That’s in private testing, yes.
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Did you sign up? Some people’s switches have started
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Well not really private as you can apply for it and they’ll let you in eventually.
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Nah. Thought I’d moan about it being the key thing holding me back & not sign up. 
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A private club that you can sign up for is still private.
Maybe “closed” testing is a better term.
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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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Nah. Been rocking an overdraft for months, and testing things on TestFlight for longer. 
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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:
-
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
-
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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