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I used Monzo as my day-to-day bank for two months and have only stopped using it because I'm not in the UK and need to keep my money in local currency. It was a

I used Monzo as my day-to-day bank for two months and have only stopped using it because I'm not in the UK and need to keep my money in local currency. It was a terrific experience. Having an instant push notification when money enters or leaves my account, treating card purchase reservations instantly as unconfirmed transactions and not as nebulous inaccessible money, having transaction information presented in a human-friendly format, showing foreign currency transactions in the foreign currency, not charging currency exchange fees, being able to add notes to transactions… it's such a stark contrast to the mobile banking efforts of mainstream banks. By the way, if you're in the EU, bunq is a similar mobile challenger bank but based in the Netherlands and serving all of SEPA (if you're in the Eurozone you can use them as your main bank; I live in a non-Euro EU country so hold an account just for the hell of it). Disclaimer: I have multiple friends who work at Monzo.

nicoburns 8y ago
I have a Monzo acocunt, and one with Starling who are similar. They are both great. Rumours I hear from developers are that they can't get management to take security seriously though, which is a little worrying...
- davnicwil 8y ago
  That's worrying and also really surprising. If you have the time, would you mind giving more details either here or by email? (my email is in my profile) Disclaimer: I work for a cybersecurity startup. Also a Monzo customer.
- slavoingilizov 8y ago
  They are still better than the incumbent banks on security though. An example is how they both issued new cards to their customers affected by recent Ticketmaster data breaches, or British Airways hacks. After those events, they just contacted anyone who's shopped with the affected retailers and sent them new cards. I don't think this is an example of "not taking security seriously". No incumbent bank has done this, because it's expensive to issue new cards.
7ewis 8y ago
I've been using Monzo for a few years now and also have some friends there. I have to say the app is just amazing, none of the traditional banks even come close to what Monzo provide. There is nothing overly complex to it - but it just works. Shows you things you would expect a bank to be able to show you, for example the name of the shop where you made a purchase and it's location. Rather than some random name of a parent company. Sending money to friends has also become so easy now, I make Monzo to Monzo payments on a weekly basis it just works. I've heard they're great to work for too. Would be interested in working there myself one day.
- chii 8y ago
  > name of the shop where you made a purchase and it's location. i would hope that this data can be obfuscated or hidden if the end user desires it.
  - landryraccoon 8y ago
    Hidden from who though? The bank obviously needs to know the exact business because what if a dispute opens over the charge. And the end user presumably would like to check that they actually made the purchase so they will need to see the details.
    - yardstick 8y ago
      I’m guessing they were considering the possibility of a curious spouse/partner looking at your records. Which to me seems far, far less likely to happen with an app-based transaction history than a traditional paper statement posted out to you.
      - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
        If your spouse is checking your bank statements you're probably in an abusive relationship. Hiding things from them seems like a huge red flag in this respect, too (though I'll admit that perhaps gifts are a valid exception here).
apexalpha 8y ago
+1 for Bunq it's all you described for Euro countries.
Symbiote 8y ago
> bunq I live in a nearby non Euro country, and I'm thinking of closing my Halifax (traditional) bank account before Brexit. I kept the Halifax account for foreign spending and cash, as the Mastercard has no fees for this. The bank account is free, typical in the UK for personal accounts. Bunq looks to charge €8/month, is that right? I don't think I'd get that much value from it, and going from £0/year to €96/year for my secondary account isn't great.
zkms 8y ago
> By the way, if you're in the EU, bunq is a similar mobile challenger bank but based in the Netherlands and serving all of SEPA (if you're in the Eurozone you can use them as your main bank; I live in a non-Euro EU country so hold an account just for the hell of it). is there a similar option for people who have citizenship of an EU country but are not physically present in EU?
- wprapido 8y ago
  Unfortunately, no. Banking is tied to residence, not citizenship.
  - gambiting 8y ago
    Pretty much every country has at least some options for opening a bank account for non-residents. TSB has an account for EU, non-UK residents for instance, that gives you a normal UK checking account with a visa card: https://www.tsb.co.uk/current-accounts/faqs/opening-a-current-account-non-uk-eu-residents/ https://www.tsb.co.uk/current-accounts/faqs/opening-a-curren...
    - wprapido 8y ago
      Yup, but you have to be elsewhere in the EU. You can have a non-resident bank account pretty much anywhere, but you either have to visit the bank's branch office, or be trusted in any other way (residing in a jurisdiction that's trusted, or be a bank's customer elsewhere)
  - akvadrako 8y ago
    It's also tied to citizenship. As an US citizen, I'm not allowed to use bunq (or many other banks) even though I live in The Netherlands.
    - wprapido 8y ago
      The US is an exception
    - 8y ago
tatoalo 8y ago
>By the way, if you're in the EU, bunq is a similar mobile challenger bank but based in the Netherlands and serving all of SEPA (if you're in the Eurozone you can use them as your main bank; I live in a non-Euro EU country so hold an account just for the hell of it). I've considered bunq but couldn't really make sense out of their monthly fee (at least for me) once compared to N26. At the moment I've got them as my main bank account and Revolut for exchanging money quickly with friends and family.
- jjevanoorschot 8y ago
  What was confusing about their monthly fee? I used to work for bunq so I can pass on the feedback.
  - tatoalo 8y ago
    Nothing was "confusing", but, again, IMHO the features provided don't really make sense under a monthly fee. They could have easily created a free basic account with those exacts same things and offer a pro upgrade for the "25 accounts" and related IBANs + joint accounts.
  - seszett 8y ago
    At first glance to me at least, it's not clear if there's actually only a "business" and a "premium" plans? Does that mean that for individuals there's only a "premium" plan but not standard plan? So premium (with 25 accounts and three cards!) is actually the standard plan?
    - tatoalo 8y ago
      There's a "standard" free plan but it's enabled once, after the first month trial, you decide not to pay a monthly fee. Once downgraded: - All your cards will be deactivated. They will be reactivated if you decide to go back to Premium. - All features exclusive to bunq Premium (such as Apple Pay and Android Tap & Pay) will be blocked. - You won't be able to open new bunq bank accounts as long as you are using bunq Free. - Your API keys will be deactivated. - You will still have access to all your bunq bank accounts and will be able to send, receive and request money normally. So it's not really a common "standard" plan if you ask me.
dmos62 8y ago
Is anyone aware of Revolut-ish online Maestro card providers? I'm in a European country where most small merchants only accept Maestro. Edit: oh, apparently bunq does.
- thesimon 8y ago
  Revolut offers Maestro cards.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- lagadu 8y ago
  I'm guessing... Austria? They only accept specifically Maestro and not Mastercard? N26 by default gives you a Mastercard but they also offer a Maestro if requested[0] [0] https://support.n26.com/read/000001452?locale=en https://support.n26.com/read/000001452?locale=en
polskibus 8y ago
Maybe for UK these features are amazing, but in Poland most banks have been providing users with similarly featured apps for several years now. Revolut is a bit different though, because it offers a fresh angle at multi currency support.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  What bank? Between IdeaBank, BZWBK (now Santander) and Millenium Bank, all the applications were mediocre to (in case of Millenium for Business) utter crap.
  - polskibus 8y ago
    Not sure when did you try them last time, mBank's the leader, many of them where revamped in the last 2 years.
    - mamon 8y ago
      Yes, the best ones are mBank and PKO BP, the latter recently winning the award for the best banking mobile app in the world.
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      The three I mentioned I use at the moment, and my opinion is current as of 2018-09-25. mBank... I do have an account, though I never bothered to install an app for it.
Angostura 8y ago
Your comment provides more information about the tangible convenient benefits of using Monzo than their website does. They really need to get someone to give that site an overhaul, concentrating on on what they do better than conventional banks.
mdrzn 8y ago
bunq looks amazing, and have all the features I would love in a bank, but 8€/month doesn't seems right. Going from 0€/year to 96€/year for APIs & notifications is not worthy. If they ever get a free or cheaper plan (like €1/month for 1 card and 1 iban) I'd jump on it without thinking twice.

