Monzo card

ceewash

Just waiting the arrival of my Monzo card. I've read all about it and it seems the best thing out there for foreign currency. Anyone used it? Are there any pitfalls with it? I want to use it to pay for meals, shopping in USA.

WAYT

It's no better than Starling Bank and may turn out to be slightly worse, as they are considering making a charge for ATM withdrawals outside the SEPA.
Though for purchases, it's fine.
So not quite "the best thing out there", but certainly good enough for what you need to do. Though personally I prefer a CC that offers the same and more; such as the Halifax Clarity or the Creation Everyday or the Santander Zero etc

Stew68

ceewash wrote: »

Just waiting the arrival of my Monzo card. I've read all about it and it seems the best thing out there for foreign currency. Anyone used it? Are there any pitfalls with it? I want to use it to pay for meals, shopping in USA.

I used mine back in May in the USA for the same things you want to use it for and didn't have any issues with it (apart from the comments that it was a bit bright!).

Link it to your phone and the transactions come up immediately, you have to wait for the exchange rate to be confirmed a couple of days later before you get an exact figure but it won't change by much.

Only heads up I would give you is that if they take the card in a restaurant and swipe it then you add the tip to the bill when it comes back then it can cause some confusion as the original transaction gets refunded and the new one put on but sometimes they're both showing as being paid. When I discovered that I just started paying the tip in cash so it saved the hassle.

Hope that helps.

Neil49

Just be aware that for security reasons the magnetic stripe is deactivated as a default. If you need to use it then you can activate it via your phone app for 24 hours at a time.

Atm usage is restricted both in terms of number of times and total amount per month but that won't be a problem if you just use it for purchases.

Your name doesn't appear on the card and there's no signature strip but I've never seen anyone in the USA actually check the signature when I've used a card out there.

I've used mine quite a lot abroad (and a lot in the UK) and find it really useful.

eDicky

At some point towards the end of this year the Monzo Current Account will be offered to all and the prepaid card will be discontinued, no doubt we will be informed of the choices.