Monese launches Income Advance

Move follows sister company Pockit’s successful roll-out, with >£12m lent across 185k loans in just 15 months. In October 2024, Pockit acquired Monese.

Pockit and Monese, the all-in-one money apps, today announce the roll-out of Pockit’s signature Income Advance service to Monese customers. The product launch is a landmark moment in the expansion of Monese’s product suite, following Pockit’s acquisition of Monese in Q4 2024, which created a leading European fintech serving over 3 million customers.

Pockit and Monese’s Income Advance services provide short-term credit with no interest, no hard credit checks and automatic repayment from income, offering an important safety net and reducing reliance on high-cost or unregulated lenders.

Recent research found that 11%* of UK adults are now actively considering turning to a loan shark, a 22% increase since 2022, as the number of providers offering loans to lower-credit-score consumers continues to shrink.*

Separate Pockit research found that over half of Income Advance proceeds are spent on food shopping, underlining its role in tackling day-to-day financial insecurity and helping customers manage their cashflow throughout the month to cover essential spending.

Eligible Monese customers in the UK will now be able to borrow money, starting at £50, which is then automatically repaid from the next instalment of their regular income – either salaries or social security payments. The service costs a flat £4.99** fee per advance, with no additional interest charged, and is available to customers whose income is paid directly into their Monese account. As with Pockit’s Income Advance service, the consumer lender SteadyPay is underwriting and funding the loan book, helping to ensure that all loans are responsible and affordable.

Strong uptake among a trial cohort of Monese users during an initial two-month testing period demonstrated the scale of unmet demand, with c.22% of approved customers taking out loans. The roll-out to Monese customers follows the successful launch of Income Advance to Pockit users in March 2024. Since then, Pockit has extended over 185,000 short-term loans secured against customers’ monthly income, totalling more than £12 million in value.

Virraj Jatania, Group CEO, Pockit x Monese said: “Income Advance was launched to help people juggle the twin terrors of rising costs and the reducing availability of credit. It’s clear that a huge swathe of people, such as gig-economy and shift workers, remain underserved by financial institutions, underlining the need for products like ours to help weather financial shocks and smooth out their monthly cashflow. No one should have to turn to unlicensed or potentially dangerous lenders just to make ends meet, so I’m delighted that we can now offer Income Advance to Monese customers and help them manage their spending month to month.„

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* Plend Financial Inclusion Report 2025 – 42% increase in the number of people being declined for a basic bank account from 12% to 17% the last year.

**Income Advance flat fee is £4.99 for £50 and £9.99 for £100.

Pockit and Monese are the all-in-one money apps that make it easy for people to access and manage the financial tools that put them in control of their money. They provide vital financial services, from accounts and cards through to income advance products to over three million customers across the UK and Europe. In October 2024, Pockit acquired Monese, creating the leading fintech for anyone who is budgeting, saving, or just trying to stay on top of their finances. Both firms are regulated by the FCA.