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We're with you on the go (Global Image)

Loren

Just over a year ago, we launched [business accounts](https://monese.com/blog/2018/10/monese-business-arrived), and we're quickly welcoming a base of small UK registered businesses. With fast account opening, free domestic payments, low-cost international transfers, a bundled personal account and a free contactless debit card, the Monese business account is perfect for entrepreneurs looking for a world-class digital experience. But before you open a business account with us, you’ll need to register your business. Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough.

### What is a UK registered company? 

A UK registered company is one listed on [Companies House](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house), which holds information on private companies. The majority of businesses are registered as either __sole traders, limited companies or partnerships__. 

- If you register as a __sole trader__, you are personally liable for your business’ debts, along with accounting responsibilities. 
- If you choose to register as a __limited company__, your organisation’s finances are separate from your personal finances. However, you have more reporting and management responsibilities (learn more below). 
- Finally, __partnership__ is the best way to register if two or more people are running a company together. 

In this post, we’ll focus on registering in the UK as a limited company. 

### How to get set up

Registering as a limited company is simple and only costs £12. There are no separate rules for registering your business as a foreigner. To get set up, you’ll need to register an official UK address for your business, which could be your home address if you don’t have an office. You’ll also need to choose a SIC code. This identifies what your company does. You’ll also need at least three pieces of personal information about yourself and your shareholders or guarantors. These could be: 

- town of birth
- mother’s maiden name
- father’s first name 
- [National Insurance number](https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number)
- passport number 

You’ll need to complete a quick application on the [Companies House website](https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business). You’ll also need to come up with a company name. There are specific [rules](https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/choose-company-name?step-by-step-nav=37e4c035-b25c-4289-b85c-c6d36d11a763) around the name you choose for your organisation:

- It can’t be the same or similar to another company’s name.
- It can’t be offensive or contain any sensitive words or expressions. 
- The name can’t suggest a connection to the government or local authorities without permission. 

You'll also want to make sure that the name you choose is [available](https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company-name-availability) and check any existing [trade marks](https://www.gov.uk/search-for-trademark?step-by-step-nav=37e4c035-b25c-4289-b85c-c6d36d11a763). 

You’ll also have to [appoint](https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/appoint-directors-and-company-secretaries?step-by-step-nav=37e4c035-b25c-4289-b85c-c6d36d11a763) a [director](https://www.gov.uk/running-a-limited-company?step-by-step-nav=37e4c035-b25c-4289-b85c-c6d36d11a763) to your company and a company secretary, the latter being optional. Directors are legally responsible for running the company and ensuring that the organisation’s accounts and reports are correctly done. 

You’ll require documents outlining how the company will be run. For this, you’ll need to present a [memorandum and articles of association.](https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/memorandum-and-articles-of-association?step-by-step-nav=37e4c035-b25c-4289-b85c-c6d36d11a763) All shareholders and guarantors must sign the memorandum of association. If you're registering online, you won't have to worry about writing this memorandum as it should be created automatically for you when you register. If you’re registering by post, however, use this [template](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/give-notice-of-subscribers-company-with-share-capital). __The memorandum of association can’t be updated once your company is registered__. For the article of association, you can use [model articles](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/model-articles-of-association-for-limited-companies) or write and send/upload your own when you’re registering your company. 

After completing all the steps, your company should be registered after 24 hours. When you register with Companies House, you usually are registered for Corporation Tax at the same time. If for whatever reason, you can’t register for both at once, you can [register for HMRC for Corporation Tax](https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/set-up-your-company-for-corporation-tax?step-by-step-nav=37e4c035-b25c-4289-b85c-c6d36d11a763) separately after completing your registration with Companies House. You must do this within three months of [starting to do business](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/corporation-tax-trading-and-non-trading). Otherwise, you’ll face a severe penalty if you register late. 

