Monzo is trialling a feature that lets customers change their energy providers through a feed item in the digital bank's app.

Like rival Starling, Monzo is working to build a marketplace, teaming up with partners to help users manage everything related to their money.



The first example is energy suppliers. A small group of customers are being invited to enter some information such as their postcodes in order to get a quote from price comparison site Energy Helpline or direct partners Octopus Energy and Bulb.



Within five minutes and a few clicks, claims Monzo, people who want to switch can set up a direct debit and transfer their energy contracts to a new provider.



Monzo began testing the feature with 95 current account holders last month, with 13 signing up. Now, the bank is widening the pilot.



Phil Hewinson, who joined Monzo as head of partnerships from Facebook earlier this year, says: "At Monzo, we’re committed to saving people money, and making it as easy as possible for everyone to make smarter and more informed financial decisions. Building a marketplace and partnering with other companies is a large part of how we’ll do that."



This means that energy is just the beginning, with similar setups coming in savings and investments, insurance and mortgages.



Hewinson is also upfront in saying that the partner model is not just about saving customers money, but also making Monzo cash. The bank, which in July reported a pre-tax annual loss of £6.7 million, gets a commission of between £40 and £50 when customers switch energy providers. In its first pilot with Bulb, Monzo split the commission with customers but is now considering different models.