Both wamo and Monzo offer businesses easy and effective financial solutions that enable entrepreneurs to make cross-border payments, save on international money transfers, and enjoy other benefits. To get the most out of these platforms, it's important to understand the key differences between them.
Monzo Business Banking has been helping small businesses to manage and stay on top of their finances since 2015. The app is designed to be simple and straightforward to use, with everything you need to know about your business finances in one place. With award-winning customer support and effective banking solutions for personal and business accounts, Monzo has become one of the most popular business financial services providers in the UK.
Laine Redpath
wamo is a financial management and payments platform that is designed specifically to make business financial services easier for small businesses in the UK and EU who want to do business there. wamo’s offers personal, bespoke customer service, international transfers, multi-currency accounts and multiple payment options in multiple currencies. wamo aims to make it possible for anyone with a legitimate business to have a business account. Even those who don’t have EU or UK nationality.
wamo vs Monzo: Subscription Plans
While both the platforms offer affordable options for you, the subscription plan for Monzo is lower than wamo.
Both platforms enable you to open a business account without any setup fee which makes it easy for you to get started.
If you are someone who has a small business, are a UK resident and have a good credit score Monzo's low-fee subscription plans could be a good fit for you.
On the other hand, wamo's subscription plans are designed to offer you more features without incurring incremental costs over time. If you have a legitimate business but also have concerns about credit checks or a growing business that needs more features such as multi-currency accounts, international payments and bespoke customer service - wamo is a great option.
wamo vs Monzo: Debit Cards
Both platforms offer a physical debit card that can be used for making payments online and in-person. You can also use these cards to withdraw cash from ATMs. The biggest difference between the two is that Monzo charges you additional fees for every new card while wamo's Grow Plan provides unlimited cards without any charges or hidden costs. It’s a big bonus that wamo’s delivery is always free, wherever you are in the world and whatever subscription plan you are on.
For ATM withdrawals, Monzo has no withdrawal charges up to € 285 in the UK and EEA (combined) every month and up to € 228 elsewhere per month. If the withdrawals go beyond these numbers, there’s a 3% fee that applies.
Laine Redpath
If you are a small business with a limited number of employees, Monzo's pricing could work out to be a good start for you. However, if you have a larger team, international business focus, or need to replace cards frequently, being on a wamo subscription that covers card costs will save you money in the long run.
When it comes to virtual cards, both providers offer them but it’s worth noting that Monzo’s Light plan doesn’t offer virtual cards at all.
wamo vs Monzo: Transfers and Payments
Monzo offers businesses an easy way to send and receive payments with its business account. It enables free transfers to UK accounts (but only until the end of 2023) and it offers international transfers, however, as it has partnered with Wise, you will need to pay Wise’s fees as they apply.
When it comes to making international transfers, wamo has a consistent fee of € 14.99/ transaction while transfers in the SEPA zone are free on the Grow plan (and will stay that way).
With Monzo payments, you pay £0.2 + 1.4% for UK cards, £0.2 + 2.5% for European Economic Area cards and £0.2 + 2.9% for all other cards.
So, if you are looking for a platform that offers extensive payment options - including the extra secure payment links - allows you to hold money for a longer time and send and receive payments in multiple currencies, wamo looks like the better choice here.
wamo vs Monzo: Credit Checks
When you are applying for a business account with Monzo, the platform will do a minor credit check on all the directors and owners of the company. This is not the case with wamo where there is no credit check required for opening a business account.
So if you are worried about your credit score affecting your ability to open a business account, you’re much more likely to get an account with wamo.
Additional information
Note that non-UK residents are not eligible to apply for a business account with Monzo.
In all, both wamo and Monzo offer great options for businesses of all sizes. If you are looking for an affordable solution with a lower subscription fee (additional cost for other services are excluded in maintenance), Monzo is a good choice.
However, if you are looking for wider options, less transactions and withdrawal fees, and a growing team who personalise service for you and if you have struggled to open a business account before, then wamo looks like the perfect fit.
