Monzo has unveiled a set of three security controls designed to help customers reduce the risk of fraudulent payments resulting from phone theft, shoulder surfing, or impersonation scams.
The new features—Known Locations, Trusted Contacts, and Secret QR Codes—are optional for customers and will be rolled out in the coming weeks. Users must enable at least two of these controls and can set specific limits for transactions or withdrawals from their savings pots.
With Known Locations, customers can designate specific areas, such as their home or workplace, where they must be present to complete bank transfers or withdrawals above their specified limit. If they are outside of these designated locations, the transaction will not go through.
Additionally, customers can invite a trusted friend or family member who also uses Monzo to help verify whether a transaction exceeding their limit appears safe or suspicious before finalizing it.
Secret QR Codes, which should be stored on a separate device, need to be used in conjunction with the user’s phone to authorize payments or withdrawals above their defined limit.
Priyesh Patel, senior staff engineer at Monzo, stated, “As fraudsters become more and more sophisticated, we’re continuing to invest to outpace their tactics and keep our customers’ money safe. Whether it’s choosing your safety radius with Known Locations or having a trusted contact sense-check your payments before you make them, these features offer customers peace of mind and create a crucial moment of pause in a high-stakes situation.”
These new controls complement Monzo’s previously launched Call Status tool, aimed at combating impersonation scams by allowing customers to verify in-app if they are genuinely communicating with Monzo.
Patel noted that the Status tool has been instrumental in reporting over 4,000 fraud attempts this year alone.