ComparisonLast checked 8 November 2026

Incard vs Monzo Business: which UK business account suits you?

Monzo Business is a UK bank account with a free Lite plan, free instant UK transfers and FSCS cover, with Tax Pots and invoicing on its £9 Pro plan. Incard is an e-money account that pays uncapped cashback on eligible card spend on its £0 plan, with GBP, EUR and USD IBANs. Monzo doesn't list cashback.

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Incard suits you if

Advertising, software or travel is a big share of what you put on cards
You want that spending to earn cashback: £5,000 a month on ads earns about £50 a month on Free
You get paid or pay suppliers in euros or dollars and want EUR and USD IBANs
You're an LLP, or a Swiss GmbH, AG or sole trader, which Monzo doesn't list

Monzo Business suits you if

You want a free bank account with FSCS cover
You want Tax Pots and invoicing, which come with the £9 Pro plan
You pay in small amounts of cash
Your industry is on Incard's restricted list

What a year of card spending earns you

Incard Free against Monzo Business Lite, at your monthly spend on ads, software and travel.

Monthly card spend on ads, software and travel£5,000

£600 a year better off with Incard

Incard Free: £600 cashback, £0 fees
Monzo Business Lite: no cashback, £0 fees

Simple arithmetic, not a forecast: 1% on eligible ads, software and travel spend at merchants on Incard's eligible brand list, and each plan's published monthly fee. Other fees, such as FX and ATM charges, aren't included. Monzo doesn't list cashback on any Business plan.

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At a glance

**Table notes:** correct as of 8 November 2026, from each provider's own pages listed under Sources. “Not listed” means the provider's pages we checked don't say.
	Incard	Monzo Business
Type and protection	E-money · safeguarded, no FSCS	Bank · FSCS cover
Who can open one	UK sole traders, UK limited companies, LLPs, Swiss GmbHs and AGs and Swiss sole traders	UK sole traders and UK limited companies
Cheapest plan	Free: £0 a month	Lite: free
Plans (monthly)	Free £0, Grow £49, Plus from £199	Lite free, Pro £9, Team from £25
Card cashback	Free: 1% on ads, software and travel, 0.5% on other eligible spend. Higher on Grow and Plus. Uncapped	Not listed
Card payments in other currencies	1.8% on Free, 1.5% on Grow and Plus	Not listed
Domestic transfers	100 included on Free, 250 on Grow, then £0.30 each	UK bank transfers free and instant
International transfers	3 included on Grow; otherwise from £5 (SHA) or £20 (OUR)	Fixed fee of up to £9 plus 0% to 1.80%
ATM withdrawals	2% in the UK, 2.5% abroad	Not listed
Cash deposits	Not listed	£1 per deposit at PayPoint or the Post Office
Currencies you can hold	GBP, EUR and USD, with IBANs	Not listed
Accepting card payments	Not listed	Not listed

The biggest difference: bank vs e-money

Monzo is a bank. It says eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000, so if you keep large balances or tax reserves in the account, Monzo gives you a safety net Incard can't.

Incard is an e-money institution (FCA firm reference number 1027309). It safeguards your money: kept separate from its own funds, in accounts with authorised credit institutions, and not lent or invested. Incard says funds aren't protected by the FSCS. Our Is Incard safe? page explains what that means if a provider fails.

Plans and fees

Monzo has three plans: Lite is free, Pro costs £9 a month (first month free) and adds Tax Pots and invoicing, and Team starts at £25 a month with expense cards, 6 team members included and £5 a month for each one after that. UK bank transfers are free and instant on every plan.

Incard has Free (£0), Grow (£49) and Plus (from £199). Free includes team cards and 100 local transfers a month, then £0.30 each. If you send hundreds of UK payments a month, Monzo's free transfers will cost you less; if most of your outgoings are card payments, Incard's cashback matters more.

Cashback: only Incard pays it

Monzo doesn't list cashback on its Business plans. Incard pays 1% on advertising, recurring software and travel and 0.5% on other eligible spend on Free, with no cap. A rough sense of scale, simple arithmetic rather than a forecast:

£2,000 a month on Google, Meta or LinkedIn ads earns about £20 a month, £240 a year, on Incard Free.
£10,000 a month earns about £100 a month, £1,200 a year, with no plan fee.
On Monzo, the same spending earns nothing, and the £9 Pro plan costs £108 a year.

Only purchases at brands on Incard's eligible list count. See the full list or work out your own figure.

Paying abroad and other currencies

Monzo charges a fixed fee of up to £9 plus 0% to 1.80% to send money abroad, shown before you send, and 1% to convert foreign currency you receive, capped at £1,000 a payment. It doesn't list currency accounts.

Incard gives you GBP, EUR and USD IBANs, so you can be paid in euros or dollars and hold them, with £5,000 a month of currency exchange at the interbank rate on Free. Card payments in another currency cost 1.8% on Free and 1.5% on Grow and Plus.

Who can open each account

Monzo Business is for UK sole traders and limited company directors. Sole traders can have a team of 3; limited companies can have up to 15 people on Team.

Incard accepts UK limited companies, LLPs and registered sole traders, plus Swiss GmbH, AG and sole-trader businesses. Charities, cooperatives, foundations, trusts and public bodies aren't accepted, and some industries are restricted.

Incard isn't the right account if

Your business is registered outside the UK and Switzerland. EEA onboarding is paused until an expected restart in 2027
You're a charity, cooperative, foundation, trust or public body, or work in one of Incard's restricted industries

Our verdict

Incard is the better fit if your business spends heavily on cards for ads, software or travel: that spend earns cashback on a £0 plan, and Monzo pays none. It also suits LLPs, Swiss businesses and anyone who needs EUR or USD IBANs. The trade-off is safeguarding instead of FSCS cover.

Monzo Business is the better fit if you want a free bank account with FSCS cover, free instant UK transfers, cash deposits at PayPoint or the Post Office, or Tax Pots. Plenty of businesses use both: Monzo for reserves and UK payments, Incard for card spending.

Our pick for card spend

Open an Incard account

Check the eligibility rules first.

E-money · safeguarded, no FSCS

Work out your cashback Check eligibility