Not upheld: unauthorised transactions / disputed payments complaint against Monzo Bank Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Ms R complained that Monzo refused to refund three international payments totalling £1,991 made from her account on 2 August 2025, which she claimed she did not authorise. Ms R stated she was asleep in a hotel room at the time and that her phone had been stolen in July. Monzo refused the refund because the payments were made using 3D Secure verification with the correct PIN on a registered device. The ombudsman found that technical evidence showed the phone Ms R claimed was stolen continued to access her Monzo app after the alleged theft and was used to make the disputed transactions. Since Ms R had not shared her security details with anyone, the ombudsman concluded it was more likely than not that Ms R herself authorised the payments, and therefore did not uphold her complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Payment Services Regulations 2017, which place liability on either the bank or customer depending on whether the customer authorised the payments. The key finding was that the disputed transactions required Ms R's correct PIN and were made via her Monzo app using 3D Secure verification. The technical evidence showed that the first phone (which Ms R claimed was stolen) continued to access her account and was used to make the transactions. Since Ms R stated she had not shared her PIN, app login details, or card details with anyone, there was no plausible mechanism for a third party to have made the payments. The ombudsman concluded it was more likely than not that Ms R herself authorised the transactions. The ombudsman also noted that while Monzo might have flagged the transactions as suspicious, this would not have prevented the loss given that Ms R likely authorised them.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website