Monzo are great. For those who are interesting they built most of their backend in Go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRNwLjKeVRE
Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
91–100 of 176 posts
Re: Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
Revolut offers lower ATM fees, lower foreign exchange fees, disposable virtual cards for online payments, and up to 1% cashback on all card payments.
The point I was making is that none of those things are very interesting to me – I use a credit card when travelling, don't travel enough for banking to be a constraint, and don't need virtual cards. Also, note that there are already zero ATM fees in the UK, Monzo does £200 of fee-free foreign withdrawals/month in line with the Revolut free account, and cashback is only 1% outside of Europe, if you are paying for the…
> Also, note that there are already zero ATM fees in the UK
That makes a big difference, and it's not the case in continental Europe. Monzo then seems to be optimized for a single market and a single type of user (who doesn't travel much). I totally understand your case now.
> and don't need virtual cards
Are you using the same physical debit / credit card for all online payments? I don't see how disposable virtual cards is not the best solution for private and secure online transactions at the moment.
Re: Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is where they actually bring value right? - Delivering a good banking product outside of the UK. Because as a UK customer I see no reason to switch after trying Monzo for a couple of months. Positives: - a nicer mobile banking app Negatives: - no credit cards and no option to top up using a credit card from another bank - no physical branches Everything else is comparable to most other banks in the UK. Which isn…
For me the killer feature is foreign currency transactions with no fees at the MasterCard exchange rate, both online and abroad. My "traditional" bank charges me a flat fee and a percentage for any transactions in other currencies.
I don't know what the MasterCard exchange rate is. However, someone recently told me regarding their credit card: "they give me the wholesale exchange rate, which is great". It turned out not to be so great (~1% wide market). It's good not to pay an additional fee/spread on top, but it can still be a poor deal overall.
Re: Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
#94The UK bank space could do with some fresh players. Currently I'm looking for a new bank for my business, because: 1) I need to have foreign currency accounts. My bank has them, but I'm unable to see the accounts when I log in. They've known about this for 4 months now, and I keep getting sent in circles by the Indian call centre. They've sent me to branch twice, with no coordination, the people in the branch can't h…
I use TransferWise and they seem to me to be a real bank account. People use my name and the local bank details for the country you choose. (I've used UK, Ausi and NZ accounts). I'm not sure they do company accounts though.
Re: Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
#95The UK bank space could do with some fresh players. Currently I'm looking for a new bank for my business, because: 1) I need to have foreign currency accounts. My bank has them, but I'm unable to see the accounts when I log in. They've known about this for 4 months now, and I keep getting sent in circles by the Indian call centre. They've sent me to branch twice, with no coordination, the people in the branch can't h…
You mention TrasnferWise Borderless, but have you seen their Business account? https://transferwise.com/gb/business/
Re: Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is where they actually bring value right? - Delivering a good banking product outside of the UK. Because as a UK customer I see no reason to switch after trying Monzo for a couple of months. Positives: - a nicer mobile banking app Negatives: - no credit cards and no option to top up using a credit card from another bank - no physical branches Everything else is comparable to most other banks in the UK. Which isn…
For me the killer feature is foreign currency transactions with no fees at the MasterCard exchange rate, both online and abroad. My "traditional" bank charges me a flat fee and a percentage for any transactions in other currencies.
The Halifax Clarity card does this, and they have highstreet branches.
Re: Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
> no option to top up using a credit card from another bank Can you top up your HSBC account with a credit card from another bank? A Monzo account is just another bank account. > no physical branches Is this really a con? Last time I visited a branch (Nationwide), I was told to just go online and fill in the forms. Monzo let you deposit cash and cheques at the post office - my post office has better opening hours, sh…
Can you get emergency cash from the Post Office though? Cause I got mugged recently and was able to walk into HSBC and get money out while I waited for a replacement card. I fear if I closed that account and went all-in on Monzo I'd be locked out.
That's a very good point and one I hadn't considered. In this day and age in the UK I'd consider it irresponsible to only have one bank account. The TSB outage is a prime example of what can go wrong and leave you stuck. For me, I keep roughly a months worth of expenses in a high street bank with a card in the drawer, but touch wood I've never had to use it so I don't know how well it works. Before I used Starling (I actually don't use Monzo - but they're comparable for all intents and purposes) I had two bank accounts with different networks and did the same thing there, FWIW.
Re: Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
Revolut offers lower ATM fees, lower foreign exchange fees, disposable virtual cards for online payments, and up to 1% cashback on all card payments.
The point I was making is that none of those things are very interesting to me – I use a credit card when travelling, don't travel enough for banking to be a constraint, and don't need virtual cards. Also, note that there are already zero ATM fees in the UK, Monzo does £200 of fee-free foreign withdrawals/month in line with the Revolut free account, and cashback is only 1% outside of Europe, if you are paying for the…
Not everybody wants a credit card, or is able to have one. Revolut et al provide many of the features of a credit card without having to borrow money and pay it back.
Re: Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's also a fair point - the idea of a bank account has been muddied. Monzo had "pots" which all gain interest, and they come from the same account. I'm not aware of any other bank accounts that offer embedded savings accounts. I do think that comparing a bank account to a prepaid card is a little too much of a stretch thoigh.
Revolut isn't just a prepaid card. What they offer is very similar to Monzo, even if they started out differently. That's why they're competing with each other and it's fair to compare them.
I have to say, I'm actually a little muddied on what revolut is. They claim to be a current account, except they're not fscs protected, but they do have some interesting parallels and additions to a current account.
Re: Y Combinator invests in Monzo through its Continuity Fund
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right, but every other bank offers overdrafts and still don't make much money from current accounts. Additionally new regulations are coming in (in the UK) banning you from charging a daily overdraft charge [1], torpedoing it's one source of income, which doesn't jive with it's doubling in value in less than a year. [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48553193
That bans fixed fees - (e.g. you get charged £1 a day when in overdraft) Monzo has never had fixed overdraft fees, and can still charge a daily % interest rate as usual Overdraft fees are also not their "one source of income"
Here's the link to the FCA press release: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-confirms-bigg...
> Stopping banks and building societies from charging higher prices for unarranged overdrafts than for arranged overdrafts.
> Banning fixed fees for borrowing through an overdraft – calling an end to fixed daily or monthly charges, and fees for having an overdraft facility.
> Requiring banks and building societies to price overdrafts by a simple annual interest rate.