Monzo vs Starling bank?

[stevensfo]

I wonder if anyone has had the chance to compare these two new banks? They both seem very similar and the recent addition of savings accounts by Monzo looks quite interesting. They both allow cash to be paid in via Post Offices as well, which I see as a good move. I've done a few internet searches, but most comparisons seem geared towards teenagers and drone on about the colour/shape of the card and how cool it is etc.

Steve

[swill453]

They both allow cash to be paid in via Post Offices as well, which I see as a good move.

Most, if not all, traditional high street banks allow this as well.

Scott.

[stevensfo]

They both allow cash to be paid in via Post Offices as well, which I see as a good move.

Most, if not all, traditional high street banks allow this as well.

Scott.

Many thanks for this info. I have an excellent account with Smile (Co-Op) and honestly had no idea that I could pay in cash via the PO. Having checked, it seems I can.

I have also looked further into Monzo Bank and discovered via another website that they will use OakNorth Bank for their new savings accounts and that higher returns can be obtained by simply going to the OakNorth website!!

So for the moment, I'm happy to leave Starling and Monzo to the youngsters who argue about how cool the logos and colours are on the Debit cards.

Steve

[melonfool]

I love my Monzo account - I love getting push notifications every time anything happens on the account. By contrast my Santander widget only updates *after* I have opened the banking app, which makes it somewhat pointless.

If you want it, I have a golden ticket.

There is also Monese now - I think you get £5 for signing up.

Mel

[stevensfo]

I love my Monzo account - I love getting push notifications every time anything happens on the account. By contrast my Santander widget only updates *after* I have opened the banking app, which makes it somewhat pointless.

If you want it, I have a golden ticket.

There is also Monese now - I think you get £5 for signing up.

Mel

Thanks Mel, I may just open an account for the hell of it. Thanks for the golden ticket offer!! I'm quite happy to support these new start-ups if only to put two fingers up to the miserable gits in our local Barclays branch. I already have a Revolut account which is simply amazing and has already saved me a lot in pound-euro exchanges. I love the way I can control everything via an app and keep the contactless feature OFF as default. However, as far as I know, although they have a European banking licence, Revolut still isn't an official bank in the UK, so doesn't yet have the 85000 guarantee, whereas Monzo does.

Not sure about Monese though.

So many new banks that are so easy to open? Reminds me of when I was a student and we were opening accounts everywhere just to get the freebies. I can't remember ever putting much money in them.

Steve

[melonfool]

I have generally heard good things about Revolut from the users, but the financial services industry is less impressed, they seem to be flouting a lot of regulatory stuff and the insider view is that their house of cards will soon collapse.

PM me for the golden ticket if you want it - I'd need your phone number I think (I get nothing out of that, you just queue jump - they may not currently have queues though, no idea).

Mel

[PinkDalek]

Not sure about Monese though.

https://register.fca.org.uk/ShPo_firmde ... 00m4IXjAAM

Status: EMD Agent
(Reference number: 900188)

This is a firm that can act on behalf of another firm (its 'principal') that is authorised or registered by the FCA as a payment or e-money institution.

The Financial Ombudsman Service may be able to consider a dispute with this firm. Find out how to complain.

It cannot be determined if FSCS cover would apply to this firm. Please contact the firm directly to understand whether their products/services would be covered by FSCS.

https://support.monese.com/hc/en-gb/art ... d-by-FSCS-

Is Monese covered by FSCS?

We do not provide FSCS protection (which only guarantees customer deposits up to £85,000) - instead we guarantee the protection of 100% of customer funds. Monese Ltd is a registered agent of PrePay Technologies Limited which is an electronic money institution authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (900010) for the issuing of electronic money and payment instruments.

Unlike banks we do not re-invest customer funds and have to keep all customer money separate to our own company finances. This guarantees that even in the unlikely event that Monese is no longer in business all of our customers would receive 100% of their balance back.

[stevensfo]

I have generally heard good things about Revolut from the users, but the financial services industry is less impressed, they seem to be flouting a lot of regulatory stuff and the insider view is that their house of cards will soon collapse.

PM me for the golden ticket if you want it - I'd need your phone number I think (I get nothing out of that, you just queue jump - they may not currently have queues though, no idea).

Mel

Well, my experience so far with Revolut has been perfect and I was impressed with how seriously they took ID verification, with me having to send photos of my passport three times to make sure the hologram was clear enough for them. They also asked for proof of residence which apparently Monzo don't do. Yes, I've read some critical reports about Revolut but when I look closely I have the impression that most of the criticisms are either 'mountains out of molehills' or based on very little evidence whatsoever, and two more serious complaints had the police and FCA finding no cases to answer.

Nevertheless, until they are fully guaranteed by the FSCS I limit the funds I keep with them. They say they are regulated by the FCA and that all funds are 'ring-fenced', but like most people here, I've come to consider the term 'ring-fenced' as words written in the clouds.

I may be a cynical old bugger but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the big banks are getting nervous about these young upstarts and encouraging some mud-slinging, which as we all know, results in some mud sticking.

Will look into the Monzo queue thingy asap. Thanks!

Steve

[dave559]

Partially out of curiosity, I opened a Starling account as a "spare" current account (you can never have too many bank cards, in case one gets lost or stolen or a particular bank experiences problems).

I'm quite impressed: the app is attractive and mostly intuitive to use, you get pretty much instantaneous notifications of payments in and out, the ability to lock/unlock your card is definitely useful, and the ability to transfer money to another account holder just with a URI is potentially useful (although really perhaps what all the banks should be doing is giving you the option to display account details as QR codes, so that you can essentially just wave phones at each other to settle up with a friend or tradesperson, etc).

