Not upheld: irresponsible lending - failure to intervene in gambling-related borrowing complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained that Monzo lent irresponsibly by allowing him to borrow £6,971 across four transactions in August 2025 without identifying or intervening in gambling-related harm. Mr W had transferred the borrowed funds to his current account and used them for gambling transactions. Monzo argued it had no way of knowing the intended use of the Flex transfers as they were processed as cash transfers, and its systems did not link these transfers to subsequent gambling transactions. The ombudsman found that while gambling transactions were visible on the current account from January 2025, the August 2025 transactions did not amount to a sustained pattern that would require Monzo to identify gambling issues. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Monzo had no way of knowing the intended purpose of the Flex transfers as they were processed as cash transfers. While gambling transactions were visible on the current account from January 2025, the transactions in August 2025 did not amount to a pattern of behaviour over a sustained period that would trigger identification of gambling issues. The ombudsman concluded Monzo did not have sufficient information to be aware of gambling-related harm or to intervene.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website