UK neobank Monzo has launched two types of business accounts after a 12-month trial period.
The challenger bank’s new offerings are aimed at sole traders and SMEs. The sole trader version is named Business Lite and is free while the SME-targeted solution is called Business Pro and costs £5 per month, according to TechCrunch.
The business accounts includes features like Tax Pots that enable people to put aside a percentage of inbound revenue to prepare for future tax bills, the ability to integrate with other account softwares, multi-user accounts and in-app invoicing tools.
When asked why it had decided to launch a paid-for option from the get-go, Tom Blomfield, CEO and co-founder of Monzo, answered TechCrunch that it would enable the challenger bank to afford creating more features.
“So things like accounting integrations, multi-user access that that not all businesses need but cost us more to build,” he said. “And so it seems fair to offer a free tier for people who don’t need that extra powerful functionality. And then a pro tier for people who do. I think for five pounds a month it’s fabulous value; the number of hours saved on bookkeeping through things like tax pots and integrations with Xero, will very, very quickly pay for that.”
The news comes after Blomfield revealed in February that UK-based challenger bank is planning to grow its staff from 1,500 to 2,000 and to relaunch its failed premium services.
The first version of its premium accounts were shut down in September 2019, just months after being launched.
The Monzo head honcho said that people should expect the new version in the first three months of 2020.
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