Monzo and other app based banks

[Benguin]

Anyone tried these? I’ve had Monzo for a couple of months now and it is a breath of fresh air. Thinking about switching everything over to it for next month. 

 

Free £5 for me an you if you’ve not tried it yet

 

https://join.monzo.com/r/aztpv1u

[Beechey]

Massive fan of Monzo. Definitely worth it even if you just use it for holidays.

[Jimothy]

I've got Sterling. Not moved everything over yet, but as mentioned great for going abroad.

[Paninistickers]

Agree. Use monzo for holidays and I'm a very happy customer with them

[stripeyfox]

sort of tempted to give it a try.

 

Do you have to pay a salary in every month? I think we would like to keep our joint finances with our main bank but could I say transfer shopping, fuel and spends money to Monzo and use that for day to day spending?

 

 

[Benguin]

32 minutes ago, stripeyfox said:

sort of tempted to give it a try.

 

Do you have to pay a salary in every month? I think we would like to keep our joint finances with our main bank but could I say transfer shopping, fuel and spends money to Monzo and use that for day to day spending?

 

 

No, at the moment I just transfer my disposable income over so I can keep track of what I’m spending better. You see transactions as you make them and can assign them categories. 

[stripeyfox]

7 minutes ago, Benguin said:

No, at the moment I just transfer my disposable income over so I can keep track of what I’m spending better. You see transactions as you make them and can assign them categories. 

That's good. I have joint finances with the wife and the monthly bills are fine, they don't vary much and most are paid from the joint account. But it's the left over money which is hard to keep track of! 

 

 

[StanSP]

10 hours ago, Facecloth said:

I've got Sterling. Not moved everything over yet, but as mentioned great for going abroad.

This. 

[Samilktray]

I use Monzo and probably won’t go back to a big bank again unless forced 

[WigstonWanderer]

Unfortunately still doesn’t allow non residents to open an account. Real problem for expats these days as it’s virtually impossible to open a UK account unless resident (or stinking rich). I still have income streams from the UK (pensions, etc) and am very concerned about being so dependent on my old Barclays account. I’m sure they’ll close it eventually and I’m not sure what I will do.

 

My father who’s also in Australia recently tried to move some money from his UK HSBC account to Oz via OFX and HSBC point blank refused to allow him to transfer money to OFX! Unbelievable, he’s been with them since the Midland Bank days in the fifties! Fortunately we’ve done it via TransferWise who so far seem fantastic.

 

Monzo say they intend to launch an international account in the future.

[ousefox]

I've been using Revolut for holidays for years. Absolutely fantastic and anyone still getting travel money from shops is missing out big time.

[Benguin]

4 hours ago, WigstonWanderer said:

Unfortunately still doesn’t allow non residents to open an account. Real problem for expats these days as it’s virtually impossible to open a UK account unless resident (or stinking rich). I still have income streams from the UK (pensions, etc) and am very concerned about being so dependent on my old Barclays account. I’m sure they’ll close it eventually and I’m not sure what I will do.

 

My father who’s also in Australia recently tried to move some money from his UK HSBC account to Oz via OFX and HSBC point blank refused to allow him to transfer money to OFX! Unbelievable, he’s been with them since the Midland Bank days in the fifties! Fortunately we’ve done it via TransferWise who so far seem fantastic.

 

Monzo say they intend to launch an international account in the future.

That’s a shame. Hopefully they’ll add that feature soon. 

[ScouseFox]

i like my monzo sometimes but most the time it just says “you’ve spent too much money on entertainment” or something equally as upsetting 

[Itsthejoeker]

1 minute ago, ScouseFox said:

i like my monzo sometimes but most the time it just says “you’ve spent too much money on entertainment” or something equally as upsetting 

“You’ve spent £3,560 at Wetherspoons this month, you have a drinking problem”

[ScouseFox]

Just now, Itsthejoeker said:

“You’ve spent £3,560 at Wetherspoons this month, you have a drinking problem”

yeah pretty much. it took me about a year to realise if you click on a transaction and scroll down it tells you how many transactions and how much you’ve spent in that establishment in your lifetime. 