### What are the benefits of registering? 
Registering your limited company legally and financially separates you from your company. This means that you're not responsible for the debt of your company, because your personal finances remain separate from those of the business. As the owner of a limited company, you'll have accounting and reporting responsibilities, such as filing a [tax return](https://www.gov.uk/company-tax-returns) and paying [corporation tax](https://www.gov.uk/corporation-tax). 

> It was the first step on our journey to becoming the company we are today.

When we asked Ricardo Tannus, founder of [Join](https://www.comejoin.io/) and a H, why he registered his company, he had this to share: “We needed a business registration to start officially trading, invoicing clients, collecting payments, paying for services and so on. It was the first step on our journey to becoming the company we are today”. 

Of course, the major benefit is that you can then apply to open a [business account](https://monese.com/business) with Monese! 

> With Monese, I loved the ease of it. It’s the first financial services company I’ve trusted.

“I worked with all kinds of different banks, and they’re all very expensive”, said [Emma Bewick](https://monese.com/blog/2019/07/clear-ideas-bold-approaches-monese-business), one of our business customers from CELO-Global. “With Monese, I loved the ease of it. It’s the first financial services company I’ve trusted. I like the idea that he [Norris] set everything up with entrepreneurs in mind, and I’ve now decided that Monese is going to be my main account”.

![Monese-Business-Accounts-Visual-2-v2 (1)](//images.ctfassets.net/96dxy75w1gjr/VX3LwCEVBT3cK9lbObLq9/8b1a5eab7a5a83a2e52a18013497644b/Monese-Business-Accounts-Visual-2-v2__1_.jpg)

### Already have a limited company? 
That’s great! If you already have a UK registered business, you can apply to open a Monese Business account today! Click the button below to get started. 

<div data-comp="signup"></div>

### What if my business isn’t UK registered?

If you run a business, but it’s not registered in the UK, then we’ve got something coming for you. We’ll be launching business accounts for EU businesses as well. Make sure you follow us on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/MyMonese), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/monese), [Instagram](https://instagram.com/monese), [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/company/monese) or regularly check [our blog](http://monese.com/blog/business) for the latest!
Have you had success with registering your UK business? What was your experience like? Feel free to share your story or any tips with us on social or via email at [community@monese.com](mailto:community@monese.com).

Monese Business accounts are available to UK registered companies 

Registering your company in the UK

Monese-Business-Accounts-Header-1-v2 50390c38ed0094a386d62c09f1033516

Blog post > Registering your company in the UK

We launched business accounts last year, and we're quickly welcoming a base of small UK registered businesses. With fast account opening, free domestic payments, low-cost international transfers, a bundled personal account and a free contactless debit card, the Monese business account is perfect for entrepreneurs looking for a world-class digital experience. 

[We've been asking](https://monese.com/gb/en/blog-list?cat=business "Monese Business: Latest Articles") our business customers the tough questions. *What does it mean to start your own business? What are some of the hardest challenges you've had to face? How can a Monese business account help or hinder your growth?* We have a diverse range of companies using our accounts, and can’t wait to learn from their successes and failures when it comes to setting up your own business.

### Introducing Join

Ricardo Tannus is the CEO of Join, a company promising to flip recruitment on its head. Join is a platform that connects candidates to employers over blind dinners, in which neither the candidates nor the employers know who they’re going to meet. 

Three years into his entrepreneurial journey, Ricardo had many thoughts to share about the challenges of starting a business and what it means to remove barriers between humans on either side of the hiring process. 

Join started as a social experiment that Ricardo conducted during his master's at London Business School back in 2017. The idea was simply to get people that had common ground to bond over dinner, and connect people who wouldn’t normally meet. Being “blind”, where participants have no information about one another, was an important element, because it “prevents people from showing up with a preconceived notion about the other people around the table.” 

> You’re selling the same thing, but if you word it in a different way, people understand it as a completely different thing. That changes the price point, that changes the use case, that changes people’s willingness to give it a go.

Ricardo realised the best way to engage the ambitious and eager-to-please students of London Business School was to pitch the dinners as “networking” opportunities, rather than a chance to meet new friends. 

