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Monzo or Starling
BC1973
Posts: 14 Forumite
Hey all. I've been toying with the idea of signing up to either one of the Starling or Monzo banking apps but I see there's been changes to the way Monzo handle foreign spending. This is not the main reason I'd be heading this way but it is a consideration. Does anyone know which is the 'better' of the two for using abroad?
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Nothing has changed with Monzo for foreign spending, but there is now a monthly £200 limit on fee-free cash withdrawals, after which 3% is charged.
Starling Bank does not have this limit, yet.Evolution, not revolution0 -
I've got both (and Revolut), started with Monzo and swapped to Starling once the monthly foreign ATM limit came in as I use a lot of cash when abroad. So far so good and feel confident being in a country with multiple different (free) payment methods/options.0
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I use Monzo, I think they!!!8217;re an excellent bank with the customer always in mind. They!!!8217;re constantly changing to adapt to the bank that we!!!8217;ve always needed but never got from the high street.
Monzo!!!8217;s charges do not affect using your card abroad, only for withdrawing cash. Which is a big positive. They!!!8217;ve currently just included Apple Pay and are soon to get Android pay in the next coming months.
The use of !!!8220;Pots!!!8221; allows you to be in control of your money and store money away easily and effectively. I!!!8217;ve been a user of Monzo since 2017 and can honestly say, they!!!8217;re the best bank I!!!8217;ve ever used. Even to the point where I now have all my bills get taken out of it.0 -
I like both but I really don't get why you wouldn't put all your monthly spend on a card like Barclaycard Visa Cashback, get 0.5% back on all your spend and pay it all off next month?0
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Both are good, for foreign use why not use a 0% credit card. I like the Monzo community option where you can ask for help, any questions etc.0
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I like both but I really don't get why you wouldn't put all your monthly spend on a card like Barclaycard Visa Cashback, get 0.5% back on all your spend and pay it all off next month?
The attractive thing for me about these 'app only' banks is the live spending info. My intention is to use it as a spending pot more than my main bank - you know, transfer a set amount in every month and see how that works out. My Co-Op account is fine in real terms but they're spend tracking is slow and woefully short on info (which I like). The foreign spending is just a nice additional touch as we usually take foreign cash with us and then accept the fee hit if we need to use our cards. If both Starling & Monzo allow free card usage abroad (for now) but Monzo will only allow £200 as a free withdrawal then that won't really work for a family of 5.
But yeah, I see your point about a cash back credit card. It just doesn't work for the 'live info'0 -
There's the Tandem cashback card paying 0.5%, no overseas fees, app-only (plus paper statements) with transactions showing right away, instant notifications usually works. But the app is not yet as polished as those of Starling, Monzo etc.But yeah, I see your point about a cash back credit card. It just doesn't work for the 'live info'Evolution, not revolution0 -
This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0
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I've just returned from a trip to Finland. My three travelling companions don't have any 'travel cards' so I used my Halifax Clarity for group spending (we will settle up in the next few weeks).
For personal spending (which wasn't much) I used my Monzo and Starling cards, mainly to try them out. Both worked flawlessly with instant notifications.
For the Halifax card I kept a note of who was involved in each purchase as sometimes it wouldn't be all four of us. It was interesting that the Halifax pending transaction amount differed slightly from the actual amount debited a few days later. They clearly use the FX rate applicable on the day it is actually taken.
I was totally cashless for the whole 6 days so can't comment on ATM withdrawals. In my experience cards were accepted everywhere in Finland. Probably because everything cost an absolute fortune there.
My advice, for what it's worth, would be to go for both accounts if that's possible in your circumstances. That way you'd have a degree of backup should a card get lost. Mine are also on my Apple Wallet just in case (although I almost never use cards in this way).0 -
To those who have used both Monzo and Starling -
Other than the already-mentioned difference in charges on foreign ATM withdrawals do you consider there to be any significant differences between these two banks?
I've been using Monzo for about 18 months now and think its great, but I've never tried Starling.The attractive thing for me about these 'app only' banks is the live spending info. My intention is to use it as a spending pot more than my main bank - you know, transfer a set amount in every month and see how that works out. My Co-Op account is fine in real terms but they're spend tracking is slow and woefully short on info (which I like).
This is exactly how and why I use Monzo. Getting the live spending info and superior tracking/analytics became particularly desirable features once I started to regularly using contactless payments instead of cash.0
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