Why is it that many other banks - from Natwest to HSBC to Halifax to Barclays - display your name in outgoing transfers as Surname + Initials, while Monzo does your full First + Last Name?
I really want to go full Monzo, but as someone who was raised by my middle name, I really just want to be BLOGGS J (in my case BLOGGS JJ), rather than JOSEPH BLOGGS, when I send money to people.
If other banks can and do do this, why can’t Monzo? I really want to go full Monzo but this is the one thing stopping me.
You can, but this is not shown on recipients’ statements. Therefore every time I send a friend money I have awkward questions about my name as they (and everyone else in my life, including myself, as my parents did it from birth) only know me by my middle name.
Makes me feel like a fraud every time who has been ‘caught out’ and have to explain my parents raised me by my middle name.
I want to go full Monzo but this is just too awkward. I suppose I could change my name legally but it seems expensive and a lot of hassle, and it’s very annoying that most of the other UK banks don’t do this.
There are a lot of new laws coming in around names on bank transfers. Some banks have yet to implement them so you may find it increasingly difficult to have it anything other than your full legal name,
People in your life knowing that you have a firstname that you don’t use in favour of your middle name is awkward? I find this baffling, but hey ho.
I changed my name a few years ago. It was as simple as printing off a declaration that I wanted to be named XX instead of YY, getting it signed by a couple of colleagues, and then changing everything over to using it. I did passport and driving licence first, after that most were very simple to do and a lot didn’t even want/need to see the declaration. It was a bit of a faff but I don’t recall it costing me anything other than a bit of time.
If you find the situation that intolerable, an afternoon of effort may be all it takes to tackle this. Especially if the new rules mean your bank transfers will include your full name in future.
It might be something to do with being autistic/having some psychological issues which means it bothers me more than the average person. I’ve found it really hard since I was born, when class registers were read out and in other official scenarios. It makes me feel like a fraud and sometimes like I have two identities, which makes me feel fragmented and incomplete. I am probably overthinking it but I can’t help it.
I wonder if (or how easily) I could legally change my name. I would probably just want to swap the first and middle names round so that I don’t remove any of my parents’ choices, but simply put the middle name I have always been known by (and known myself by) first. I find big changes and admin like this quite difficult though as they seem to take up a lot of bandwidth in my brain.
I think I read that even with the new rules Monzo will accept incoming payment matches to your preferred name as well if you have set one. I think even with the new rules, it’s still possible for other banks to keep BLOGGS J J as the name displayed to recipients on their app/statement. If they were sending money over to me and I gave my sort code and account number with the name being J BLOGGS, it would require a full name match or would be a partial match with J BLOGGS and still go through. But I think the two things are separate as I am specifically referring to how my name appears on outbound transfers and questioning why it can’t be initial(s) + last name like the majority of other banks do.
I just wish Monzo could do the same and allow the payment to come through to others displayed as BLOGGS J J or J J BLOGGS rather than the whole name.
It very much depends on the bank here, there are probably as many banks which show the full legal name (first name + surname) as those which show initials.
We currently use the full legal name and I don’t believe there’s a way around it.
Barclays, HSBC, NatWest and Halifax (and I think Nationwide) all do Last Name + Initial(s).
Monzo does First + Last name (not middle).
.
I do have to wonder if it is technically possible. It would be a very welcome feature just to have the initials shown to recipients, and I’m sure other groups like transgender people.
The most common standard by far is surname + initial(s). Which is why I think Monzo should at least allow this to be an option.
For example I know someone who was born Karl but is now Kai which is more suitable to their gender identity - I think she is not fully transitioned though but that is her chosen name. Therefore ‘K Bloggs’ is much better for her on a recipient transfer than ‘Karl Bloggs’.
It’s a weak example but I think in many cases transgender people often keep the same first letter but change the name itself.
You are right about Halifax - I just checked an incoming transfer from a friend and it was Initial + Last Name. NatWest, Barclays, HSBC and Nationwide do Last Name + Initial(s). Metro Bank is First + Middle + Last Name. Monzo is First + Last Name only.
From what I can tell the most common way with most other banks is Last Name + Initial(s). So I wonder why Monzo cannot do the same, even if only by request.
The simplest answer is also the most likely which is that they simply haven’t written any software that does that. It’s not that they can’t do it but doing it will cost time and money that I’m pretty sure they won’t want to spend at the moment.
To be honest, I really can’t see a choice being offered here because most people simply don’t care so, for the same reason, I also don’t see it changing I’m afraid.
Names are extremely difficult and almost all assumptions about them are wrong. The principle of confirmation of payee sounds great, but it’s going to be a nightmare to manage. This is just one such example of where making assumptions about names is causing difficulty, and each bank doing it differently doesn’t help.
My brother actually had a similar situation and ended up just changing his name by deed poll. I also have changed my name by deed poll in the past for other reasons.
If you honestly feel that passionate about it then I think deed poll is the way to go?
You’re right and I am going to do it. I have found a website online which claims to produce the deed poll and copies for about £20, and that they’re accepted everywhere (eg the government, passport office, etc).
My main anxiety surrounds updating all the companies. It seems to change your name on passport you have to provide proof of another official company using the new name. But I’m pretty much completely paperless, so I don’t know how I’d get such a document. And updating the driving licence also seems to require a bit of effort and it’s not clear whether you need a new photo, and so on. Just not sure what order would be right to update to the new name with all the companies, banks, utilities, NHS, and so on.
I’m sure it would be worth it though in the end, I just feel like it needs planning and I’m trying to find advice online about the most pain-free process/order to contact places.
You shouldn’t pay for it. Just write a statement as per the government website below, fire it off to the passport office & DVLA, then use you new docs to change everything else over.
Put the £20 in a savings account and you should have at least £20.04 in a year’s time