This was one of his first and most formative lessons as an entrepreneur: “You’re selling the same thing, but if you word it in a different way, people understand it as a completely different thing. That changes the price point, that changes the use case, that changes people’s willingness to give it a go.” 

The students suddenly saw this as a business opportunity rather than an activity for “lonely” people, Ricardo explained, so it brought them in their floods to the dinner table. 

Springing out of this, two groups emerged: employers and candidates, which inspired Ricardo to change the nature of the dinners entirely. 

Today, Join brings five candidates and one employer to have dinner together in a London restaurant. The employer is a representative from the team that is hiring for new roles, rather than an HR colleague, something Ricardo said is key in the success of the dinners. He explained that on the employer side, this makes the team more engaged as they get a chance to be gatekeepers in the hiring process, and on the candidate side, they get to understand on a more granular level what the team does. 

![Join-Business-Monese-s](//images.ctfassets.net/96dxy75w1gjr/7Lfy91ekqXAOFtn4R4Ncnt/c4283608056184fabf481804ac2645c4/Join-Business-Monese-s.jpg)

Ricardo went into the methodology of this approach in more detail: “Every company has what’s called an EVP: Employer Value Proposition, or the employer brand. Companies with a positive EVP find no trouble attracting talent, but suffer a surplus of applications. Companies with a negative EVP or an unknown brand have trouble attracting talent at all.” 

Join seeks to even out this process, and allow large, popular companies to cut down the interview process by meeting suitable candidates in person, and on the flip side allow candidates to meet potential employers they may never have considered applying to. Join effectively removes barriers between companies and candidates, to allow them to get to know each other in ways they otherwise might never have the chance to.

> Then they can see that it’s also a better experience for the people who are recruiting, because they feel empowered.

When asked to describe his biggest challenge in this, Ricardo laughed: “My biggest challenge today?” As the idea of Join is very new, he explained that the hardest thing was convincing companies to take the trade-off: “I’m a computer engineer by trade, and we always talk about trade-offs. If you have a computer with a flash HD and not a disk, it’s better because you access memory much faster, but it doesn’t store as long. 

One of the trade-offs of Join is that they’re spending two hours to get to know five candidates. But interviewing five people that have been pre-screened is a time saver. The candidates then often skip some steps in the interview process, so we reduce the time to hire significantly, and maintain the candidate’s engagement.” His way of getting over this hurdle is simply to offer companies a trial: “Then they can see that it’s also a better experience for the people who are recruiting, because they feel empowered.”

### Advice for entrepreneurs

When asked if he had any advice to give entrepreneurs, Ricardo had three things to share: “Do something you’re passionate about, leverage everything you have, and have patience.” 

> Do something you’re passionate about, leverage everything you have, and have patience.

Starting Join was a very natural process for him because his passion and his strength is introducing people to other people. He is able to leverage his natural abilities and his network to serve this end. His frustrations come from the fact that it takes a lot of time to get people on side, to convince them of the validity of new ideas. 

What gets him through tough times is when, through his facilitation, people manage to make human connections they wouldn’t have otherwise: “As a byproduct of making a human connection, we’re getting people jobs. And that’s a pretty good byproduct.”

### How Monese is helping

When it came to opening a business account, Ricardo and his team went through the same trials as many small business owners. 

> We were looking for something easy, and Monese was there to help us out in our time of need.

They simply couldn’t open an account quickly, even with the bank Ricardo held a personal account with. Ricardo first registered a personal account with Monese to be able to separate his finances, and was one of the first on the waiting list when we launched business accounts. He said of the service: “We were looking for something easy, and Monese was there to help us out in our time of need.”

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Ricardo’s efforts to remove barriers between employers and candidates resonated with us at Monese, as our challenge has always been to remove barriers to financial freedom through innovation. 

