Well not really private as you can apply for it and they’ll let you in eventually.
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Thought you might have got they wrong end of the stick about what was going on.
Apologies
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At the moment First Direct offer me:
- Cheque and Cash deposits
- Easy to create savings account with interest
- Apple Pay
My plan is to wait and see how Monzo settle before I move everything across with CASS
On the plus side it turns out the CEO of the bank has the same frustration that I do:
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I’m a long time fan and user of Monzo but what’s stopping me making the switch is the fact I have an offset mortgage with Firstdirect - a condition being you have to have your salary paid in (I think). I love the freedom and flex of an offset mortgage and this is the only thing preventing me from making the switch.
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Wouldn’t you be able to set up a standing order every month for the remainder of your salary (whatever’s left after the mortgage) and use 
for everything else?
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That’s an interesting idea. I guess there’s a second problem I just realised, in that my wife and I have a joint FD account, whilst our Monzo cards are separate. Some days I spend more, some days she spends more, so until we can have a joint Monzo account that might be another barrier. I like your thinking though, thanks 
.
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While I do use it as my main account, the reasons I have not yet closed my other bank account:
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I have an overdraft with Halifax for £2,500 and while I don’t use it, I like that it is there, and Monzo won’t offer me one at all
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I have had my Halifax account for 11 years, and there is still something in my mind that thinks this is a good sign on my credit file, and that I can show I am a loyal customer to them (ish… haha)
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Monzo don’t appear on all credit files, and I’m concerned that closing Halifax might have an negative impact on credit applications if they look at Experian or Equifax instead of Call Credit
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I love Monzo, but I still see it as a “beta” bank, a new bank, and I want Halifax open… just in case
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No desktop account, which I just feel more comfortable doing a lot of finances on, rather than my mobile phone screen
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You get nothing for lotalty these days. Folks will be switching bank accounts yearly (maybe not quite that often) but like utilities and insurance.
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I agree. Gone are the days where people remain with the same bank all there life.
Yeah transfer limits could become and issue. For example, needing to pay more than £10k for a deposit on something biiig.
If that’s ever on your mind, the COps can arrange this 
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and Monzo won’t offer me one at all
That could be because you’ve already got credit elsewhere, so if you can allow it you should close the Halifax overdraft, give it a month or two (for all the legacy credit bureau rust to catch up) and then try a Monzo overdraft again.
I have had my Halifax account for 11 years, and there is still something in my mind that thinks this is a good sign on my credit file
I don’t think an account switch would matter; it’s perfectly normal for people to switch accounts so I expect lenders to understand and build their algorithms with that in mind. While I could understand that lots of accounts with short lifetimes would be bad, an account switch after 11 years should be totally fine. Note that closing an account doesn’t mean it disappears from your report, so the record of your Halifax account being open for 11 years will still be there.
I love Monzo, but I still see it as a “beta” bank, a new bank, and I want Halifax open… just in case
Outages happen everywhere though, see TSB and Ulster Bank. Monzo has been rock-solid for me personally (as my main and only account), and any outages are resolved in a timely manner (a lot better than any legacy institution where it usually takes days).
No desktop account, which I just feel more comfortable doing a lot of finances on, rather than my mobile phone screen
Fair point.
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Not something I want to risk, unfortunately. Given that average debt (or access to credit) is far higher, I don’t believe that having £2,500 overdraft available makes me ineligible for additional credit. So until I can get even a small overdraft offering, I won’t be closing that account.
Perhaps, but as every single credit agency note that I have had this account for a long time, with access to credit the whole time, and state this as being a good thing for my file (not necessarily my credit rating, which I know nobody else sees). Like I said, I still think having one account for over a decade is a positive thing.
It’s nothing to do with outages. It’s to do with longevity. My money is protected, I know. Still, the point is that my brain still says “Just wait a bit…” before completely closing all other accounts.
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I sort of agree, but I still have had good offers from Halifax due to the length of time with them, given they know my account habits as a customer.
I would just keep the account open. I fully closed my original legacy bank account a few years ago after almost 15 years, but with hindsight it probably would have been better just to keep it dormant and have another long-opened account on my credit history. I wasn’t aware of the partial switch option at the time.
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Here is my prioritised list:
- Student Overdraft
- My current bank doesn’t charge me any interest on my current overdraft balance because it was from when I was a student and wont charge me until im over 27
- Apple Pay
- Apple Pay is just so convenient once you have used it its hard to go back to continually fiddling for your wallet and paying with a contactless card
- Reliability issues
- As much as I love Monzo there is still the odd blip every now and again where transfers or top ups dont work for a few hours and that just cant happen
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I would like to see Monzo develop other Market Store partnerships with companies that offer travel insurance, car breakdown cover and mobile phone insurance. If I could get all of that for a similar cost to the service charge I get with Nationwide I would think that would go a long way in helping people switch!
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This. I’m finally switching now, but I would have done it much earlier were it not for my premium current account at Halifax.
£9.50 a month gets me breakdown cover, travel insurance, mobile phone insurance among other things. I’ve never had to call upon the travel insurance, but the mobile phone insurance was brilliant. I’ve claimed twice, once getting a new phone immediately when I lost it, and once getting a quick repair. The phone insurance alone is probably worth £6-8 per month. Add about 50p/a in for the breakdown cover.
Definitely not a priority, but it would be nice to see Monzo looking to add partnerships like this, for an account fee. Another potential revenue stream too
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2 posts were split to a new topic: Separate additional Monzo account
You have not had any good offers from Halifax, trust me. You haven’t been offered anything that new customers haven’t already been offered, and most of the time… They are offered more 
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