Is Monzo safe?

Mart7379

Not a day goes by recently when there isn’t a story about investigations into Monzo procedures, with the latest story being an investigation into money laundering. 

I started banking with them at the end of April, and been happy with the account and had no issues. But the amount of negative stories is making me wonder if the bank is safe to have my Salary paid into. 

Are they safe, or is there a risk of them being closed down? 

mab3000

Monzo are covered under the financial services compensation scheme, FSCS. So if something does happen to them and you can’t get your money back from Monzo, you are covered for up to £85,000 by the FSCS. 

If you are not comfortable with Monzo after what you have read about them, maybe you should consider switching your account elsewhere. 

Thrugelmir

Mart7379 said:

Are they safe, or is there a risk of them being closed down? 

That depends on whether the investors funding the bank are willing to dig deep into their pockets. 

Lightning360

I didn't feel safe with them so I left. I know my money is protected by FSCS but that distrust in them isn't something I constantly want in the back of my mind every time I think about my money with them.

colsten

I am not a Monzo fan myself (despite having an account with them) but as they offer FSCS protection, I wouldn't be concerned. Presumably you get something from them that you feel you can't get from another bank, as why else would you want to stay with them?

If they went belly up, which is a possibility given that they still can't make a profit, you could just switch to a different bank, or may be they'd get swallowed up by another bank and you could just continue using the account. In any case, as is always suggested on this forum, you should have a backup that you can switch to at a moment's notice. By 'switch', I don't mean a full CASS switch, but just using the backup instead of Monzo.

Mart7379

Yeh I have an account with HSBC which I am strongly contemplating switching too, seeing the constant stories about Monzo isn’t filling me with confidence. And yes they are covered by the fscs which is reassuring but if it did happen and they did go belly up, I could do without the hassle of trying to get my money back cos I’m sure it isn’t an instant refund. 

Thanks guys for your input and advice 

ThisnotThat

Mart7379 said:

Yeh I have an account with HSBC which I am strongly contemplating switching too, seeing the constant stories about Monzo isn’t filling me with confidence. And yes they are covered by the fscs which is reassuring but if it did happen and they did go belly up, I could do without the hassle of trying to get my money back cos I’m sure it isn’t an instant refund. 

Thanks guys for your input and advice 

The same HSBC that was fined nearly $2bn for laundering money for Mexican drug cartels?

Mart7379

Wow really??

ThisnotThat

Mart7379 said:

Wow really??

Yes.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-20673466

mab3000

Mart7379 said:

I could do without the hassle of trying to get my money back cos I’m sure it isn’t an instant refund. 

If it ever did get to the point that Monzo went bust the FSCS automatically refund you within 7 working days in most cases, you wouldn’t need to claim yourself. 

colsten

Not sure why anyone would actually keep more than their monthly budget in either Monzo or HSBC (or most other banks, for that matter)