Discussion
p4cks said:
Hi all, bit of a resurrection as I'm looking at some potential solutions.
I'm going to be taking in some lodgers from a local football club and the club are paying me a weekly amount to cover expenses and costs of feeding them etc. I'd like to keep this separate from my own banking where my salary is/will be paid in to so that I can keep track of spending a little easier than my own bank account
I've been on Monzo's website for some time but can't find the answer to this.. do they require a minimum monthly deposit amount to be able to open an account? If so, what is it?
Just get your existing bank to open another account? I'm going to be taking in some lodgers from a local football club and the club are paying me a weekly amount to cover expenses and costs of feeding them etc. I'd like to keep this separate from my own banking where my salary is/will be paid in to so that I can keep track of spending a little easier than my own bank account
I've been on Monzo's website for some time but can't find the answer to this.. do they require a minimum monthly deposit amount to be able to open an account? If so, what is it?
I have 3 accounts with my 'regular' bank, all separate, but all accessed through 1 app login. Makes it very easy to move money between accounts. Each account has its own debit card.
What does Monzo do which Santander/Natwest/HSBC etc doesnt?
The honest answer is not much it just does it better, or at least in a way which presents itself better for the digital native younger generation (of which I am definitely not a member!). Adding it to apple pay is a couple of clicks, real time notifications for spending, fee free cash withdrawals and payments overseas. Easy to split bills within the app if all are monzo users, a few other clever features. All available elsewhere but I haven't seen anyone else bring it all together in such an attractive package. Eg my main bank is HSBC but I have a Halifax clarity card for overseas spending as all HSBC cards charge (as far as I know). Whether they have a sustainable business model is a rather different question...
If you follow the Monzo blog online, they have a load of cool stuff in their pipeline and are already offering some of it, albeit at a small monthly cost.
For example, Monzo Plus is £3/month (admittedly you don't get much) but +£4/month you get family Global travel insurance through their partner. Plus, as mentioned, more features will be rolled out such as auto electric/gas switching for the best deal and it'll be debited seamlessly out.
For example, Monzo Plus is £3/month (admittedly you don't get much) but +£4/month you get family Global travel insurance through their partner. Plus, as mentioned, more features will be rolled out such as auto electric/gas switching for the best deal and it'll be debited seamlessly out.
Prohibiting said:
If you follow the Monzo blog online, they have a load of cool stuff in their pipeline and are already offering some of it, albeit at a small monthly cost.
For example, Monzo Plus is £3/month (admittedly you don't get much) but +£4/month you get family Global travel insurance through their partner. Plus, as mentioned, more features will be rolled out such as auto electric/gas switching for the best deal and it'll be debited seamlessly out.
There is so much they can do.....but need to be aware many things are already available with others! For example, Monzo Plus is £3/month (admittedly you don't get much) but +£4/month you get family Global travel insurance through their partner. Plus, as mentioned, more features will be rolled out such as auto electric/gas switching for the best deal and it'll be debited seamlessly out.
My Santander gives some interest, plus cash back on utilities etc that more than pays the fiver a month.
Just had a busted android phone beautifully repaired on our Nationwide account insurance (which also gives travel cover and breakdown plus some interest for a monthly cost”.
My Monzo is my beer/entertainment card to track that....but I do actually miss not having an online login I can use from the laptop (old school reconciliation habits!).
^^^^
Exactly.... As far as I can see there is nothing they do, which I want, that other banks don't already do. Maybe 10 years ago the incumbent banks were a bit behind, but standard offerings are much better now, and I dont think I want my bank deciding who my electricity comes from!
A lot of it seems to be around the marketing of this 'cool, new bank' rather than any differentiation of the product offering. The only place I've ever seen any Monzo marketing is London, go outside the M25 far fewer people have heard of it.
Exactly.... As far as I can see there is nothing they do, which I want, that other banks don't already do. Maybe 10 years ago the incumbent banks were a bit behind, but standard offerings are much better now, and I dont think I want my bank deciding who my electricity comes from!
A lot of it seems to be around the marketing of this 'cool, new bank' rather than any differentiation of the product offering. The only place I've ever seen any Monzo marketing is London, go outside the M25 far fewer people have heard of it.
Condi said:
^^^^
Exactly.... As far as I can see there is nothing they do, which I want, that other banks don't already do. Maybe 10 years ago the incumbent banks were a bit behind, but standard offerings are much better now, and I dont think I want my bank deciding who my electricity comes from!
A lot of it seems to be around the marketing of this 'cool, new bank' rather than any differentiation of the product offering. The only place I've ever seen any Monzo marketing is London, go outside the M25 far fewer people have heard of it.
I tend to agree. It works by short cutting various regulatory hurdles and delivering a simplified product. If that works for what someone needs then it’s a brilliant solution. Exactly.... As far as I can see there is nothing they do, which I want, that other banks don't already do. Maybe 10 years ago the incumbent banks were a bit behind, but standard offerings are much better now, and I dont think I want my bank deciding who my electricity comes from!
A lot of it seems to be around the marketing of this 'cool, new bank' rather than any differentiation of the product offering. The only place I've ever seen any Monzo marketing is London, go outside the M25 far fewer people have heard of it.
For me the challenger banks were differentiated from incumbents last week when I opened a corporate account with Tide while I was on hold to the business division of HSBC.
That was the big stand out feature. They have interpreted AML and KYC etc in the same manner that the regulated gambling industry has versus the IFA industry which is still paper based when there is no decernable need to be.
Have I used this amazing Tide account? No. It has pretty much zero functionality and to converse with a human you need to use a chat function that isn’t a chat function but a messenger service that takes around 24 hours for each response and after three questions on one subject over three days you have to go back to the beginning because it’s a different idiot at the other end and they haven’t read the thread before thinking they are a genius and know the answer.
Monzo's app and onboarding processes are market leading by quite some stretch. The big names in the industry are catching up fast though and without new innovative product offerings I think they're going to gradually lose their edge. I tried opening a savings account with Monzo recently but the offering was dire.
Useful for holding and spending pocket change and spending abroad but not much else.
Useful for holding and spending pocket change and spending abroad but not much else.
Condi said:
Just get your existing bank to open another account?
I have 3 accounts with my 'regular' bank, all separate, but all accessed through 1 app login. Makes it very easy to move money between accounts. Each account has its own debit card.
What does Monzo do which Santander/Natwest/HSBC etc doesnt?
Fair point, but at the moment I have my current account, savings account, mortgage and personal loan all with the same bank (First Direct, who are great) and I'd just like to keep this particular arrangement separate so that I can let them use the card when I'm not there which also allows me to see their real time spending I have 3 accounts with my 'regular' bank, all separate, but all accessed through 1 app login. Makes it very easy to move money between accounts. Each account has its own debit card.
What does Monzo do which Santander/Natwest/HSBC etc doesnt?
mikeiow said:
For me: offers super low interbank costs for transactions abroad - cash up to £200 pcm (limited use!) & debit transactions
A Halifax credit card does that, interest free for a month (except cash withdraw), and offers all the protection of a credit card as well. How is Monzo better? Not only do I have to pay for it now (debit vs credit) but also any unauthorised transactions or problems abroad become my problem. With a credit card it is largely the banks problem.
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