Challenger Banks - what am I missing?

Aminatidi

I have a current account with one of the major high street banks.

I use online banking, I use Apple Pay, and it's literally years since I needed to physically go into a branch to do anything.

I don't pay a fee for my account and I don't need or use an overdraft.

I'm fortunate enough that cashflow and debt isn't an issue and if I want to buy something I don't need to save up for it.

I keep seeing Monzo and Starling and the other "challenger" banks mentioned and whilst it looks easy enough to setup an account, I'm struggling a little with what the benefit is in my situation.

Am I overlooking something?

18cc

No you're not missing something and if you're happy with your bank then there is probably very little reason to change

As far as Challenger banks are concerned some people say they are more secure in that they can only run on a smartphone are linked to your phone when installed and therefore there is no way a fraudster get access via a desktop for example

For me I quite like the instant notification of all payments in and out

The downside of course is that if there is a problem with a high st bank account at least you can go into a branch if you need to whereas customer support is usually by phone or messaging for Challenger Banks such as monzo and starling

DCFC79

For someone in your situation there is no benefit, if your happy with how it is then why change.


As 18cc I also like the instant notifications of my spending plus you can freeze (not seen this from a high street bank) your card so no purchases can be made.


Do you buy goods in a foreign currency ?


Monzo and Starling allow you to spend in non sterling, no fees involved, I believe you get the Mastercard conversion as its a MasterCard card.

EarthBoy

I moved to Starling because I find their app shows more information on transactions than traditional banks do. I presume that Monzo is similar.

For example, payment references which you can attach to a payment. Starling always shows these, but with other banks sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Lloyds and Halifax seem to show them for Faster Payments received, but not for payments sent, and they don't show references for Standing Orders at all.

Nationwide is worse, they don't show payment references for anything except PayM transactions. Perversely, for payments from and to other Nationwide accounts, you don't even get the other person's name, (not even for your own accounts), -all you get is the sort code and account number. It makes it very difficult to tell who you've paid and when, or where incoming Nationwide payments have come from.

Out of the traditional banks, I find Barclays provides the most information on your payments.

So, I find Starling much clearer and informative. The instant notifications can also be useful. If you'd lost your card and didn't know it, you'd instantly be notified if someone used it, allowing you to block it straightaway to prevent further misuse. Halifax has started to send notifications, but they are far from instant, -sometimes they don't even come on the same day as the payment.

18cc

Yes I agree about the instant payments they are truly Instant on monzo and starling they can take hours or longer on traditional banks assuming they even offer that service of course

MisterMotivated

DCFC79 wrote: »

plus you can freeze (not seen this from

a high street bank) your card so no purchases can be made.

A number of high street banks offer this.

EarthBoy

DCFC79 wrote: »

plus you can freeze (not seen this from a high street bank) your card so no purchases can be made.

Barclays have done this for ages now. Haven't you seen their TV adverts with the woman on the bus who can't remember where her card is?

I don't watch a lot of TV, yet I've seen that advert loads of times, -it always seemed to be on.

eDicky

The Starling card can be selectively switched off/on for any or all of ATM withdrawals, online payments, magstripe payments, mobile wallet and gambling payments, whilst still being available for 'card present' use. Using these, coupled with having the location based fraud protection switched on, would seem to make it pretty much fraud proof.

Revolut has similar card controls available, but Monzo has only 'freeze card' and gambling block, with magstripe ATM withdrawals off by default and can be turned on temporarily.

eDicky

Aminatidi wrote: »

I have a current account with one of the major high street banks.

Am I overlooking something?

Only one? Perhaps you're overlooking the common wisdom of not restricting yourself to a single account and the chance of having no access to money in the event of IT failure or frozen account.

A Starling or Monzo account costs nothing and can be opened in minutes, card delivery in a couple of days, might be worth trying out for yourself...

worried_jim

Plus better value via lower costs when using abroad.

18cc

... plus they are more fun and their debit cards look cute