Oh well best Google bloody pre paid cards then eh…
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I am not interested in having another account but after reading the answers in this thread I understood that’s it’s not going to be similar to legacy bank accounts.
The big question for me is : Will I be able to transfer money instantly from my normal bank account to my Monzo bank account in the same way that I now can transfer money from my debit card to my Monzo pre-paid card?
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Yes, using faster payments. I believe there will also be a top up feature also retained, to transfer to the account in the same manner as prepaid.
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yes takes less then 10 seconds from Metro to Monzo
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That’s cool!
That practically means that you can still use Monzo as a source of money that you top-up when you want.
But, I can do the same in my current bank, if I open a second bank account right?
For me, Monzo in the pre-paid era had 3 huge advantages 1. Pre-paid 2.Mastercard 3. Tracking of expenses
They’re now going to lose number 1 but meh, I understand that businesses need to be profitable, so fair enough. Number 2 and 3 are still quite cool
Not really clear on what people value so much about an account being “prepaid” - it’s still an account with money in, just like a bank account is. Is it just the fear of fees or is there something else?
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Yes it is fear of fees, but also the term “current account” to me seems like the main account where you set up direct debits for paying regular bills, etc. Once you have a DD the card doesn’t behave like a virtual wallet anymore.
I myself want a current account and a “prepaid” account, so I won’t be giving up my old current account and switching the DDs to Monzo.
Out of interest why? I personally don’t see what you have to lose? You get all the great features of Monzo (instant notifications, live transaction list, bank that cares, awesome customer support) + all the features of a Current Account.
I have loads of DDs set up with Monzo - my salary comes in and all my DDs come out. I’m closing my legacy accounts.
OK, as an example. I am going out for a night and so I just take my prepaid card with £50 on it. That is how much I have given myself to spend. I go to make a purchase but the electricity bill DD has gone through and my transaction is refused. That situation wouldn’t happen if I had taken £50 cash in my wallet instead.
That’s why I regard a prepaid card as a “virtual wallet”
You don’t have to switch your DD to Monzo, you can continue to use it as you do the “BETA” card.
An overdraft will apply if you explicitly opt in, it won’t be hidden in T&C’s. - No funds? No Overdraft? The payment will be denied.
I don’t undertsand why people like the term Prepaid when the full account will be almost exactly the same as the BETA card with more features.
* Where I say BETA, understand I’m referring to the “Monzo Beta Prepaid Card”, I say BETA because the prepaid part has nothing to do with it and tends to make people think there’s a huge difference. The prepaid card is simply a Beta card for the account, you’ll still get the same great features you get on the beta/prepaid
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You can continue to use it the same way. Load it up as you need and when it gets too low, it gets refused. It doesn’t need to be classed as a “Prepaid” for that feature, it deppends on your usage wich is what makes it pre-paid.
In the future, there will be pots and rules setup therefore I could assign all my money into “Holiday / Saving/ Petrol / Debits” and then leave my spending cash available, lock my pots so money cant be removed from them and when I get low, it’ll get refused. However still keeping money in my pots
EG:
I have £100
I need £45 for Phone
I need £15 for Spotify.
I put those into "Direct Debit Pot"
This leaves me with £40, I only want to spend £20.
I move £20 into "DO NOT SPEND Pot"
leaves me with £20 to spend. I spend down to £4.30. but a drink costs £5.
Payment refused, due to low funds, although I still have money in my pots.
Maybe you could set an “Active Pot” so that when you spend, the money goes from there, IE: “Spending Pot” i load with £25 and that’s what I have to spend unless I set another pot.
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Yes I understand I can continue to use it as it is now. I just won’t opt in to the overdraft or move any DDs over. The “pots” feature looks interesting and I’ll consider it when it becomes available.
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My son is completely irresponsible with money and has trouble controlling his spending. It is a mental thing, he has a few problems, it is almost like a drug or an addiction but things are improving.
The Monzo pre-paid card has been a lifesaver. He has been able to see the balance on his account and track expenditure instantly on his mobile phone (another addiction!).
Some people do not have the self control or the mental ability to properly understand money and need help to avoid getting in to trouble.
I hope the switch to a current account will allow the same instant monitoring of transactions and balance display and be configurable to work in the same way as a pre-paid card with no ability to overspend.
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It will - 
want to actively help people in this situation.
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Of course -the current account functions in exactly the same way - you don’t get an overdraft by default and there are features in the Beta (transferring to current account) which are designed to help people who find money management hard, take a look here: https://monzo.com/blog/2017/01/27/designing-product-mental-health-mind/
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The Current Account can be used in exactly the same way as the prepaid card 
There will not be overdrafts on the account by default, only if you specifically opt-in, and you can add money to it as-and-when you need.
It’s effectively the prepaid card + a sort code + account number, direct debits, and more!
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you may want to read this as well as @crablab link from above similar discussions / links
from a previous post - not sure its a consideration for most legacy banks apart from the fees 
Monzo are obviously thinking proactively about this
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Just be mindful whilst this will happen a lot of the time a faster payment is considered acceptable as long as it reaches the destination account by the next working day.
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That’s usually because you’ve triggered ‘anti-fraud measures’ - which in HSBCs case was that they are scared by these upstart banks and want to make transfers to them a right pain… allegedly.
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