His human approach to HR is indeed very new but seems to be gaining traction, getting candidates employed in companies they would never have considered, with realistic expectations of what their job will be. It will be exciting for us to see Join grow, and we look forward to helping Ricardo and his team along that journey.

Ricardo Tannus, a Monese business customer, tells us how Join is tearing down barriers between companies and potential employees

Humanising recruitment

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Ricardo Tannus Business Account customer Monese 

Blog post > Humanising recruitment

We've been asking our business customers the tough questions: What does it mean to start your own business? What are some of the hardest challenges you've had to face? How can a Monese business account help or hinder your growth?

We launched business accounts in October 2018, and are rapidly welcoming a base of small UK registered businesses. Offering two-day account opening, free domestic payments, low-cost international transfers, a bundled personal account and a free contactless debit card, the Monese business account is perfect for new or seasoned entrepreneurs looking for a world-class digital experience. 

In an exciting new [blog series](https://monese.com/gb/en/blog-list?cat=business "Monese Business: Latest articles"), we ask our business customers the tough questions. *What does it mean to start your own business? What are some of the hardest challenges you have had to face? How can a Monese business account help or hinder your growth?* We have a diverse range of companies using our accounts, and can’t wait to learn from their successes and failures when it comes to setting up your own business. 

> I started it as a bet.

Emma Bewick is CEO of CELO-Global, a multinational leader in event conception, design and management, established in 2013. Emma could be described as a serial entrepreneur, having run Juno Productions (which then morphed into CELO-Global) for 15 years prior to that. When I asked why she was running her own business, her immediate response was: “I started it as a bet.”

Emma’s success, however, was far from uncalculated. The clarity of her ideas along with her ability to make shrewd assessments when it comes to people and projects, is something that carried her through 20 years of entrepreneurship. 

Emma began her life in the film industry, where she started to perceive a demand that was unfulfilled by existing network structures: “Celebrity endorsement is huge with brands. Celebrity talent is quite heavily guarded by publicists, managers and agents, but they’re all at film festivals to promote their product. They don’t often know how to connect with each other.” 

She began creating a win-win situation for both parties, by connecting them at film festivals via exclusive industry lounges: “I connect investors, brands and talent in a safe space with a carefully selected guest list. As well as the networking, the lounges offer the additional business benefits of a media studio to promote the cast and films and fabulous hospitality encouraging new business development and relaxation between meetings and events.”

> Experience is by far the greatest teacher.

Being in the somewhat unique position of having started two businesses, Emma was able to offer a lot of insight into how to deal with the challenges of starting and growing companies. 

When I asked her what she would’ve changed the first time round, knowing what she knows now, she staked experience as one of the only ways to learn when it comes to making the right decisions on people: “I don’t know that anything would have changed. 

Experience is by far the greatest teacher. Learning to trust your instincts, particularly in my industry, is a big one. There are plenty of people who give a good talk but actually have very different agendas. There’s no real way of knowing that you’re dealing with a less than honourable client until you’ve actually experienced it. But having a strong work ethic, building a good and solid reputation, and surrounding yourself with first-rate clients and mentors can deliver wonderful results and bring great satisfaction.”

> I make sure the client understands that it isn’t just a walk in the park.

When probed on what was the greatest thing she had learned during her time, Emma talked about her relationship to her clients and managing their expectations: “I realise people take a lot of what you do for granted and they don’t know the sheer amount of work that goes into what you do. So now I’m very clear about the scope of the work and how much detail goes into that. I make sure the client understands that it isn’t just a walk in the park.”

She explained that this involves saying no to certain clients because of the scope of work, and the difficulty but importance of turning down exciting projects if clients are unable to pay for her time. 

We asked Emma if she had gotten better at learning to deal with failure, but she said she had always been more adept at that than learning to deal with her own success: “I’ve always had more a fear of success than a fear of failure. When I fail, I’m good at getting back up, dusting myself off and getting back out there. But I think I suffer from imposter syndrome because I deal with very high-level clients and I often wonder how I got there.”

