Monzo

[PremierLeagueClass]

Thinking of switching...

For anyone that is already using Monzo, would you recommend?

[ClaretAndBlue94]

I have seen lots of people that have switched.

Interested to see thoughts as I am also considering.

[Bosscat]

As long as its covered by the FSCS it will be just like any bank you would have thought.....

[Belial]

I have been with these for a few years. Simply to use abroad (fee-free), not for any other reason, but I have liked the use of the mobile app

[Hantsclaret]

I use it - as do many people by the looks of their "average account balances" data - as a second account. I travel a lot for work and its very useful abroad. We also use a second account for a small business and it works seamlessly! App is very good and the whole piece seems very reliable. We dont use it for our main account - we are with First Direct and they are never less than brilliant so dont see any benefit in changing!

[dougcollins]

Nice place, but watch for Corona virus.

[TVC15]

As long as its covered by the FSCS it will be just like any bank you would have thought.....

It is - they could not have got a banking license without also being part of the FSCS compensation scheme. Even credit unions are part of this scheme.

Monzo have some pretty incredible acquisition statistics in terms of new customers and switchers in the last few years. So have Starling bank. They both have some pretty nifty functionality and have the benefit that they are not hampered by legacy systems or legacy back book customers like other banks.

Will be interesting how they fair in the future in terms of actually returning profits and making money - the likes of Metro Bank who were technology led from a product point of view but also had a model of very expensive high street branches have had a real roller coaster in terms of financial results - not helped by one of the biggest accounting “errors” (I’m being kind) in the history of banking.

Best thing to do with the likes of Monzo and Starling is give them a try and maybe don’t close your other bank yet until you have seen what they are like in terms of service when you have a problem / issue which is usually a good test.

[ChrisG]

I've got one, it's brilliant for using abroad.

Completely fee free for card transactions, and they have now abolished the £200 limit on cash withdrawals, so they are fee free too. They also give you the Mastercard rate which is pretty much the best you will get.

I was in Lithuania last week for work, and my transactions have gone through at €1.19/£ whereas the best rate I saw in the bureaux before I travelled was €1.14.

[Foshiznik]

Was great (I was an initial investor during the beta), but now they are turning into every other bank.

However, the app and the exchange rate are still some of the best around in the industry.

[houseboy]

Good banking system, my daughter has it and loves it, but be warned, they are NOT as yet part of the fraud protection scheme. My daughter, as posted on here last November, was the victim of a scam and the money was taken from her Monzo account. She was scammed out of just over 5k. After a lot of hard work and much negotiation she eventually got all her money back but the bank did it out of 'good grace' but they were under no legal obligation to do so. Fair play to them but my daughter was contacted by numerous other victims who got NOTHING back (including a guy who lost 10k).
The last I heard they had applied to be part of the scheme but as of the turn of the year at least they were most definitely NOT part of it. My daughter got her money back after numerous phone calls, e-mails and texts (and much persistance on her part).

The banking system itself though apparently cannot be faulted. It would be worth checking before joining though if they have now become part of the fraud protection scheme. For any of the above posters who say they HAVE to be part of it it is worth pointing out that Monzo themselves (and the Natwest, my daughter's main account) stated that they were not part of it. As a newish bank they were operating under the 'applied for' status it seems.

[houseboy]

It is - they could not have got a banking license without also being part of the FSCS compensation scheme. Even credit unions are part of this scheme.

Monzo have some pretty incredible acquisition statistics in terms of new customers and switchers in the last few years. So have Starling bank. They both have some pretty nifty functionality and have the benefit that they are not hampered by legacy systems or legacy back book customers like other banks.

Will be interesting how they fair in the future in terms of actually returning profits and making money - the likes of Metro Bank who were technology led from a product point of view but also had a model of very expensive high street branches have had a real roller coaster in terms of financial results - not helped by one of the biggest accounting “errors” (I’m being kind) in the history of banking.

Best thing to do with the likes of Monzo and Starling is give them a try and maybe don’t close your other bank yet until you have seen what they are like in terms of service when you have a problem / issue which is usually a good test.

Hi bud. See my post about this. They may be now but as of last November they were not, it was only 'applied for' at that time. They even said so themselves and the Natwest backed this up as well.

[TVC15]

Houseboy - a few banks of not signed up to the scheme either. It’s voluntary and it’s more a code or conduct type scheme. There have been similar initiatives in the past and banks have been sharing intelligence and best practice in the area of fraud for many years - it’s just not been in the public.
Most (if not all) banks decide whether they refund a customer who has been subject to fraud or a scam on a voluntary basis and as a gesture of goodwill. It’s all dependent on the circumstances and whether the customer has done the things to protect themselves from fraud that the banks are continuously writing to them about.
There is that much fraud about in recent years it’s hard for any bank to pledge to refund all of it.

[TVC15]

Hi bud. See my post about this. They may be now but as of last November they were not, it was only 'applied for' at that time. They even said so themselves and the Natwest backed this up as well.

2 completely different things mate.
The FSCS scheme is about protecting customers deposits up to a maximum of £85k per person in the case where a bank or financial institution goes bust.

Fraud scheme is as per my above post.

[Bosscat]

Hi bud. See my post about this. They may be now but as of last November they were not, it was only 'applied for' at that time. They even said so themselves and the Natwest backed this up as well.

The FSCS is not fraud protection Ian... its a protection scheme to protect money incase a Bank etc goes bust and protects the 1st £85,000.

https://www.fscs.org.uk/

Not Fraud protection

[houseboy]

2 completely different things mate.
The FSCS scheme is about protecting customers deposits up to a maximum of £85k per person in the case where a bank or financial institution goes bust.

Fraud scheme is as per my above post.

Ah...my mistake. Apologies.

[houseboy]

The FSCS is not fraud protection Ian... its a protection scheme to protect money incase a Bank etc goes bust and protects the 1st £85,000.

https://www.fscs.org.uk/

Not Fraud protection

I was 'labourin under the misapprehension' that they were one and the same.

It is my belief that these sheep are labouring under the misapprehension that they’re birds. Observe their behaviour. Take for a start the sheeps’ tendency to hop about the field on their back legs. Now witness their attempts to fly from tree to tree. Notice that they do not so much fly as plummet.

[dsr]

Thinking of switching...

For anyone that is already using Monzo, would you recommend?

Not for me. You need to have a lot of technical ability re. internet usage, password protection, and so forth, to keep your money safe. Call me old fashioned, but there's no way I'm keeping my money at the end of an email.

(It always amazes me how people keep their entire bank details on a mobile phone and then carry it round sticking half way out of their back pocket. Obviously easy pickings for pickpockets, but they must be supremely trusting of their phone security.)

[TVC15]

Not for me. You need to have a lot of technical ability re. internet usage, password protection, and so forth, to keep your money safe. Call me old fashioned, but there's no way I'm keeping my money at the end of an email.

(It always amazes me how people keep their entire bank details on a mobile phone and then carry it round sticking half way out of their back pocket. Obviously easy pickings for pickpockets, but they must be supremely trusting of their phone security.)

Do you not use mobile or internet banking with your existing bank ?

[box_of_frogs]

I use Revolut. Exactly the same principle. Brilliant for use abroad.