However, the big gotcha is that Starling is only an app bank, there is no standard internet banking option available at all if your phone gets damaged, lost or stolen. Given the time and expense of repairing or replacing a phone and the hassle of authenticating a new phone (and possibly a new phone number), that represents an unacceptable ability to manage your money at a time when you especially might need to, so for that reason, useful as it is otherwise, I won't be making it my main account.

[melonfool]

However, the big gotcha is that Starling is only an app bank, there is no standard internet banking option available at all if your phone gets damaged, lost or stolen. Given the time and expense of repairing or replacing a phone and the hassle of authenticating a new phone (and possibly a new phone number), that represents an unacceptable ability to manage your money at a time when you especially might need to, so for that reason, useful as it is otherwise, I won't be making it my main account.

I agree with that - I also only opened Monzo for curiosity, I'd never use it as my 'main' account, I use it for holiday money. People always comment on the colour of the card, which is neon pink, I have no feelings at all about debit card colours/logos/patterns etc (nor do I want to put photos on them!).

You have reminded me that since I got my new phone I have not opened Monzo and as I go on holiday next week I probably need to do something with the phone (done while I was typing, so easy!).

Mel

[stevensfo]

However, the big gotcha is that Starling is only an app bank, there is no standard internet banking option available at all if your phone gets damaged, lost or stolen. Given the time and expense of repairing or replacing a phone and the hassle of authenticating a new phone (and possibly a new phone number), that represents an unacceptable ability to manage your money at a time when you especially might need to, so for that reason, useful as it is otherwise, I won't be making it my main account.

I agree with that - I also only opened Monzo for curiosity, I'd never use it as my 'main' account, I use it for holiday money. People always comment on the colour of the card, which is neon pink, I have no feelings at all about debit card colours/logos/patterns etc (nor do I want to put photos on them!).

You have reminded me that since I got my new phone I have not opened Monzo and as I go on holiday next week I probably need to do something with the phone (done while I was typing, so easy!).

Mel

Yes, like you and Dave, there is no way I'd use it as my only bank. One thing I've done since the Financial crisis is make sure to maintain bank accounts that I would normally have closed. Obviously provided they're free!

I have a small question about Monzo. Do they send SMS codes as part of their authentication process when you use the app? The reason I ask is that I sometimes switch sim cards around when I travel abroad and my UK sim may not always be in the same phone as the Monzo app. I usually put it in a spare phone but there's always a small chance that I'll forget to take it with me.

Steve

[melonfool]

Don't think it uses text, it's notifications from the app itself.

It emailed me today to authenticate the phone change.

If you do use my link to sign up we both get £5, I didn't know that til I looked today when transferring the holiday money.

Mel

[Muddywaters]

I’ve been involved in commercial negotiations and potential tie ups with both revolut and starling. I’ve got a starling account.....

[UncleEbenezer]

However, the big gotcha is that Starling is only an app bank, there is no standard internet banking option available at all if your phone gets damaged, lost or stolen. Given the time and expense of repairing or replacing a phone and the hassle of authenticating a new phone (and possibly a new phone number), that represents an unacceptable ability to manage your money at a time when you especially might need to, so for that reason, useful as it is otherwise, I won't be making it my main account.

Visited this thread 'cos I'm probably about to open a starling account. As an excuse to close the Santander 123 account as a second current account now that I no longer sit on a £20k balance, and because Starling's card is a "best buy" for when I travel or any other time I want to pay non-sterling (Monzo is not a candidate there due to its severe travel cash limitations - I would expect never to go over their limit unless travelling somewhere cards aren't widely accepted, but I don't want to have to think about it).

Your concern there is perhaps overdone. My experience of losing a phone back in August was that by walking into the O2 shop with proof of identity and with date-and-amount of last bill, I was able to get a new SIM for my existing account and number on-the-spot, all for no charge. New handset from Argos just down the road from the O2 shop.

No idea how near to that I could've come if it had happened abroad. Or even just away from home, without proof-of-identity to hand.

[didds]

They both allow cash to be paid in via Post Offices as well, which I see as a good move.

Most, if not all, traditional high street banks allow this as well.

Scott.

indeed. assuming the banks haven't all closed in any town

didds

[swill453]

They both allow cash to be paid in via Post Offices as well, which I see as a good move.

Most, if not all, traditional high street banks allow this as well.

Scott.

indeed. assuming the banks haven't all closed in any town

I meant that most, if not all, traditional high street banks allow cash to be paid in at Post Offices, just like Monzo and Starling.

Scott.

[didds]

I meant that most, if not all, traditional high street banks allow cash to be paid in at Post Offices, just like Monzo and Starling.

Scott.

ah - gotcha. yes, totally.

didds

[jaizan]

Both Monzo and Starling have no forex load for overseas ATM withdrawals, ie you pay the Mastercard/Visa rate. Almost all other banks take an extra 3%.
However, with Monzo, this is only applicable for the first £200 per month. Starling has no such limit per month. However, I believe there is a limit of £300 per withdrawal.

I have a Starling account. I withdrew some USD in Cambodia and after I typed in the amount and hit enter, the phone in my pocket buzzed with a full notification of the transaction and exchange rate before the ATM even acknowledged the request. I am impressed.

Opening the account is very fast.

[chas49]

Most, if not all, traditional high street banks allow this as well.

Scott.

indeed. assuming the banks haven't all closed in any town

I meant that most, if not all, traditional high street banks allow cash to be paid in at Post Offices, just like Monzo and Starling.

Scott.

Except Barclays from January

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... st-offices

[jaizan]

One easy solution to the cash situation is to maintain more than one bank account.

So if bank A does not have a convenient cash paying in option, then just pay it into bank B and move the money. With some of these phone apps, this can be done in less time than it takes to walk to another bank.