was disappointing to hear stories of people being rejected for financial products because of their age.

“The exemption from the age discrimination laws enjoyed by the financial services industry feels like an anachronism and should be consigned to the history books,” she said.

Other high street banks also restrict access to insurance products included in similar packaged bank accounts.

Nationwide’s FlexPlus current account includes worldwide travel insurance, but applicants aged over 70 must pay an extra £65 “age upgrade” fee to be covered.

Virgin Money offers a Club M account with bolted on travel insurance that covers the account holder and a partner if they are both under 75.

Halifax’s Ultimate Reward Current Account also comes with travel insurance, but only for customers under 71.

NatWest charges a £75 annual surcharge per person for travel cover if a Silver, Platinum or Black account customer is aged 70 or over.

However, unlike Monzo, these lenders allow customers to apply for the packaged account even if they are too old to benefit from the insurance.

A Monzo spokesman said: “The travel insurance provided with this package comes with an age criteria of 18-69 that is stipulated by the insurance provider.

“This is normal practice within the travel industry and not the case for our free account or other packaged accounts we offer like Monzo Plus, which don’t include travel insurance but include some of the same benefits.” Mattie Brignal