"Built for your smartphone, this is banking like never before. One that updates your balance instantly, gives intelligent notifications, and is easy to use."
In its own words Monzo says it's: "focused on building the best current account in the world and ultimately working with a range of other providers so that Monzo can be an intelligent hub for your entire financial life."
The app will instantly update your balance, provide handy notifications and display a neat visual way of seeing where you spend your money. You can also use the app to freeze the card if it's lost or stolen. The card won't be blocked if you go abroad, plus there are no fees or charges when using the Monzo card outside the UK.
I've been using it for a couple of days now and it's brilliant so I thought I'd spread the word!
EDIT: Yes there are similar cards for spending money abroad with no fees, but the emphasis with this is the features when using it within the UK.
It's clearly been stated that they will only have the protection when the FCA are happy with them complying with everything else. Not a risk I'm taking.
robot1000
11 Oct 16#46
does it allow you to top up with a credit card?
hugh1988 to robot1000
11 Oct 16#47
No, debit card only, because credit card payments can be reversed.
woldranger
11 Oct 16#45
You could always try the address of the hotel your staying in, just minus its name. Then when the card comes, change the mailing ady to your friends. The initial card is for up to 30 days
artnada
8 Oct 16#28
Cold! Ridiculously requires you to "invite" people to "bump up the queue"....I've 13,186 people in front of me. :confused:
flintstone to artnada
9 Oct 16#36
I've 10,465 in front of me and this hasn't changed from the day I set it up which would've been Friday. going to be interested in how much I move over the next week
vijaymakvana7 to artnada
11 Oct 16#44
if it helps I had about 15000 ahead of me. didn't send any invites and got to the top of the list I a week. topped up the £100 and withdrew it from an atm when the card came in
panddda
10 Oct 16#43
Thanks, useful info! We've got friends in Wisconsin who would possibly be prepared to 'host' a bank account, I might look further into that when we're in Florida in a few weeks. Crazy that there are no credit checks or proof of address requirements!
gl0ckage
7 Oct 16#17
I was waiting for this to go live when the name was mondo. They don't have proper protection like a bank nor will they when the FCA let them.
For a bank go with monese and for a prepaid travel card go with revolut.
I love revolut. Much better than this.
oliverkennedy10 to gl0ckage
10 Oct 16#42
Yes they will you mappet
oliverkennedy10
10 Oct 16#41
I have monzo it's pretty good don't be worried about the 100 pounds, looks cooler then revoult ergo better features are coming also :smiley:
woldranger
10 Oct 161#40
In reply to both of you...
They needed my passport and drivers licence, then an address in the states. I just gave my mates. You're all done in under an hour with a temporary card and a working account. The full card gets sent to the address you listed. Just be sure to have that 1500usd in there or it'll cost you 12usd a month
panddda
10 Oct 16#39
Do you need to have a residence in the USA for Bank of America? We travel to the US often and it would be handy to have an account there but no address - when I look on their website it asks which state I'm in. Is there a specific account for international customers? Thanks!
woldranger
10 Oct 16#38
Nope, maybe HSBC if they'll let yo open a US account. Personally someone told me I could open a Bank Of America account and it's been really handy. Free if you keep $1500 in it and you can even close it down online back in the UK. That was the closest thing I could find
zaphod
7 Oct 16#19
I used Revolutionary on holiday last year. It was great, really quick response to any queries and quickly sorted out an issue I had with my card. Easy to top up and you get the best rate possible on currency conversions. Highly recommended.
eset12345 to zaphod
9 Oct 16#37
except when they block your card and access to funds and wont release them until you threaten court action, bunch of jokers.
CubicZirconia
9 Oct 16#35
Looks very similar to Revolut, which i already have setup and happy with
kkrush
8 Oct 161#34
Monzo is the most beloved child of British FinTech industry. It's veeeeery different than other 'challenger banks' you see anywhere in the UK, as those are pretty much different front-ends (apps, or websites) for the same ancient banks.
That also means Monzo is pretty much still in Beta. So use with care. But the focus on user experience, and their transparency is better than any other thing out there.
Never heard of Revolut, but it looks similar yeah. Not sure about Revolut but Monzo is an actual bank, so they will be able to offer full banking services and current accounts at some point.
panddda to cameronswift
8 Oct 16#33
I've been using Monzo (Mondo) for a few months (iOS) as we travel abroad a fair bit.
Loving it.
No foreign exchange fees, and no charge to withdraw cash from ATMs, so rather than travel money before we go and getting a cruddy rate, I just go to the first ATM at the airport on arrival now and draw out however much I want.
The app works brilliantly on the iphone, I guess they'll have tested the android version well but there will undoubtedly be a few bugs at first. It's really useful - before I've even been told to remove my card, my phone has already pinged to tell me how much I've just spent.
I'll definitely be getting a full current account from them next year when they start offering them.
lawsonoswal
8 Oct 16#32
Transferwise.
adi0604
8 Oct 16#31
How is TransferWise better than revoult? as it does not charge any fees..
omgpleasespamme
8 Oct 16#30
If you can wait till spring 2017 before transferring then you'll probably be able to put a deposit down on a house with the money from selling your car.
amour3k
8 Oct 16#29
Is this Money App safe?. :-)
lg1991
8 Oct 161#27
Monzo is more UK focused then Revolut, although both were crowdfunded.
