I really don’t get why people are being so down on Monzo here. Starling’s interest is only 0.5% on balances up to £2,000 and 0.25% above, so even that’s loose change!
People have been clamouring for this for a while, and now it seems Monzo have come up with a solution and it’s still not good enough.
For some folks, nothing ever will be.
It’s not about “being down” on Monzo - It’s simply different perspectives on what is an issue which divides opinion.
I’ve always said the interest across any account right now is pitiful - Even the “high interest” savings accounts aren’t great - That being said, you can’t compare Starling’s rates, because they offer it on everything and not just 1 specific pot.
I can also see the argument for “earning interest is conducive to me saving more money (psychologically), so why limit it to £1,000?”
But again, it’s just different perspectives.
People have been clamouring it for a while (despite how little it’ll make a difference), and whilst I’m sure no one asked for only one pot with a £1,000 minimum to be the starting point… You have to start somewhere.
It’s actually refreshing to see people share opinions which aren’t always in line with what Monzo are doing. We’d never get anything we wanted if we simply gave Monzo a pat on the back every time they did something (even if we didn’t agree with it).
You can see that throughout this forum, not just on this topic. It’s not the echo chamber it’s made out to be.
I know it isn’t - There are certain issues which people have strong values for, and it’s good to see the opinions come out.
At the same time, there is always a comment of “Don’t be so down on Monzo” or similar.
I stated a long way back in this thread that it’s V1 and a lot will need to be improved (which is another way of saying, lets be patient).
I think that’s a different tact than simply “Go easy on the new kid in banking class”.
Yeah, I’m not sure that this is a fair categorisation.
I’m on record as wanting Monzo to move towards a marketplace/platform model. Ideally, I’d like multiple, interest bearing pots, if only for coin jar etc. I use Starling as a virtual pot (space? Goal?) for some of that at the moment.
To me, Monzo’s solution (which, to be fair, none of us actually know the detail of yet) doesn’t meet my needs. But it’s a strategic step in the right direction, so I don’t see the need to complain. Tempting as it might be too think otherwise, Monzo (unfortunately) aren’t making a personal app based solely around my needs!
On the pat on the back point, personally I think it’s helpful to give credit where it’s due - as well as pointing out flaws. Not only does that give opinions more credence, but it’s kinda nice for folk working hard to hear some direct positive feedback (as opposed to just the complaints).
It wasn’t aimed specifically at you @Peter_G 
I also didn’t expect it to be anything other than a throw away assessment of the past.
Everything you’ve said is true, but there also seems to be a case of extremes at times.
The nay sayers come in and bring the doom and gloom about whatever Monzo has launched, and that’s followed by people being overly positive, just to counter the argument (even if they don’t necessarily agree with it).
As you rightly said, this is all a trivial conversation anyway, as Monzo might drop a 5% interest rate on us soon!
How to add and subtract money should be (and is?!) taught in schools. How and why to save has nothing to do with maths, but could/should absolutely be taught as part of PSHE or something. There’s no need to cut anything out of maths lessons to make room for it.
Moneybox is a really easy way to save money using an app on your phone, and they offer competitive interest rates and ISAs. Why not have monzo work more closely with a partner like this (money marketplace springs to mind!) and have your balance with a partnered account displayed as one of the pots/accounts linked to your monzo.
They also charge £1 per month and 0.45% annually, which would put a lot of smaller investors off. I don’t understand why an app that rounds up for small change can also work with such fees.
Yeah the fixed monthly fee makes that particularly steep. No idea how much money people manage to save with these roundup apps, but I’m going to guess about £50 a month, so £600 a year. The fees for this would work out at 2.45% even before fund fees.
That is the vision
I use MoneyBox with the LISA, so providing I pay in enough each month, the government contribution covers the cost of the convenience of MoneyBox.
My round ups don’t add much more than £10-15 per month, I have a weekly deposit set up too so that I’m saving more than just the roundups
I was recently looking into moneybox after suggestions and recommendations on this forum.
I didn’t particularly think that with the fees outlined above, that moneybox was a particularly good return when compared to something like Chip (which I stil haven’t signed up to either) with its one person referral per 1% interest (up to 3 or 5%) for the equivalent referrals. Think it’s 5% 
Why do you need AI? It’s a basic calculation - if you can earn more interest on your savings (after tax) than you pay on your loan then save, else pay off.
It’s very rare you’ll find earning interest on savings outweighs the interest on a loan no?
Although of course that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to have some savings (IMHO). Rainy day etc.
True, but I was responding to the question re AI.
It’s very rare that savings rates beat loan rates. Generally only happens when you got into a fixed rate loan at a times when rates were low and then savings rates rise.
Why would you save if you have loans? You can always re-borrow for your rainy day and in the meantime you are paying off more of your debt, so have greater headroom.
I can only think of two circumstances where putting money into savings instead of paying off debt makes sense:
The debt is a mortgage with early repayment penalties. Then you have to work out how much you can overpay without penalty (if anything), and it’s usually best to them put what you have left over into savings rather than overpay further and take the hit.
Student loans. Consider it a graduate tax rather than a loan. If you’re earning under a set amount, you don’t need to pay anything. And finally, there will be a point at which the loan will be wiped if you haven’t finished paying it off. The big risk of paying a student loan off early is your circumstances could change and you find yourself having to borrow money again to plug the gap, at a much higher rate. Seems safer to not create the gap in the first place if you can help it.
Yeah there are a few others too,
I was perseving it from a high level of debt.
Just in time! My Tesco Bank savings account interest is about to expire! 
Can’t wait 