Emma explained that the way to manage this kind of fear is to push yourself in moments, not expect a full personality change: “It’s important to be very confident in yourself, even if it's only temporary,” and to approach single tasks with a view of: “What’s the worst that could happen? Just go for it.”

> I worked with all different banks, they’re all very expensive, and with Monese, I loved the ease of it.

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Emma explained why she had come to Monese: “I worked with all different banks, they’re all very expensive, and with Monese, I loved the ease of it. It’s the first financial service I’ve trusted, actually. I really like the idea that (Norris) set up a mobile money account with entrepreneurs in mind, and I have now decided that Monese is going to be my main financial service provider.”

Emma had some invaluable insight to share with us. Having a balance of clarity and boldness – being clear on your ideas and expectations, and bold in your pursuits – was what we understood from her to be the key to running successful businesses. 

She is just one of the talented and diverse business owners who has chosen to migrate to Monese, so it will be exciting to see what else gets unearthed in this series. Stay tuned!

Monese customer Emma Bewick talks about the importance of clarity and boldness in business



Clear ideas, bold approaches

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Emma Bewick Headshot Business account customer 

Blog post > Clear ideas, bold approaches

We launched business accounts in October 2018, and are rapidly welcoming a base of small UK registered businesses. 

Monese customer Emma Bewick talks about the importance of clarity and boldness in business

In celebration of [Refugee Week](https://refugeeweek.org.uk/ "Refugee Week Homepage"), we're proud to announce an ongoing project to support refugees across the UK. Our trial with the Post Office was part of this scheme, which you can read about [here](https://monese.com/blog/2019/04/addressing-unaddressed-post-office "Monese blog: No address? No problem"). 

We’re committed to giving out our Premium plan to refugees (usually £14.95 a month) for free, for life. The Premium plan waives all transaction fees, granting our customers entirely free current account facilities. 

At the moment we can give refugees access to a Monese mobile money account provided they have been granted asylum and received their Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). Banks are legally obliged to accept BRP’s, however many bank branch staff are not trained to recognise them, which causes issues for many refugees and new migrants across the country. Our hope is that schemes like the one we're running will encourage other financial institutions to open their doors to refugees living and working in the country. 

In an effort to meet customers at their time of need, we are working with refugee charities across the country who help refugees get settled after they have been granted asylum. These charities include [Refugee Education Training Advice Service](http://retasleeds.weebly.com "RETAS Homepage") in Leeds, the [Derby Refugee Advice Centre](http://refsource.gebnet.co.uk/directory/derby-refugee-advice-centre "Refsource"), [RefuAid](https://refuaid.org/ "RefuAid Homepage"), [Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers](http://www.garas.org.uk/ "Garas Homepage"), and [Jobs Education and Training North](http://www.jetnorth.org.uk/contact "JET Homepage"), based in Newcastle.

Having worked with us for the last few months, __Hannah__ from G*loucester Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers* commented:

> Monese are forward thinking and innovative, providing options outside the box to enable refugees in the UK to open accounts quickly and seamlessly. It is a pleasure to be able to work with them and signpost refugee clients to their app and the mobile money account they offer.

__Ruth__ from *Derby Refugee Advice Centre* also commented: 

> Working with Monese has been very beneficial for our clients. Having an alternative to the high street banks, which many of our clients have issues with accessing when they first get leave to remain, has been a huge help. The system has been easy to use and clients like having their account details easily accessible.

__Farhan__, a Monese customer, had this to say:

> It was so quick to open a current account with Monese and I find it very easy to use, particularly when it comes to transferring money.

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As a Europe-wide organisation ourselves, we want to extend this program to the rest of Europe to ensure we are having as much reach as possible. The challenges in the rest of Europe are very different to the UK, as access to financial services varies in difficulty and scope. Refugees in Germany, for example, are easily able to access a current account but not a debit card. We hope that as we extend our own product capabilities, we will be able to offer help with more complex issues. 

