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Monese enables Smart Transactions and Google Pay™
Published by Gbaf News
Posted on April 16, 2018
7 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Gbaf News
Posted on April 16, 2018
7 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
UK Android customers can now benefit from a Monese card via Google Pay
Smart Transactions, another new Monese feature powered by Google Maps APIs, will give all users more insight into their spending habits and will integrate with an upcoming Money Management solution
Monese, the company that is working on improving access to banking services for the modern, global and mobile workforce, has today announced the enabling of two new Google services. Monese customers can now benefit from the fast, simple way of paying with Google Pay™ on their Android devices, and all users can have even more insight into where they are spending their money with Smart Transactions, powered by the Google Places API.
Norris Koppel, Founder and CEO of Monese, commented: “Our mission is to provide our customers with accessibility and convenience at levels that weren’t possible until very recently. These two new features, Google Pay and Smart Transactions, are helpful tools for customers who want to have better control over how and where they are spending their money.”
Using Google Pay, Monese customers will be able to easily make contactless payments using just their phone. The new payment service is currently available to Monese UK account users, but will also be available to Monese European IBAN account users, dependent on Google Pay availability in their country, in the near future.
To add the Monese card to Google Pay, users need to download the app and follow instructions. It works on Android devices running KitKat 4.4 or higher. If the phone is ever lost or stolen, the information can be locked and erased from anywhere with Find My Device.
In addition to contactless payment for Android users of Monese, also launching across Europe is the new Smart Transactions feature which provides all customers with a wealth of information about their spending. A comprehensive overview of payments will provide users with added details for retail outlets and service providers, like a map showing where the transaction took place, and store information.
A monthly breakdown of expenditures will show customers a total number of transactions, and the total and average amount spent, across suppliers, stores and categories. Users can also edit and classify each payment made using different categories. The data will be integrated into an upcoming money management tool that they can use, due to be released in the coming months.
Norris Koppel, added: “This new service is designed to make managing money easier for our customers. Providing useful tools for budgeting and better understanding their spending habits, so that they can take more control of their finances. In the coming months, we will integrate the data with a new money management solution to help our customers save money and make more informed decisions about their finances.”
Available in 20 countries customers can have both a Monese European IBAN and UK account, choosing between a free Monese Starter account, without monthly fees, or upgrade to Monese Plus, for a fixed 4.95€/£ per month, which saves customers up to 5x annually in core banking fees compared to traditional banks. Currently, over 350,000 users are signed up to the tool and around 1,000 a day are joining. The majority of customers use Monese as their main account and choose to receive their salaries there.
The idea for Monese came from Norris Koppel’s own frustration when he moved to the UK from Estonia. Without a proof of address or credit history in the country, he struggled to open a bank account, making it harder to secure a place to live and receive a salary. Norris believes anyone should have access to banking and wanted to make setting up an account the easiest part of moving to a new country. And so he founded Monese.
The company launched in September 2015 and was the first 100% mobile bank account in the UK. Its “Know Your Customer” technology enables Monese to validate the identity of anyone in real-time. In order to join, users download the app and use it to take a video selfie, providing a snap of their passport or national ID, alongside some basic profile information.
For more information, go to monese.com
UK Android customers can now benefit from a Monese card via Google Pay
Smart Transactions, another new Monese feature powered by Google Maps APIs, will give all users more insight into their spending habits and will integrate with an upcoming Money Management solution
Monese, the company that is working on improving access to banking services for the modern, global and mobile workforce, has today announced the enabling of two new Google services. Monese customers can now benefit from the fast, simple way of paying with Google Pay™ on their Android devices, and all users can have even more insight into where they are spending their money with Smart Transactions, powered by the Google Places API.
Norris Koppel, Founder and CEO of Monese, commented: “Our mission is to provide our customers with accessibility and convenience at levels that weren’t possible until very recently. These two new features, Google Pay and Smart Transactions, are helpful tools for customers who want to have better control over how and where they are spending their money.”
Using Google Pay, Monese customers will be able to easily make contactless payments using just their phone. The new payment service is currently available to Monese UK account users, but will also be available to Monese European IBAN account users, dependent on Google Pay availability in their country, in the near future.
To add the Monese card to Google Pay, users need to download the app and follow instructions. It works on Android devices running KitKat 4.4 or higher. If the phone is ever lost or stolen, the information can be locked and erased from anywhere with Find My Device.
In addition to contactless payment for Android users of Monese, also launching across Europe is the new Smart Transactions feature which provides all customers with a wealth of information about their spending. A comprehensive overview of payments will provide users with added details for retail outlets and service providers, like a map showing where the transaction took place, and store information.
A monthly breakdown of expenditures will show customers a total number of transactions, and the total and average amount spent, across suppliers, stores and categories. Users can also edit and classify each payment made using different categories. The data will be integrated into an upcoming money management tool that they can use, due to be released in the coming months.
Norris Koppel, added: “This new service is designed to make managing money easier for our customers. Providing useful tools for budgeting and better understanding their spending habits, so that they can take more control of their finances. In the coming months, we will integrate the data with a new money management solution to help our customers save money and make more informed decisions about their finances.”
Available in 20 countries customers can have both a Monese European IBAN and UK account, choosing between a free Monese Starter account, without monthly fees, or upgrade to Monese Plus, for a fixed 4.95€/£ per month, which saves customers up to 5x annually in core banking fees compared to traditional banks. Currently, over 350,000 users are signed up to the tool and around 1,000 a day are joining. The majority of customers use Monese as their main account and choose to receive their salaries there.
The idea for Monese came from Norris Koppel’s own frustration when he moved to the UK from Estonia. Without a proof of address or credit history in the country, he struggled to open a bank account, making it harder to secure a place to live and receive a salary. Norris believes anyone should have access to banking and wanted to make setting up an account the easiest part of moving to a new country. And so he founded Monese.
The company launched in September 2015 and was the first 100% mobile bank account in the UK. Its “Know Your Customer” technology enables Monese to validate the identity of anyone in real-time. In order to join, users download the app and use it to take a video selfie, providing a snap of their passport or national ID, alongside some basic profile information.
For more information, go to monese.com
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