Monzo, Starling, pockit

Punmanuk

I have accounts with Lloyd's and NatWest. Out out of curiosity I opened monzo and Starling today..
How safe are they? I was reading reviews where they randomly close account and don't refund your money etc..even more complaints about pockit.
Is it true..
I have opened them out of curiosity..but after reading the reviews..it's a bit of a put off..
Any help would be nice..

ValiantSon

I shouldn't worry about them closing your account and not repaying the money you have with them. Doing so would be theft. They are both regulated by the FCA, so this isn't an issue. I suspect that what some of these people might be complaining about is that their accounts were frozen due to suspected fraud. As long as you don't do anything particularly suspicious, then it is unlikely to happen to you.

I wouldn't, however, be so quick to open bank accounts simply out of curiosity. Firstly, every application is recorded on your credit file, and can increase the chance of you being rejected for credit applications, such as mortgages or for credit cards. Secondly, you potentially put yourself out of the running for any switch incentives that bank may choose to offer in the future. While switch incentives have not been forthcoming from the new challenger banks, we don't know that they won't be in the future.

I'd suggest only opening an account with a bank because you have a particular and specific reason for it, for example Starling's fee-free overseas cash withdrawals, or to access a linked regular saver, such as with Nationwide.

Punmanuk

Once in a while i do small bets like on bet365..would that be ok?

Punmanuk

Yeha I was reading the reviews on trust pilot

Anthorn

Punmanuk wrote: »

I have accounts with Lloyd's and NatWest. Out out of curiosity I opened monzo and Starling today..
How safe are they? I was reading reviews where they randomly close account and don't refund your money etc..even more complaints about pockit.
Is it true..
I have opened them out of curiosity..but after reading the reviews..it's a bit of a put off..
Any help would be nice..

Not really a alike for like comparison: Very briefly Starling Bankwas started out as a bank and was the first of the new app-based banks to get FSCS protection and it's app was built from the ground up. Monzo started out as a pre-paid card and then gradually transformed itself. Monzo's app is therefore a legacy system which has been adapted to cope with the new features of a bank. Pockit is a pre-paid card, period.

I have both Starling Bank as my main bank account and I have Pockit for ring-fencing. In fact I've had pockit since its early days. I have never had any problem at all with either of them.

I suppose you make your choice and hope for the best.

ValiantSon

Punmanuk wrote: »

Once in a while i do small bets like on bet365..would that be ok?

That should be fine.

Anthorn

Punmanuk wrote: »

Once in a while i do small bets like on bet365..would that be ok?

Depends on the bank or card and how often you do it. Take your lead from credit card issuers: Often when a credit card is used at a known gambling site the money spent is a cash advance and not a purchase. It could happen that you breach some unwritten rule when you use a bank debit card for gambling which will become apparent for example if you apply for an overdraft facility: No-one likes to loan money to a gambler.

If you're as paranoid as I am about the possibility of gambling being included in your financial profile you might like to consider a pre-paid card which can be topped up with something other than a debit card or bank transfer so it's not linked with your bank account. I like Neteller Net+ which can be topped up with for example paysafecard from paypoint shops and WH Smith but there are several possibilities which may be cheaper or even free. Topping up with Paysafecard carries a double fee depending on the retailer and Neteller for the paysafecard and for topping up with it.
https://www.neteller.com/en
https://www.paysafecard.com/en-gb/

DCFC79

Punmanuk wrote: »

I have accounts with Lloyd's and NatWest. Out out of curiosity I opened monzo and Starling today..
How safe are they? I was reading reviews where they randomly close account and don't refund your money etc..even more complaints about pockit.
Is it true..
I have opened them out of curiosity..but after reading the reviews..it's a bit of a put off..
Any help would be nice..

They can just keep your money if they close the account. Ive got both Monzo and Statling, theres the Monzo community you can ask for help.

ValiantSon

DCFC79 wrote: »

They can just keep your money if they close the account. Ive got both Monzo and Statling, theres the Monzo community you can ask for help.

I think you meant the reverse of this!

T-G-C

ValiantSon wrote: »

I shouldn't worry about them closing your account and not repaying the money you have with them. Doing so would be theft. They are both regulated by the FCA, so this isn't an issue. I suspect that what some of these people might be complaining about is that their accounts were frozen due to suspected fraud. As long as you don't do anything particularly suspicious, then it is unlikely to happen to you.

I wouldn't, however, be so quick to open bank accounts simply out of curiosity. Firstly, every application is recorded on your credit file, and can increase the chance of you being rejected for credit applications, such as mortgages or for credit cards. Secondly, you potentially put yourself out of the running for any switch incentives that bank may choose to offer in the future. While switch incentives have not been forthcoming from the new challenger banks, we don't know that they won't be in the future.

I'd suggest only opening an account with a bank because you have a particular and specific reason for it, for example Starling's fee-free overseas cash withdrawals, or to access a linked regular saver, such as with Nationwide.

The bit about hard searches is a 50/50 catchment. Mainstream banks like Haliax etc. will run a hard credit check, but Monzo doesn't run more than a soft check to validate your identity.

I think Monzo run a hard search upon a request for an overdraft in the app, but this would be at the customer's own discretion whether to run a hard search or not.

I agree with not opening too many banks and exhausting any exclusive offers you may be entitled to as a new customer in the future.

ValiantSon

T-G-C wrote: »

The bit about hard searches is a 50/50 catchment. Mainstream banks like Haliax etc. will run a hard credit check, but Monzo doesn't run more than a soft check to validate your identity.

I think Monzo run a hard search upon a request for an overdraft in the app, but this would be at the customer's own discretion whether to run a hard search or not.

I agree with not opening too many banks and exhausting any exclusive offers you may be entitled to as a new customer in the future.

Most banks perform a hard credit search when you apply for a current account because current accounts come with a credit facility, even if you don't ask for an arranged overdraft.