How I’ve Found Using Monzo Flex

I have had Monzo banking for quite some time now and love trying out new features that they release. Me and Luke both have personal accounts with Monzo for our day-to-day spending and we also have a joint account for joint savings and our weekly food shopping.

A few months back I had a notification that I could sign up to try out Monzo Flex so I thought why not. A few weeks later it was available for me to use, and as I’ve had it for about 2 months now I thought I’d talk you through what it is and how I’ve found using it.

What is Monzo Flex?

Monzo Flex is a type of payment plan where you can split a purchase into a number of monthly instalments. So straight off the bat, it’s worth noting that it is a credit product and if you’re not good with your money, or struggle with debt this probably won’t be for you.

You can choose to flex a purchase over 3 instalments (each a month apart) and it’s 0% interest. Or you can choose to pay over 6 or 12 instalments at 19% APR. One of the great things about Monzo Flex is that you can choose to take it out on an item you’ve already paid for as long as it’s within two weeks (more on that below).

How to use Monzo Flex on new and existing purchases

When you apply for Monzo Flex you’ll get a credit limit of how much you spend on Flex, and you can reduce this limit if you’d rather. So you can take out as many individual flex payments as long as they’re over £30 each and it doesn’t go over your limit.

All of your flex repayments come out on the same day each month (which you set). So if you take out two different flex payments you would pay your instalments back at the same time each month. This is great as it means you can plan and not have random money being taken throughout the month.

New purchases through Flex

You can directly use your virtual Flex card to pay online with the card details, or with Apple/ Google Pay anywhere that takes contactless. By doing this only the first instalment will be taken out straight away, and the rest will come out on your instalment date.

Flexing previous purchases

You can make the purchase on your card and in your Monzo click the transaction and select ‘Pay over time’. When you do this you’ll get a breakdown of the different instalment options and how much you’d pay on which dates.

Once you have made a selection you’ll be refunded back into your account for the purchase minus your first instalment.

How do you get access?

Now the feature has been rolled out more widely you can apply directly in the app and you’ll get an instant decision.  If approved you’ll get your credit limit and you’ll be able to use it straight away.

You’ll see your Monzo Flex card alongside your pots and savings accounts. You’ll be able to see the card details and see your next flex payment date alongside all of the individual flex payments you have out. This is also where you’ll find the option to pay off extra money and edit your instalment plans.

Currently, Monzo Flex is only available on individual accounts and not joint accounts.

Things I enjoy about Monzo Flex

There are lots of things I love about Monzo Flex as opposed to other credit offers like this such as:

• You can overpay so if you have a bit of extra money one month you can clear it off in full or just reduce your remaining credit
• You can also change your payment to pay back over a longer period if your finances change
• All flex repayments come out on the same day so you can plan better
• The fact that you can backtrack payments up to two weeks before
• You can see payment splits in the app so easily so you know when you made the purchase, how much you’ve paid and how much you have left to pay

How I’ve been using Flex

I’ve used Monzo Flex a few times now so have really got a feel for how it works. The only thing I’ve yet to do is use the card to pay directly via flex, I’ve always flexed purchases after I’d made them.

The first item I flexed was purely just to see how it worked and how the payments came out. Then I flexed two purchases that are for Luke’s birthday in March as I knew I would have the money when the instalments came out as I am doing the reverse 1p challenge to save money for his birthday.

I found using Flex super quick and easy. When I flexed transactions I’d already made, the money went back into my account instantly which is always good. And I love how you see in your upcoming payments the flex payment before it comes out as a reminder.

Have you tried using Monzo flex?

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