In the meantime, this scheme will continue indefinitely in the UK. If you are a refugee or an organisation that works with refugees, please [get in touch to learn how to access a free Monese current account](mailto:partnerships@monese.com "Email us").

Announcing our latest project to support refugees across the UK



Free Premium accounts for refugees

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clouds sky airplane with banner "free Accounts for Refugees!"

Blog post > Free Premium accounts for refugees

In celebration of Refugee Week, we're proud to announce an ongoing project to support refugees across the UK. 

Announcing our latest project to support refugees across the UK

We launched [Business accounts](https://monese.com/business) in October 2018, and are rapidly welcoming a base of small UK-registered businesses. Offering two-day account opening, free domestic payments, low cost international transfers, a bundled personal account and a free contactless debit card, the Monese Business account is perfect for new to seasoned entrepreneurs looking for a world-class digital experience.

In an exciting new blog series, we ask our business customers the tough questions. *What does it mean to start your own business? What are some of the hardest challenges you have had to face? How can a Monese business account help or hinder your growth?* We have a diverse range of companies using our accounts, and can’t wait to learn from their successes and failures when it comes to setting up your own business. 

Lavin Jane D’Souza, director of Marily London, was first to be interviewed. Marily London is a fledgling management consultancy, having only established in December 2018. It focuses on helping small companies with their HR processes and management skills, offering training and workshops to employees in positions of leadership. Given her line of work and her role as company director, Lavin had plenty of insight to offer into how small businesses can succeed in a competitive marketplace. 

> My transition started years ago. I had to mentally shift myself from the corporate world to being self-employed. It is not easy - I had to learn to function on my own.

Lavin previously worked as a consultant for Marily in the United Arab Emirates, before moving to set up the business in the UK. 

Her transition from consultant to entrepreneur, however, was a long process: “My transition started years ago. I had to mentally shift myself from the corporate world to being self-employed. It is not easy - I had to learn to function on my own.” Her process was incremental: “I was attending extra workshops, conferences, expos on different markets. I was expanding my horizons, understanding how these industries worked, and talking to people about how they started their businesses.” 

> Businesses prefer if you have dealt with UK businesses, not international. They want social proof.

People are a key focus for Lavin, both in terms of her own development, and the management of her company. 

She spoke about the power of networking and how trust, especially for foreign businesses, can be one of the biggest barriers: “Businesses prefer if you have dealt with UK businesses, not international. They want social proof.” She overcomes this by taking a personal approach: “Businesses are based on relationships. Everyone is human at the end of the day. If you approach them in a friendly way, people open up.” 

Although she continues to face challenges as a foreigner setting up a company, Lavin was quick to extoll the virtues of the UK as a hub for businesses: “The UK is the centre of business - it’s a really dynamic spot. So many companies are being formed every day. ” Digging into the ins and outs of the process, she commented: “It’s easy to start a business - the whole process in the UK is very streamlined. It’s free of bureaucracy.” 

> Unless you have a council tax bill, water, electricity bills, you can’t open a bank account. I didn’t have a credit history. Actually with both things (personal and business), Monese helped me.

Accessing finance as a foreigner remains a key challenge for customers like Lavin. 

When asked about the challenges she has faced so far, banking was the first to come up: “Unless you have a council tax bill, water, electricity bills, you can’t open a bank account. I didn’t have a credit history. Actually with both things (personal and business), Monese helped me.” 

Reflective of the problems faced by a large number of our customers, Lavin expressed the weight of this bank account dilemma: “Not having a bank account and having one is a completely different story,” referring to her inability to access credit and other essential services without a current account. 

Monese business customers face tough challenges every day - particularly if they are foreign nationals running cross-border companies. What Lavin made clear is the importance of being in the right mindset to tackle the challenges of opening a new business in a new country. Her sense of optimism, and her willingness to learn, is something that seems to drive Lavin’s success. 

