Monzo has opened for customers in Spain with free personal, joint, under-18, business and savings accounts, each with a Spanish IBAN. The bank has about 80 staff in Barcelona and Madrid and 16 million customers worldwide, and Spain is its second EU market after Ireland.
The London-based bank has spent 2026 changing where it grows. In April it closed its US operations, calling the exit a deliberate decision to focus on the UK and the EU. That same month it launched in Ireland, where its EU business is based, after about 100,000 people joined the waitlist.
All of this rests on a European banking licence granted by the Central Bank of Ireland in December 2025. The licence lets Monzo take deposits across the EU. In Spain, the bank is also registered with the Banco de España.
What has launched
Customers in Spain can open five types of account in one app: personal, joint, under-18, business and instant-access savings. All are free. Every account comes with a Spanish IBAN and connects to Bizum, the mobile payments network most Spaniards already use.
By offering business accounts from day one, Monzo is chasing small firms as well as consumers. In Ireland it took a similar approach. Francisco Sierra, who previously worked at Western Union and N26, runs the Spanish business as country manager. Monzo opened a Spanish waitlist in May to test the product with early users before the full launch.
The bank also published its own research to make the case for entering Spain. In its survey, 48% of Spaniards said their bank did not act in their best interests, and nearly 60% said they had been hit with unexpected fees. Only 26% of small and medium-sized businesses said their business account was good value.
Spain is already a crowded market. Revolut, N26 and Santander-backed Openbank all compete there for digital banking customers.
The cap-table backdrop
The launch comes weeks after Monzo's ownership was briefly in play. The bank held early talks with Nubank about a sale reportedly worth up to £10bn, more than double its last valuation. Nubank later ruled out a deal. Advent International has also been reported to be considering a minority stake.
With no sale on the table, Monzo now needs outside capital to fund its European expansion. That makes Spain a test case. A strong start would support a higher price in any new funding round or a future listing in London. A slow start would weaken that case.
What's next
Group chief executive Diana Layfield has said the goal is to reach millions more customers across Europe with a product that feels local in each country. Monzo currently has 16 million customers, about one million of them businesses.
The EU licence also allows Monzo to offer loans and mortgages, which it does not yet sell on the continent. Lending would earn Monzo far more per customer than free current accounts, so the timing of that move, and the next EU country on the list, matter most for investors weighing its valuation.
Original source: The Paypers — https://thepaypers.com/fintech/news/monzo-opens-accounts-to-customers-in-spain-with-bizum-integration