nicoburns 8y ago

I have a Monzo acocunt, and one with Starling who are similar. They are both great. Rumours I hear from developers are that they can't get management to take security seriously though, which is a little worrying...

davnicwil 8y ago
That's worrying and also really surprising. If you have the time, would you mind giving more details either here or by email? (my email is in my profile) Disclaimer: I work for a cybersecurity startup. Also a Monzo customer.
slavoingilizov 8y ago
They are still better than the incumbent banks on security though. An example is how they both issued new cards to their customers affected by recent Ticketmaster data breaches, or British Airways hacks. After those events, they just contacted anyone who's shopped with the affected retailers and sent them new cards. I don't think this is an example of "not taking security seriously". No incumbent bank has done this, because it's expensive to issue new cards.

7ewis 8y ago

I've been using Monzo for a few years now and also have some friends there. I have to say the app is just amazing, none of the traditional banks even come close to what Monzo provide. There is nothing overly complex to it - but it just works. Shows you things you would expect a bank to be able to show you, for example the name of the shop where you made a purchase and it's location. Rather than some random name of a parent company. Sending money to friends has also become so easy now, I make Monzo to Monzo payments on a weekly basis it just works. I've heard they're great to work for too. Would be interested in working there myself one day.

chii 8y ago
> name of the shop where you made a purchase and it's location. i would hope that this data can be obfuscated or hidden if the end user desires it.
- landryraccoon 8y ago
  Hidden from who though? The bank obviously needs to know the exact business because what if a dispute opens over the charge. And the end user presumably would like to check that they actually made the purchase so they will need to see the details.
  - yardstick 8y ago
    I’m guessing they were considering the possibility of a curious spouse/partner looking at your records. Which to me seems far, far less likely to happen with an app-based transaction history than a traditional paper statement posted out to you.
    - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
      If your spouse is checking your bank statements you're probably in an abusive relationship. Hiding things from them seems like a huge red flag in this respect, too (though I'll admit that perhaps gifts are a valid exception here).

apexalpha 8y ago

+1 for Bunq it's all you described for Euro countries.