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As entrepreneurs ourselves at Monese, we love to learn from people going through the same difficulties, and we take joy in being able to knock down some of the barriers to their success. It will be interesting to see how customers like Lavin build their companies into scalable enterprises. 

Lavin Jane D’Souza, a Monese Business customer, talks about getting into the mindset of a global entrepreneur

The entrepreneurial mindset

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Business person with blue background Lavin Jane D’Souza

Blog post > The entrepreneurial mindset

Country Tag > United Kingdom

We're excited to announce a trial with Post Office that we believe will have a positive impact for many newly arrived persons in the UK – in particular, members of the refugee community. This is part of our ongoing efforts to make financial services accessible to all, with the help of nationwide, trusted organisations.

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## 28 days 
The idea was born out of a need we observed while working with refugees. When refugees are granted asylum in the UK, they are given 28 days to find a job, come off benefits (£35.39 a week), find a house and open a bank account. This time frame is very tight and absolutely critical for newly recognised refugees to get on their feet. According to [a survey](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/08/destitution-is-routine-refugees-face-homelessness-even-after-gaining-asylum) by the Refugee Council, around half live in temporary accommodation or become homeless in this period. 

This is the time frame in which we want to offer Monese as a banking alternative. An account is crucial for a person’s ability to, among other things, receive salaries and pay rent. 

## The address problem
Whilst we don’t ask for proof of address, we do need a residential address at which to register a customer’s account and deliver their debit card to. 

Needless to say, many refugees cannot find a home immediately after they are granted asylum, and many people who newly arrive in the country don’t have an address for the first few weeks. So we need another solution to help people get access to this most fundamental financial service. 

## Enter Post Office
We are teaming up with the Post Office to allow customers without a residential address, regardless of whether they are a refugee or not, to register their account address at – and have their debit card securely delivered to – their local Post Office.

We are starting the process with an eight-week trial with a small number of selected Post Office branches near our refugee and migrant non-profit partners.

For the trial we are also partnering with the [East European Resource Centre](http://www.eeac.org.uk/#/) in London, [Refugee Education Training Advice Service](http://retasleeds.weebly.com/) in Leeds, the [Derby Refugee Advice Centre](http://refsource.gebnet.co.uk/directory/derby-refugee-advice-centre), [RefuAid](https://refuaid.org/), [Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers](http://www.garas.org.uk/), and [Jobs Education and Training North](http://www.jetnorth.org.uk/), based in Newcastle. We hope the spread of partners across the country will allow us to trial the scheme in a variety of different circumstances to ensure that this is a national, and not local, solution. 

As a business we have always had financial inclusion at our core, and want to ensure we are doing as much as we can to embed this in our processes going forward. We’re really excited by this trial and hope that it will prove a solid solution for our customers.

We're launching a trial programme with the Post Office, to help those without a residential address get access to a Monese account

No address? No problem

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Monese blue character mail carrier mail red bag and hat 

Blog post > No address? No problem

Last week, the Emerging Payments Association (EPA) announced the launch of [Inclusion Signpost](https://www.inclusionsignpost.org/), an accreditation service for inclusive payments products. As one of the EPA’s members, we’re proud to be one of the first companies to sign up for accreditation.
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Today, 1.5 million people are uniquely financially excluded in the UK. Inclusion Signpost’s aim is to bring that number below a million by 2020, by introducing consumers to payments products that suit their individual needs. It hopes to raise the bar in the industry for inclusive products, and ensure consumers have access to the best, not basic, services. 

Inclusion Signpost will be connected to a comparison site, [Signpost Now](https://signpostnow.org/ "FIND THE ACCOUNT THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU"), which enables consumers to find the best products for them by a series of search criteria. Monese, for example, is a great service for people recently arrived in the UK and seeking a multi-currency account to receive their salary or transfer money back home. It also allows customers to manage money in their own language, with 12 languages available in-app and via customer service.

