Does anybody have any experience with Monzo Bank?

[AlTech]

Hi,

I'm interested in the ideas that Monzo Bank is built on such as the more modern way of banking.

 

But I'd like to hear experiences from others before committing to opening an account with them. Full disclosure, If I end up opening an account with them it would not be my main bank account. It would be a secondary bank account.

 

Have any of you guys opened an account with Monzo Bank? If so, what has your experience with them been like? Would you recommend it to someone looking for a more modern way of banking?

 

Thanks .

[colonel_mortis]

Full disclosure: I know somebody who has previously been employed by Monzo, but I used it before then, and I don't think it has had a significant impact on the rest of this post.

 

I use Monzo for almost all of my card transactions, though I currently still use an account at an established bank for big transactions. The app is pretty easy to use, and makes it easy to track your spending. The most useful feature (compared to a regular account) for me is that, because several of my friends also have Monzo accounts, it's really easy to send money to each other (just using their contact details stored on your phone - I think it looks it up by phone number), rather than needing to deal with cash or making a normal bank transfer (though transfers to non-monzo accounts are also pretty easy).

 

Their support is also really helpful, and usually very fast to respond (though I have had to wait a long time when messaging them late on a Sunday night).

 

As it's a secondary account it probably won't matter, but cheques are slightly more awkward to pay in than normal accounts, because there are no branches - you have to post it to them.

 

I'm glad I opened an account, and would recommend it, especially if you have friends who have, or will open, an account.

[yolosnail]

I have had a Monzo account since before they were a proper bank, the reason I got it was because it was essentially a prepaid card with no fee. When they became a bank I decided to keep it and honestly I'm glad I did. My main bank account is with TSB (I would leave them but 5% interest is hard to ignore) and when they had all their problems my Monzo account pretty much saved me!

The main thing I like is that payments go instantly onto the app, and you get a notification whenever you spend. The app is pretty good do, at least compared to the TSB app. The summary is really handy on the app, it shows you where you've spent the most money, which for me is mostly McDonald's. The ability to upload a picture of the receipt to keep with the transaction is an excellent idea, especially for people like me who put receipts in their pocket and never see them again.

The few times I've had to use their customer service it's been excellent. There's sort of a 'live chat' but it's more like texting them as sometimes there's quite a delay, but I suppose it's better than waiting on hold for half an hour as you can be doing other things.

Although they have no branches, you can still deposit cheques with them by posting it to them, although I don't know if I would trust Royal Mail.

But, my personal favourite thing about Monzo is the colour of the card, it's really hard to lose

[Mug]

I have an account, was in a DIY shop once and someone paid with this bright orange card, was like what's that, had the lecture on how it saved the dude hundreds of pounds a month.

 

I delved a bit deeper and ordered a card, I have it now and have been using it for a bit. Really like some features like the way it alerts you every time you've paid for something, but I think some features are available with other mainstream UK banks. Santander, for example, has a great spend-tracking app.

 

Currently got it working like a prepayment card, I set up a standing order to it and that's all the money I spend on everyday purchases. I'm also with HSBC, Halifax and Barclays and Monzo's all-round package is definitely the best out of those, except for not having a branch near me.

[AlTech]

46 minutes ago, Mug said:

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53 minutes ago, yolosnail said:

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2 hours ago, colonel_mortis said:

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Thanks guys . I'll check them out.

[colonel_mortis]

2 minutes ago, CUDAcores89 said:

Any reason why you are considering using a debit card? I use credit cards for buying everything for fraud protection since if someone steals my info and buys something, they cant send my bank account into overdraft. If you pay your card off every month you pay no interest (set up autopay). You also build your credit while you're at it.

 

This has saved my dads ass numerous times as he has his card information stolen about once a year.

 

Unless you are not old enough for one yet so that's fair. You need to be 18.

