Monzo reports £9m in blocked gambling transactions for 2024 

Digital bank Monzo blocked £9m worth of gambling transactions in 2024 – an 8% year-on-year increase against 2023 – after introducing new features to its bet blocking software. 

More than 70,000 customers engaged with its self-service gambling block functions this year, with the average cooldown period time rising from three months to 10. 

Since the new features were introduced in 2023, 75% of Monzo customers opted for a cooldown spell of longer than 48 hours, while 41% chose the 12-month cooldown period – the maximum amount of time the bank allows.  

There was also a 20% increase in blocked gambling payments per month, with that figure now sitting at £800,000 monthly – a notable climb from 2023’s monthly figure of £657,000. 

Monzo’s tagging system means it can track which payments are linked to gambling, with each betting-related transaction marked with a gambling merchant category code. 

At the core of the bank’s gambling harm prevention functions is a ‘note to future you’, which will appear on screen when a user is showing signs of temptation to gamble again. 

It allows the customer to take a moment to reflect on why they opted to stop gambling in the first place.

Monzo’s data noted that as many as 8,500 customers have used that function. 

Other aspects of the bank’s approach to help users form better money habits include multiple cooldown periods, where all gambling-related transactions are blocked until the cooldown period is lifted. 

The customer cannot end the cooldown period until the selected amount of time has passed. 

Monzo was one of the first banks in the UK to introduce gambling transaction blocks in 2018. Since then, high street and challenger financial institutions have followed suit with respective blocking tech being rolled out.

Kate Graham, Monzo vulnerability manager, said: “By staying close to our customers, we build and evolve products and features like the gambling block that help them to transform their relationship with money.  

“Hearing from them about the impact our latest additions to the tool have made is fantastic, even more so because so many customers are controlling the urge to gamble by reading notes they’ve written to themselves in the Monzo app and choosing longer cooldown periods than ever.” 

Raminta Diliso, GamCare financial harm manager, added: “Financial harm is a significant issue for many of the people we support, and tools like Monzo’s gambling block are an important part of tackling this challenge.  

“It’s great to see banks offering these features, and we support the range of options Monzo provides to their customers.  

“Longer cooling-off periods, such as the 12-month option, can play a crucial role in supporting recovery and helping individuals regain control over their finances.”