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Companies can apply for accreditation [here](https://www.inclusionsignpost.org/submit/ "Inclusion Signpost"). Submissions will be rigorously reviewed by an independent body of expert judges, and accreditations will be reviewed annually to ensure the standard keeps pace with the improvements technology can offer. 

There are a myriad of excellent payment services available in the UK that will now have a chance to meet customers in their moment of need. It is an incredibly exciting prospect for both consumers and industry leaders, and we would strongly encourage other companies to join in. 

[Find out more](https://www.inclusionsignpost.org/ "Inclusion Signpost")

We’ve teamed up with Inclusion Signpost to tackle financial exclusion in the UK

Join the fight for financial inclusion

Inclusion Signpost2

Blog post > Join the fight for financial inclusion

At Monese, we are lucky to work with an incredible team of all gender identities and backgrounds. Today we join the world in celebrating International Women’s Day, and want to use this as an opportunity to shed light on the amazing women of Monese.

We spoke to our colleagues who identify as female to find out about their experience working here and get their view on what the industry could to do to improve conditions for women. 
We first asked what International Women’s Day means to them. Their responses were hopeful, and reminded us of the work still to be done:

> "A celebration of women's rights and equality." - Simone, Head of Risk and Compliance

“It's an opportunity to shed light on the problems women around the world still face in 2019. It’s easy to forget that a lot of countries in the world still lack the basic rights for women and they face issues such as not being able to decide over their own body, not having the right to vote, drive, own a business, or being seen as inferior to a man.” - Ella, AML Investigator

![international-womens-day-lisbon2](//images.ctfassets.net/96dxy75w1gjr/5p0UaEI5hCO1w5vGsUwE8L/c8225241bbc31ff556ae9ddbe392d7c9/international-womens-day-lisbon2.jpg)

As one of our colleagues pointed out, it is also a reminder of the sweeter things in life:

> “It reminds me that sometimes it is OK to eat whole box of chocolate at once.” - Polina, Recruiter 

We asked why they had come to work at Monese, and what they enjoyed about working here. What came up again and again was Monese’s mission, ethos and its people: 

> “The fact that a bunch of strangers coming from different countries and different environments work together for a great purpose.” - Karolina, Content & Community Manager

> “Progressive. Forward thinking. Smart team members. Great product, purpose and opportunity to become something even greater - and be part of that journey.” - Sophie, Commercial Partnerships Lead

> “I learn something new every day. The company is giving me the possibility to learn and gain new experiences. I feel I'm trusted and appreciated.” - Triinu, HR Manager

![celebrating-international-womens-day-tallinn](//images.ctfassets.net/96dxy75w1gjr/2odPZ8V1kgDhriDCpHv0yc/9f2a9268fcf78a9d494233dd06077444/celebrating-international-womens-day-tallinn.jpeg)

Finally, we asked what the finance and tech industries could do to better support women: 

> “A lot more needs to be done to ensure women are given the right opportunities like their co-workers to grow and evolve through the ranks, lead teams and develop the company. Therefore, this industry needs to promote this as part of their values, culture and vision.” - Ambreen, Head of Monese Business Accounts

> “Even knowing that women often underestimate themselves, not to make use of it, but to offer equal salary instead.” - Solomiya, Data Scientist 

> “Don't make it seem that we have to choose between a career and family - you can be a mother and an amazing employee. The same goes of course for men.” - Jagoda, IT Business Analyst 

It was fantastic to hear the women of Monese speaking so positively about the culture and opportunities Monese affords every employee. We strongly encourage everyone to have a healthy work/life balance regardless of their gender identity, with a view to helping employees excel no matter their personal situation.

It was also a reminder that we still have a lot of work ahead of us to make sure women are better represented. Inclusion is a fundamental value of Monese, and something that we are working continuously to improve.

We asked the women of Monese what the day means to them

Celebrating International Women's Day

Celebrating International Womens Day London Copy

Monese female team women work group photo office 

Blog post > Celebrating International Women's Day

We asked the women of Monese what the day means to them.

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Published by Sophie Cairns