In the UK, in my experience, people tend to use debit cards for most things. We have fraud protection on debit cards too - unless the bank can prove that we were significantly negligent, all fraudulent transactions are required to be refunded.

That's another great feature of Monzo btw - I know someone who's card was stolen from their car, and they were able to block it as soon as they started getting fraudulent transaction attempts (because they got push notifications for the failed PIN entries), rather than discovering later when they went back to the car with the contactless limit used up.

[AlTech]

4 minutes ago, CUDAcores89 said:

Any reason why you are considering using a debit card? I use credit cards for buying everything for fraud protection since if someone steals my info and buys something, they cant send my bank account into overdraft. If you pay your card off every month you pay no interest (set up autopay). You also build your credit while you're at it.

 

This has saved my dads ass numerous times as he has his card information stolen about once a year.

 

Unless you are not old enough for one yet so that's fair. You need to be 18.

I don't have a proper job (and thus lack of proven track record of consistent income) so I'm not eligible for a regular credit card.

 

The alternative eligibility criteria is me being a student for 3 years in the UK which I have not satisfied thus I'm not eligible for a student credit card.

 

I do have a Shared Credit Card from Hong Kong but it's only because the primary account holder has a proven source of income. 

 

I am over 18 so I do meet that criteria but I still can't get credit. Until i prove to my bank that I have an income equal to or greater than £7.8K per annum, I am not eligible for it.

[AlTech]

3 minutes ago, colonel_mortis said:

In the UK, in my experience, people tend to use debit cards for most things. We have fraud protection on debit cards too - unless the bank can prove that we were significantly negligent, all fraudulent transactions are required to be refunded.

Oooh. Noice. Did not know that .

[AlTech]

Quote

I know due to UK laws transaction fees on credit cards are lower there so the banks can't make as much money, thus there aren't as many reward programs. 

not that much afaik. The main different just seems to be how freely the US issues credit cards whereas here it's a lot less easy to get a hold of and a lot less common in the UK.

[AlTech]

7 hours ago, Mug said:

I delved a bit deeper and ordered a card, I have it now and have been using it for a bit. Really like some features like the way it alerts you every time you've paid for something, but I think some features are available with other mainstream UK banks. Santander, for example, has a great spend-tracking app.

 

Currently got it working like a prepayment card, I set up a standing order to it and that's all the money I spend on everyday purchases. I'm also with HSBC, Halifax and Barclays and Monzo's all-round package is definitely the best out of those, except for not having a branch near me.

How come you're with so many banks?

 

And do they ever get annoyed or bothered that you have other accounts with other banks?

[AlTech]

2 hours ago, colonel_mortis said:

In the UK, in my experience, people tend to use debit cards for most things. We have fraud protection on debit cards too - unless the bank can prove that we were significantly negligent, all fraudulent transactions are required to be refunded.

That's another great feature of Monzo btw - I know someone who's card was stolen from their car, and they were able to block it as soon as they started getting fraudulent transaction attempts (because they got push notifications for the failed PIN entries), rather than discovering later when they went back to the car with the contactless limit used up.

Is the card you receive from Monzo contactless? 

[colonel_mortis]

25 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Is the card you receive from Monzo contactless? 

Yes, I'm pretty sure all Monzo cards are.

[yolosnail]

6 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

Is the card you receive from Monzo contactless? 

Yes, they are. And you can use Google Pay and I'm pretty sure you can use Apple Pay as well

[Mug]

On 6/22/2018 at 9:14 PM, AluminiumTech said:

How come you're with so many banks?

 

And do they ever get annoyed or bothered that you have other accounts with other banks?

Not at all

 

I inherited quite a bit of money a while back but it's not enough to justify a financial adviser or put it into a hedgefund so I've been going for these offers where you hold a current accounts and out get more interest.

 

Like if I put my money into a standard ISA I'd get maybe 2% at a push but I'm getting upwards of 4% because of account hopping. I've been getting lazy though and haven't been closing accounts properly