Does any of you bank with Monzo? In my time living here in the UK since 2009. I never had any satisfaction I have with Monzo, I came accross Monzo bank in 2018 and I must say, I’ve never been more satisfied with any bank I had in the past. Monzo may not have an existing Physical Bank outlet or offices you can go and visit, but they do the job better than any other bank that has existing offices, I had in my experience living here in the UK. Also, you can rely on them always taking your side when it comes to some unknown charges. The only things they cannot served you is when you have to deposit cash in hand. Everything has to be done online transactions.
I have been considering Monzo or Starling, Monzo gets a higher rating but both challenger banks are considered extremely good. For Monzo you can deposit cash but you have to do it at a PayPoint outlet, lots of PayPoint locations exist around the country in corner shops and elsewhere. For Starling you can pay in cash at the Post Office, the Post Office have a relationship with many fintech startup banks as well as a few of the old school banks you can Pay in cash to the TSB at a Post Office as well. You are right Monzo tops the satisfaction charts.
I've tried both Monzo and Starling, but Monzo did it for me. Banking has traditionally been a chore, but with the new challenger banks, it easier and more user-friendly. What I like the most is instant notification of all transactions, and sometimes needing to authorize a payment via pin or prompt. Peace of mind more than anything else. The granular controls are amazing - things like custom categories and rounding up spare change into separate pots. The only drawback with Monzo I've found is paying in cheques, you have to post them to Monzo. But it's no deal breaker, who gets many cheques these days? I haven't issued a cheque since 2012.
I am sure eventually they will get into all of it. I have never find any other bank what Monzo does. I am really quite happy with their services. It beates most any other bank I have been in the past. I now have the Metal card which I pay £15 a month but it covers your worldwide travel insurance and phone insurance if you lose them. Also a free withdrawals up to £600 abroad with discounted airport lounge access. Depending on your credit ratings they also offers overdraft and loans etc. What else could you ask for?
I have been with LLOYDS for eons, after short and difficult trials with the others, and I never experienced problems.
I've noticed other banks have started copying Monzo and Starling - my Tesco Bank credit card sends notification of transactions.
Starling has the better overdraft rate if you need an overdraft although even at 15% I would not recommend any bank's overdraft, far better to try to live without one. Also Starling allow you to deposit a cheque (under £500) by taking a photo of it. I am now with Nationwide I did a bank switch recently, specifically because I want to build up some saving history with them so I can ask them for a later life mortgage when I move back to Scotland, this will just be to conserve my capital and so I can buy a better place than I might otherwise be willing to buy. I am also considering upgrading to their Nationwide Flex Plus account because it offers vehicle breakdown cover and annual travel insurance, but I might have to leave that till next year as I potentially have an outstanding claim on my current LV Travel Insurance for the flight I lost last year if KLM don't refund my vouchers this coming April. By opting for a paid Flex Plus account with Nationwide it would cost me £156 a year but with my current renewals for travel insurance and breakdown recovery costing 270 pound a year I would be saving £114 and I would also switch to a debit card that had no exchange rate fee for spending in the Philippines. The alternative is to pick another additional account that offers some of these features my Revolut and Curve cards have paid options that have features like Travel Insurance and Lounge Access when travelling, Monzo has that too but Starling does not, I was considering Starling as an extra account just to get unlimited overseas FX free debit card transactions, Monzo and others have limits on the monthly amount of fee free FX transactions while abroad.
