Mobile Challenger Banks

colsten

Takmon wrote: »

Starling then categorises my spending automatically if i want to look at that information.

How does Starling categorise your spending in non-Starling accounts? [rhetorical Q]

Even the specialist Account Aggregator apps haven't worked out how to reliably, and comprehensively, categorise and analyse all spending across multiple accounts

System

Takmon wrote: »

But if you have all your money in one account then you are effectively losing money by not getting any cashback on your bills.

My main current account is with the Co-operative Bank and I get £5.50 a month as an 'Everyday Reward'. I'm happy with that - it's more than I'd get in an interest paying current account given the average amount I keep in it and probably more than I'd receive net in an account which pays cashback on bills. I know I could have both but I'm really not into transferring money around to 'earn' a few pounds more. I got something like £145 for switching to the co-op and £5.50 a month so that's more than enough for me. I will only bank with an ethical bank anyway and the co-op fits that mould and is rated highly with the Ethical Consumer magazine, even after the recent hedge-fund debacle.

System

Takmon wrote: »

Personally i have my wages paid into an account and the from this account standing orders pay a fixed amount to my bills account which covers all my bills. So that means i know that all my bills are covered.
I then have standing orders which pay into my various savings accounts. I also have another weekly standing order which pays into Starling which is how much i want to spend each week.
I find this system works really well and i would say it's far easier than messing around entering every transaction into an App.

It sounds like you have a lot more money to play with than I do. I'm retired and on a pension and my savings amounts to a grand total of £700. Believe it or not I enjoy messing around entering every transaction into an app. My margins are too tight to do anything else.

anotheruser

djpailo wrote: »

But you don't need to "change", which I assme (sic) you mean "switch". You can operate as many current accounts as you want.

Switch... change... potato potarto... seriously, what else would I have meant?

I don't see the point in having 10 current accounts.

I have 6 accounts, which is plenty for my financial arrangements
Current Account
Joint Account
Credit card
Savings 1
Savings 2
First ever bank account (only has £1 in it)


I did the circle of money for a few years but when Halifax dropped their Reward rate and I moved away from Santander, it became difficult to source another account I could create direct debits on.

jonnygee2

The other issue is that not all transactions are 'online', ie. made in a store with live access to the internet or through an internet store.

But, as I said before, this is only a tiny amount of transactions. Specifically, on short haul flights and toll booths. Most people could go several years without making a transaction that authorises offline, I have had Monzo for two years as my main account and have not made a single offline transaction in that time.

System

jonnygee2 wrote: »

But, as I said before, this is only a tiny amount of transactions. Specifically, on short haul flights and toll booths. Most people could go several years without making a transaction that authorises offline, I have had Monzo for two years as my main account and have not made a single offline transaction in that time.

I regularly buy petrol from a pay at pump station and that shows up as £1 - not the actual amount I spend. If you're OK with pending debits appearing in the transaction list then Starling or Monzo are the accounts for you. I just don't like it. It worries me that this will become the norm because it is seen as 'modern' as has already been suggested in this thread.

Those who use such accounts and just look at their balance to see how much they have left to spend also have to be aware of upcoming direct debits, payments like pay at pump or continuous credit payments OR have so much money they have enough to cushion any potential overspending. All I'm arguing is that adding pending payments to the running balance and transaction ledger before they are actually debited does nothing major other than annoy those who would rather only see actual debited funds. What is wrong with Metro Bank's approach of having a separate 'transactions being processed' list? Surely that would please everyone?

colsten

anotheruser wrote: »

I don't see the point in having 10 current accounts.

4 of my current accounts are needed for access to the top Regular Savers, and a further 5 are earning monthly rewards. Yet another one is currently sitting there waiting for a £150 account opening bonus. Then there's a couple of 'main' accounts that actually pay bills and act as feeder accounts for various Regular Savers. On top of that, I have 8 accounts that still earn more interest than I can get anywhere else, a couple of Euro accounts, and 4 or 5 spare ones that I keep in reserve in case there are any more switch offers. I have recently switch-closed 6 accounts, so am now down to just two dozen, all having a purpose for me.