The £100 preload is to ensure that if they issue a card, which obviously costs money, it is used, there is nothing stopping you topping up, then once the card comes immediately withdrawing the £100 at an ATM.
woldranger
8 Oct 16#26
I'll have a look into that - I think I read about that a while ago
MrBeansDrivingInstructor
8 Oct 16#24
How people change! This was voted cold when it was posted last month. Bizarre!
hugh1988 to MrBeansDrivingInstructor
8 Oct 161#25
There wasn't a working Android app then. Also, putting 'no fees abroad' in the title may have helped!
I might have to look into one of the revolut cards. I'm currently travelling in the US and at the end of my trip, when we sell our car we're gonna be stuck with a few thousand US dollars - I don't want to mess around having the money "wired" to my UK bank account from some random, and I don't want to lose loads in fees and exchange rates/loading. I wonder if one of these cards is the answer?
leypb
7 Oct 16#15
Can you deposit £100 then transfer?
hugh1988 to leypb
7 Oct 16#21
Not currently, but you can just withdraw it from an ATM.
QuickProfits
7 Oct 16#20
"defrost it when you find it"
OK.
sisqoboy2
7 Oct 161#18
I use revolut and they are great!
you can send money to a bank account. the receiver does not have to have a revolut card. and they do with no fees also the exchange rate is brilliant
Yoofaloof
7 Oct 16#16
Don't see the point of instant notifications of spend. How does that make your spend any less and budget?
tek-monkey
7 Oct 161#6
I used revolut earlier this year, they give interbank exchange rate and no fees while abroad. This looks similar, but with a focus on spend tracking rather than currency conversion?
adi0604 to tek-monkey
7 Oct 16#14
Can you help how Revolut works for sending money abroad? Do recipient has to have Revolut or can we transfer money to their bank account?
adi0604
7 Oct 161#13
Stick with Supercard, thanks!
Whatamuppet
7 Oct 16#12
From their Blog, use with care.
Until we get our restrictions lifted in early 2017, we’re live with limited-edition Alpha and Beta cards (Monzo MasterCard® Prepaid Debit cards). These cards can be topped up and used at cash machines, in-store, online and at contactless terminals. They will allow us to test features with real users like you and iron out early bugs. We’ve written in more detail about what that means in practice in our blog post.
K0YS
7 Oct 161#11
Was this once paid for?
workhard65
7 Oct 161#10
Revolut is far better than Monzo
gl0ckage
7 Oct 161#9
£100 deposit isn't it? No thanks. Not for me I'll stick to revolut
seaniboy
7 Oct 16#8
Cant have my card right now unless I give 3 friends emails LOL
GAVINLEWISHUKD
7 Oct 16#7
Looks interesting (I remember the crowd sourcing) but not compatible with my phone (I'm guessing because it's rooted). Might have a closer look with my tablet and come back to it when I get a new phone and restrictions lifted.
ScarboroughKID
7 Oct 16#4
Been looking at this for a while so interested to hear people's thoughts
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
In its own words Monzo says it's: "focused on building the best current account in the world and ultimately working with a range of other providers so that Monzo can be an intelligent hub for your entire financial life."
The app will instantly update your balance, provide handy notifications and display a neat visual way of seeing where you spend your money. You can also use the app to freeze the card if it's lost or stolen. The card won't be blocked if you go abroad, plus there are no fees or charges when using the Monzo card outside the UK.
I've been using it for a couple of days now and it's brilliant so I thought I'd spread the word!
EDIT: Yes there are similar cards for spending money abroad with no fees, but the emphasis with this is the features when using it within the UK.
Available on iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/monzo/id1052238659
and Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.uk.getmondo (don't worry about the negative reviews, these were for a previous version of the app)
Latest comments (48)
For a bank go with monese and for a prepaid travel card go with revolut.
I love revolut. Much better than this.
They needed my passport and drivers licence, then an address in the states. I just gave my mates. You're all done in under an hour with a temporary card and a working account. The full card gets sent to the address you listed. Just be sure to have that 1500usd in there or it'll cost you 12usd a month
That also means Monzo is pretty much still in Beta. So use with care. But the focus on user experience, and their transparency is better than any other thing out there.
Their product road map is publicly available here. https://trello.com/b/9tcaMB4w/monzo-transparent-product-roadmap
Loving it.
No foreign exchange fees, and no charge to withdraw cash from ATMs, so rather than travel money before we go and getting a cruddy rate, I just go to the first ATM at the airport on arrival now and draw out however much I want.
The app works brilliantly on the iphone, I guess they'll have tested the android version well but there will undoubtedly be a few bugs at first. It's really useful - before I've even been told to remove my card, my phone has already pinged to tell me how much I've just spent.
I'll definitely be getting a full current account from them next year when they start offering them.
The £100 preload is to ensure that if they issue a card, which obviously costs money, it is used, there is nothing stopping you topping up, then once the card comes immediately withdrawing the £100 at an ATM.
OK.
you can send money to a bank account. the receiver does not have to have a revolut card. and they do with no fees also the exchange rate is brilliant
Until we get our restrictions lifted in early 2017, we’re live with limited-edition Alpha and Beta cards (Monzo MasterCard® Prepaid Debit cards). These cards can be topped up and used at cash machines, in-store, online and at contactless terminals. They will allow us to test features with real users like you and iron out early bugs. We’ve written in more detail about what that means in practice in our blog post.