Monzo Bank has been accused by the UK antitrust watchdog of breaching four areas of retail banking rules, including misinforming customers about the true levels of service quality and account charges.
In an open letter to the popular neobank, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said instances of "non-compliance" had been identified relating to service quality data, financial disclosure practices, and delayed reporting of issues.
As Monzo has taken action to remedy the issues, CMA director Colin Garland said the watchdog "does not consider it appropriate to take further formal enforcement action in relation to these breaches at present".
However, he noted that it was not the first time Monzo had failed on rules about informing customers about fees for maximum unarranged overdraft each month, "making this especially concerning" and meaning that the CMA "will monitor Monzo’s future compliance closely".
Garland's letter said Monzo misrepresented the level of its service quality rankings, failing to reflect accurate data in customer survey results between February 2023 and August 2023.
The bank also omitted required disclosures about the monthly maximum charge (MMC) across various platforms, including overdraft agreements, website pages, and customer notifications.
In addition, Monzo did not publish representative rates for lending products or provide the necessary contextual information on its business banking website and promotional materials.
Monzo has taken action to correct these mistakes, noted Garland, including enhanced compliance training, updated policies, and the appointment of designated compliance officers.
Monzo has also stopped charging fees related to exceeding agreed credit limits, eliminating the need for MMC disclosures.