 

some of the money i’ve spent in boozers and the corner shop where i buy smokes IS AN OUTRAGE 

[Merging Cultures]

We've been using Ally in the US for about 8 years or so, also have TransferWise, a number of trading apps (Robinhood etc.) and payment providers (Some local Zambian ones Zazu, ZoonaPlus as well as Zelle, PayPal et al). Not tried the UK ones yet. Was thinking about it the other week, will probably see if I can give a few a try. 

 

I work in Fintech, so always playing around.

[WigstonWanderer]

17 minutes ago, Merging Cultures said:

We've been using Ally in the US for about 8 years or so, also have TransferWise, a number of trading apps (Robinhood etc.) and payment providers (Some local Zambian ones Zazu, ZoonaPlus as well as Zelle, PayPal et al). Not tried the UK ones yet. Was thinking about it the other week, will probably see if I can give a few a try. 

 

I work in Fintech, so always playing around.

Sounds like options are starting to become available, so that’s good news. I’ll have to do more research. Bit nervous of putting significant amounts into these new banks, even with the government guarantees. Not that I have that much 

[stripeyfox]

1 hour ago, ScouseFox said:

i like my monzo sometimes but most the time it just says “you’ve spent too much money on entertainment” or something equally as upsetting 

So it's like an app version of a wife?

 

[SystonFox]

Recently got Monzo about a month ago. Love the idea. Like how it works.

 

i got it to try and reduce my spending on work lunches. I’m lazy with work lunch so it’s often a Tesco meal deal but that can soon become £5 with a couple of extra snacks for the day. Expensive game. Since I’ve got Monzo I’ve been stopping myself as I see the breakdown

[stripeyfox]

1 hour ago, SystonFox said:

Recently got Monzo about a month ago. Love the idea. Like how it works.

 

i got it to try and reduce my spending on work lunches. I’m lazy with work lunch so it’s often a Tesco meal deal but that can soon become £5 with a couple of extra snacks for the day. Expensive game. Since I’ve got Monzo I’ve been stopping myself as I see the breakdown

I take Aldi noodles to work - 65p. Have some fruit and some of their pea snacks (99p for 6) instead of crisps. I'm usually forking starving but it saves me money and calories!
 

[Wolfox]

I’ve been using it for years…. It’s really very good indeed

 

goof for gamblers who worry about their gambling apparently…. You can ask it to block spending on gambling sites for a period of time and it will allow your to reconsider!  

 

It’s an innovative platform with lots of very good ideas…. My wife likes the savings pots for holidays etc.

[leicsmac]

I'm interested in this - seems like most folks only have good things to day and as @Merging Cultures alludes to fin-tech is only going to advance.

 

However, a question out of curiosity: what is the guarantor of the funds held? Is it subject to the same government guarantees as the classic "brick-and-mortar" banks?

[Benguin]

1 hour ago, leicsmac said:

I'm interested in this - seems like most folks only have good things to day and as @Merging Cultures alludes to fin-tech is only going to advance.

 

However, a question out of curiosity: what is the guarantor of the funds held? Is it subject to the same government guarantees as the classic "brick-and-mortar" banks?

It has fscs, so 85k covered by government 

[leicsmac]

6 minutes ago, Benguin said:

It has fscs, so 85k covered by government 

That's what I figured, thank you for confirming it!

 

Worth a look, then.

[Sampson]

Monzo is definitely superb for travelling.

 

Proper exchange rate. No card fees and can withdraw foreign cash at airports for  nothing. Tells you instantly how much you've spent in GBP.

 

Ive had it for a couple of years and haven't had to do any currency exchange since then. Must have saved me a decent amount given how much currency exchange places rip you off.