Symbiote 8y ago

> bunq I live in a nearby non Euro country, and I'm thinking of closing my Halifax (traditional) bank account before Brexit. I kept the Halifax account for foreign spending and cash, as the Mastercard has no fees for this. The bank account is free, typical in the UK for personal accounts. Bunq looks to charge €8/month, is that right? I don't think I'd get that much value from it, and going from £0/year to €96/year for my secondary account isn't great.

zkms 8y ago

> By the way, if you're in the EU, bunq is a similar mobile challenger bank but based in the Netherlands and serving all of SEPA (if you're in the Eurozone you can use them as your main bank; I live in a non-Euro EU country so hold an account just for the hell of it). is there a similar option for people who have citizenship of an EU country but are not physically present in EU?

wprapido 8y ago
Unfortunately, no. Banking is tied to residence, not citizenship.
- gambiting 8y ago
  Pretty much every country has at least some options for opening a bank account for non-residents. TSB has an account for EU, non-UK residents for instance, that gives you a normal UK checking account with a visa card: https://www.tsb.co.uk/current-accounts/faqs/opening-a-current-account-non-uk-eu-residents/ https://www.tsb.co.uk/current-accounts/faqs/opening-a-curren...
  - wprapido 8y ago
    Yup, but you have to be elsewhere in the EU. You can have a non-resident bank account pretty much anywhere, but you either have to visit the bank's branch office, or be trusted in any other way (residing in a jurisdiction that's trusted, or be a bank's customer elsewhere)
- akvadrako 8y ago
  It's also tied to citizenship. As an US citizen, I'm not allowed to use bunq (or many other banks) even though I live in The Netherlands.
  - wprapido 8y ago
    The US is an exception
  - 8y ago

tatoalo 8y ago

>By the way, if you're in the EU, bunq is a similar mobile challenger bank but based in the Netherlands and serving all of SEPA (if you're in the Eurozone you can use them as your main bank; I live in a non-Euro EU country so hold an account just for the hell of it). I've considered bunq but couldn't really make sense out of their monthly fee (at least for me) once compared to N26. At the moment I've got them as my main bank account and Revolut for exchanging money quickly with friends and family.

jjevanoorschot 8y ago
What was confusing about their monthly fee? I used to work for bunq so I can pass on the feedback.
- tatoalo 8y ago
  Nothing was "confusing", but, again, IMHO the features provided don't really make sense under a monthly fee. They could have easily created a free basic account with those exacts same things and offer a pro upgrade for the "25 accounts" and related IBANs + joint accounts.
- seszett 8y ago
  At first glance to me at least, it's not clear if there's actually only a "business" and a "premium" plans? Does that mean that for individuals there's only a "premium" plan but not standard plan? So premium (with 25 accounts and three cards!) is actually the standard plan?
  - tatoalo 8y ago
    There's a "standard" free plan but it's enabled once, after the first month trial, you decide not to pay a monthly fee. Once downgraded: - All your cards will be deactivated. They will be reactivated if you decide to go back to Premium. - All features exclusive to bunq Premium (such as Apple Pay and Android Tap & Pay) will be blocked. - You won't be able to open new bunq bank accounts as long as you are using bunq Free. - Your API keys will be deactivated. - You will still have access to all your bunq bank accounts and will be able to send, receive and request money normally. So it's not really a common "standard" plan if you ask me.

dmos62 8y ago

Is anyone aware of Revolut-ish online Maestro card providers? I'm in a European country where most small merchants only accept Maestro. Edit: oh, apparently bunq does.

thesimon 8y ago
Revolut offers Maestro cards.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
lagadu 8y ago
I'm guessing... Austria? They only accept specifically Maestro and not Mastercard? N26 by default gives you a Mastercard but they also offer a Maestro if requested[0] [0] https://support.n26.com/read/000001452?locale=en https://support.n26.com/read/000001452?locale=en

polskibus 8y ago

Maybe for UK these features are amazing, but in Poland most banks have been providing users with similarly featured apps for several years now. Revolut is a bit different though, because it offers a fresh angle at multi currency support.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
What bank? Between IdeaBank, BZWBK (now Santander) and Millenium Bank, all the applications were mediocre to (in case of Millenium for Business) utter crap.
- polskibus 8y ago
  Not sure when did you try them last time, mBank's the leader, many of them where revamped in the last 2 years.
  - mamon 8y ago
    Yes, the best ones are mBank and PKO BP, the latter recently winning the award for the best banking mobile app in the world.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    The three I mentioned I use at the moment, and my opinion is current as of 2018-09-25. mBank... I do have an account, though I never bothered to install an app for it.

Angostura 8y ago

Your comment provides more information about the tangible convenient benefits of using Monzo than their website does. They really need to get someone to give that site an overhaul, concentrating on on what they do better than conventional banks.

mdrzn 8y ago

bunq looks amazing, and have all the features I would love in a bank, but 8€/month doesn't seems right. Going from 0€/year to 96€/year for APIs & notifications is not worthy. If they ever get a free or cheaper plan (like €1/month for 1 card and 1 iban) I'd jump on it without thinking twice.