4 ms·

Can someone explain to me an appeal of Mondo as opposed to some other established online banks (like Ally for example) ?

shawabawa3 11y ago
For starters, Mondo is based in the UK - Ally in the US I'm not sure if there are any other UK based online banks, I couldn't find any in 30seconds of googling
- onion2k 11y ago
  One rival is https://www.atombank.co.uk/ https://www.atombank.co.uk/
  - nly 11y ago
    Also https://www.simple.com/ https://www.simple.com/ http://starlingbank.co.uk/ http://starlingbank.co.uk/ https://www.ffrees.co.uk/ https://www.ffrees.co.uk/ https://www.monese.com/ https://www.monese.com/ Not to mention a few of the big boys have "Internet only" brands: First Direct (HSBC), Smile (Co-operative Bank), etc. These typically have their own customer service and distance themselves from their parent operationally, while still leaning on that reputation. One thing that concerns me about investing in Mondo is that their only fruitful exit strategy might be being bought out. People are notoriously relunctant to switch current accounts, and a bad decade for public faith in banks might mean people will likely stick with names they know. They're also at least a year from launch afaict, and Android doesn't seem to be a priority. They could miss the boat.
    - shawabawa3 11y ago
      > and a bad decade for public faith in banks might mean people will likely stick with names they know Or, equally, make them switch to names they don't know and therefore don't distrust > People are notoriously relunctant to switch current (checking) accounts A big part of their pitch is being able to open an account on your phone in 30 seconds. We'll see if they're actually able to successfully market that though
      - nly 11y ago
        Well, I guess we'll see. Many UK banks currently promise a 7 day current account switching guarantee. Despite this, after 5 full working days, I'm still waiting for a sodding e-mail from one bank that will allow me to start the process. I have no reason to believe Mondo will be able to maintain an "open your account in minutes" promise, even if they start business that way.
      - hawaiikaos 11y ago
        When I first immigrated to the UK it took me more than 6 months to establish a bank account because I was stuck in a catch-22 lack of local identification (which is all BS as the identity requirements are up to the bank). Mondo's approach is a lot saner, and there's a lot of segments of society that are otherwise underserved that they can capitalise on.
    - throwaway049 11y ago
      Small nitpick - First Direct started out and remains a telephone bank. Their website and app are OK but their phone service is what distinguishes them. Disclosure: satisfied customer.
      - nly 11y ago
        I disagree, their app (slow) and online banking (design) are terrible ;). That said, I can't fault their customer service either.
    - neximo4 11y ago
      This is disingenuous, these aren't banks just UI. They won't have a single branch either, unlike these others (or their parents). Apart from Atom they're the only ones like this. Monese and FFREES aren't even banks by definition either. I've been following Mondo for ages the only true bank like it is Atom & Starling. Starling isn't exactly in the same category though. Someone made a graphic to show the differences. Not sure if I can find that.
kjjw 11y ago
If you're in the UK then the appeal is that they will be available in the UK.
manuelflara 11y ago
To people saying "UK" as a selling point, doesn't ING work in the UK as well? I'm not saying ING is the future of banking by all means, but they're pretty much (totally if you want) office-less.
- nly 11y ago
  Barclays bought out INGs UK operations.
- Avalaxy 11y ago
  Maybe just in the UK, in the Netherlands ING does have a lot of offices.
philefstat 11y ago
the founders and team are well-established and have a proven track record, and the product is fantastic. I haven't come across a product this good in a long time.
- soared 11y ago
  Kind of weird that this is your 2nd comment in almost two years.
  - philefstat 11y ago
    yeah I don't comment / post much I mostly lurk.
  - jo6gwb 11y ago
    Why is that weird?

shawabawa3 11y ago

For starters, Mondo is based in the UK - Ally in the US I'm not sure if there are any other UK based online banks, I couldn't find any in 30seconds of googling

onion2k 11y ago
One rival is https://www.atombank.co.uk/ https://www.atombank.co.uk/
- nly 11y ago
  Also https://www.simple.com/ https://www.simple.com/ http://starlingbank.co.uk/ http://starlingbank.co.uk/ https://www.ffrees.co.uk/ https://www.ffrees.co.uk/ https://www.monese.com/ https://www.monese.com/ Not to mention a few of the big boys have "Internet only" brands: First Direct (HSBC), Smile (Co-operative Bank), etc. These typically have their own customer service and distance themselves from their parent operationally, while still leaning on that reputation. One thing that concerns me about investing in Mondo is that their only fruitful exit strategy might be being bought out. People are notoriously relunctant to switch current accounts, and a bad decade for public faith in banks might mean people will likely stick with names they know. They're also at least a year from launch afaict, and Android doesn't seem to be a priority. They could miss the boat.
  - shawabawa3 11y ago
    > and a bad decade for public faith in banks might mean people will likely stick with names they know Or, equally, make them switch to names they don't know and therefore don't distrust > People are notoriously relunctant to switch current (checking) accounts A big part of their pitch is being able to open an account on your phone in 30 seconds. We'll see if they're actually able to successfully market that though
    - nly 11y ago
      Well, I guess we'll see. Many UK banks currently promise a 7 day current account switching guarantee. Despite this, after 5 full working days, I'm still waiting for a sodding e-mail from one bank that will allow me to start the process. I have no reason to believe Mondo will be able to maintain an "open your account in minutes" promise, even if they start business that way.
    - hawaiikaos 11y ago
      When I first immigrated to the UK it took me more than 6 months to establish a bank account because I was stuck in a catch-22 lack of local identification (which is all BS as the identity requirements are up to the bank). Mondo's approach is a lot saner, and there's a lot of segments of society that are otherwise underserved that they can capitalise on.
  - throwaway049 11y ago
    Small nitpick - First Direct started out and remains a telephone bank. Their website and app are OK but their phone service is what distinguishes them. Disclosure: satisfied customer.
    - nly 11y ago
      I disagree, their app (slow) and online banking (design) are terrible ;). That said, I can't fault their customer service either.
  - neximo4 11y ago
    This is disingenuous, these aren't banks just UI. They won't have a single branch either, unlike these others (or their parents). Apart from Atom they're the only ones like this. Monese and FFREES aren't even banks by definition either. I've been following Mondo for ages the only true bank like it is Atom & Starling. Starling isn't exactly in the same category though. Someone made a graphic to show the differences. Not sure if I can find that.

kjjw 11y ago

If you're in the UK then the appeal is that they will be available in the UK.

manuelflara 11y ago

To people saying "UK" as a selling point, doesn't ING work in the UK as well? I'm not saying ING is the future of banking by all means, but they're pretty much (totally if you want) office-less.

nly 11y ago
Barclays bought out INGs UK operations.
Avalaxy 11y ago
Maybe just in the UK, in the Netherlands ING does have a lot of offices.

philefstat 11y ago

the founders and team are well-established and have a proven track record, and the product is fantastic. I haven't come across a product this good in a long time.

soared 11y ago
Kind of weird that this is your 2nd comment in almost two years.
- philefstat 11y ago
  yeah I don't comment / post much I mostly lurk.
- jo6gwb 11y ago
  Why is that weird?