Monzo is looking to launch its own mobile phone service in the UK, in a move that could heighten competition among big phone groups and secure further revenue for the growing digital bank.
The online-only lender, which was launched in 2015, is in the early stages of developing a digital sim card: a software version of the insertable chip used to connect a phone to cellular networks and the internet.
That could open the door to lucrative mobile phone contracts with new and existing customers, putting pressure on incumbents such as VodafoneThree and the BT-owned operator EE. Big phone providers are already facing competition from financial firms including Revolut and the buy-now-pay-later provide Klarna, which are also trying to take a slice of the mobile phone market.
A spokesperson for Monzo said: “Monzo is known for transforming products – and an entire industry – to deliver a great experience for customers. So when we heard from our customers that mobile contracts can be a pain point we set out to explore how we could do this the Monzo way, and are in the early stages of developing this idea.”
An eSIM?
I can see the point of them offering a travel eSim, but I wouldn’t want my main mobile provider and my bank to be the same company.
A single point of failure in an area where you really need resilience.
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I’ve not read too far into this, but it does seem rather random.