might be worth prompting them again. I don’t think Algbra have actually exited beta yet, or are even close (they certainly don’t feel it). I don’t think they have an actual dedicated customer support team yet either, and those duties are handled by engineers and execs when they get a free moment.
In my experience, they’ve always been a bit tardy, but come through in the end.
I tried Algbra a couple weeks ago. I got 1.5% cashback for everything but it took a week to come back to my account.
Decided it wasn’t worth the faff for 1.5 pence in the pound so I contacted support to close my account.
Took over a week of contacting them every day. I’ve heard poor things about monzo support but never needed to use it.
Algbra support is awful. I’d avoid given the choice again .
Well, we should remember that Algbra are very much beta - as @N26throwaway notes I’m not even sure they have a CS team as yet. I agree they are a little slow to respond, but they are normally polite and friendly.
I don’t think it’s fair to compare them to an established bank, Monzo’s is as bad if not worse, which as an actual bank with actual CS, it really shouldn’t be…
Ok. Let’s not compare them to Monzo.
My experience with Algbra was awful.
Is that better?
I’m not marking your posts, btw, sorry if it came across like that. I was simply saying comparing a startup to a well established company is a little unfair, generally speaking.
And I can see that you would have that experience, I have had similar from time to time That said, they are a young company so I would suggest they get a little slack.
I prompted them a couple of times and they all seemed to go into a black hole. Sent an all new email yesterday so will see where that ends up.
I’ve been tempted to sign up to Algbra the last few months but haven’t done so yet.
How are they so far or are they a mess?
I like them, but they are very early stage, ala Monzo 2016. So don’t expect the same level of features of service that a fully grown bank can offer.
That said, I really hope they make it, they’re always nice to deal with (if a little slow at times) and I think one of the better mindsets in terms of environmentally friendly banking and sustainability.
They’re a mess. Customer support is lacking, and the cashback takes a week to hit. And they’ve got nothing else to offer. It’s not a bank so there’s no day to day banking, direct debits, standing orders etc
I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to transfer money just to spend on another card to get 1%/1.5% a week later.
Thanks folks ill have a think about it over the weekend as I do like the look of the UI etc. I did have a scroll through the thread but I see it is still mixed opinions.
Sounds like Chase at the beginning , silly me closed my account a week before they said they are working on Direct Debits 
What would you like? For the numbers to dance to the tune of Ode to Joy every time you open the app?
It’s a bank, it lets you pay and get paid.
I don’t really want my bank to be exciting. I want it to be stable and work. Boring can be good for a bank.
Unlike Algbra. It’s a card. A very boring card. Is it worth a penny the pound, one week later? That’s the million dollar question.
I sent algebra a chat message 2 weeks ago asking them to close down my account. This morning I finally get an email saying they have now closed the account! Wow 2 WEEKS! I’m sticking with Monzo for everything now. Too many apps and messing around with apps - not to mention all the credit report checks and history of opened/closed accounts lol
Algbra doesn’t report to agencies 
is why I have mine open.
They also plan to not be a bank, from the last comms I had with them.
Doh! Never multitask, corrected myself.
Ah - that’s new then because until recently they’d always said that they didn’t believe being an ‘official’ bank would give them many extra benefits.
With Algbra you’ve got to remember what they’re ‘USP’ actually is. It’s not the cashback or having a wizzy app, it’s that they’re marketing themselves as an Ethical financial organisation. So, they’ll attempt to give you an idea of your carbon footprint so you can offset it, there’s options to directly donate to certain ethical/environmental charities etc. They wont invest (not that I think at the moment they’ve got the funds to do it anyway) in any unsustainable companies, they’re a certified ‘B Corp’.
So, if that’s what you’re interested in and you’re concerned with other banks not taking this seriously, then consider moving to them. (I think Monzo and Starling do a lot of this anyway, Chase, on the other hand as part of the big US bank, definitely has a very bad rating for this stuff).
They’ve going for a very specific market
When/where was this?
If they become a bank, I’m theirs. Easy.
Starling yes, Monzo not so much. They lost all their ethical and sustainability credibility when they got into bed with Blackrock.
I’m not sure Monzo are even carbon neutral unlike Starling, either. Though admittedly, Starling have greenwashed their way to that claim with credits and offsetting.
Algbra’s really all there is in the fintech space for this stuff imo.
Made a typo in my original post. I meant to say they don’t plan on being a bank.
You had me all excited there for a moment. 
I’m hoping it’s something they’ll eventually change their stance on though. It will forever a be a barrier for me, and with respect to Algbra, it’s the only barrier standing in their way.