Monzo cash deposits

What it is

Monzo business customers pay cash in through the Post Office and PayPoint networks. Unlike almost every rival, Monzo charges a flat fee per deposit rather than a percentage of the value.

That is not a detail. It inverts the economics depending on how you bank, and it is the single most consequential difference between the free digital accounts for anyone handling notes and coins.

Flat fee versus percentage, in numbers

Three ways of charging exist in this market. The same money costs wildly different amounts under each.

• Flat fee per deposit — Monzo. Cheap for a few large deposits, expensive for many small ones.
• Percentage with a minimum — Starling at 0.7% with a £3 minimum. The minimum is what hurts.
• Per £100 — the high street, roughly £0.85 to £1.50.

Practical constraints

• Deposits route through Post Office branches and PayPoint retailers, not Monzo premises.
• Post Office branches have their own limits and opening hours, which are the real constraint for a shop.
• Consolidating deposits reduces cost under a flat fee. Under a percentage it makes no difference.

Who it genuinely helps

• Businesses making occasional large deposits — the flat fee is unbeatable here.
• Service businesses with the odd cash job, where a percentage minimum would be punitive.
• Anyone who can consolidate takings into one weekly trip rather than several.

Where it falls short

• Expensive if you bank little and often. Every trip costs the same regardless of amount.
• You are dependent on the Post Office network. Check your nearest branch’s hours and limits before committing.
• No night safe, no counter, no relationship. Serious cash volume belongs on the high street.

What else does this

Starling charges 0.7% with a £3 minimum per deposit — better for frequent small deposits than the minimum suggests, worse for large ones.

Tide charges 0.5% with a £2.50 minimum. Mettle routes through the Post Office too.

Revolut, Wise and Airwallex accept no cash at all.

For real volume, see best accounts for cash deposits, where the high-street per-£100 rates start to win.

Our verdict

Genuinely differentiated, and widely misunderstood. Most comparison tables list a cash charge and stop, which makes Monzo look either cheap or expensive depending on which example the writer picked. Both are true.

The flat fee is a real structural advantage for a business that can consolidate its takings, and a real disadvantage for one that cannot. A tradesperson paying in one job’s takings weekly is far better off at Monzo than Starling. A market stall banking daily is worse off.

Neither is the right answer for a business banking thousands a week. At that point the Post Office network is the constraint rather than the fee, and the high street’s counter access and night safes start to matter more than the rate.

Read our full Monzo review →