#NoBarriersToBanking - Share your experiences!

No not really as I bank with an Internet bank/high street bank (Smile) but due to the fact they have reduced their branch network substantially (The Co-operative bank) I don’t have a branch anywhere near me. What they have done is allowed their customers to pay in cheques and money via the Post Office for free. (They did this way before they started closing branches but however it shows where there is a will there is a way.)

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It is objectively more difficult to pay cash and cheques in to a branchless store than one with branches (I wasn’t specifically mentioning having agreements with third parties).

But having to set up that relationship with the Post Office will take time and negotiation with the Post Office to achieve it. It is an extra step outside of the bank to facilitate the payment in.

Compared to a bank that has many branches it would be in my mind be harder to facilitate cash and cheques, one of the reasons I moved to Monzo is that I don’t carry around cash and cheques and so won’t need to worry about when/if Monzo develop facilities to allow payments of cash and cheques in.

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Monzo could of done what Starling did and link with a existing high street bank. They in their infinite wisdom choose not to.

Lol yeah probably about the same time it takes to set up a PayPoint agreement perhaps?

Ah that’s an subjective argument. YOU don’t carry cash or cheques so it doesn’t matter to YOU. However that does not stop it from mattering to other people.

The comment about me not carrying cash or cheque wasn’t an argument, it was just a personal anecdote as to why I’m not that much invested in cheque/ cash facilities.

If I compare a Branched Bank to a Digital Only Bank I would on the face of it assume it is easier to pay in a cheque and cash at the Branched Bank than the Digital one.

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Setting up with the post office would be easier for he bank as they wouldn’t have to put down the money for branches or ATMs.

The service the post office provides is almost identical to a branch when it comes to depositing cheques and cash, so there’s no really difference to the customer.

The other alternative to branches is ATMs which can also handle cash and cheque deposits, but I’ve not heard anything from monzo on the likelihood of them doing this. ATMs may actually make a lot of sense for a branchless bank… but I’m not sure there’s interested.

If you did that would be a failure on the bank for not providing the information correctly for you to see that it’s just as easy. (Assuming the provided the service, which monzo currently do not)

The statement is only true for digital only banks like monzo that don’t provide that same service.

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I agree with the above statement but that doesn’t mean we give fintech banks a free pass because they don’t have any branches. Look what Starling has done which is the gold standard in that category to be honest.) A branch (for paying in) when you need it and online when you don’t.

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I’m not saying that - sorry if it came across. What I was trying to say is that from a completely objective standpoint - without any extra facilities or services - a Branched Bank is easier to pay cash and cheques into.

Now where it gets muddy, as @eden has said, is where these agreements can be brokered or looked into and as you have said Starling have done. But then we are looking at individual banks and what they are or aren’t doing - I was making more of a generic statement.

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No I’m not saying you are saying that I’m talking generally. It’s a great conversation we are having to be honest as you do make some great points.

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I agree that when you factor in technology and the availability that is out there, a digital bank should be a no-brainer.

The difficult is where those features aren’t a necessity (both from a legal/regulatory standpoint and a customer use standpoint).

Its a weird one because as I say I have no horse in the race, I rarely use cash or cheques - but I know that is still very important to some.

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To be absolutely honest I would drop my bank for Monzo but if it was not for the 50p a day charge for the overdraft. As it is now I’m holding my nose and running.

Like Tom has said this bank might not be the best for certain people. Which is why there is more then one bank out there I guess.

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That’s fair, I’m lucky to still have a student account with Santander so if I need an overdraft I can use that - but everything else is done through Monzo.

The FCA are looking into overdraft charges so Monzo will have to change their fee structure soon.

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Yeah let’s see how that goes. It will be interesting to watch at any rate.

I think regarding Monzo and the unbanked they need to tread very carefully as I read recently that Tom the founder wishes to make this bank into a multi trillion dollar bank and really to do this he needs to act like the current high street banks to make money and that means ignoring parts of society that can’t access financial services. So if Monzo wish to be different they HAVE to offer every new service to every customer and not pick and choose like they do currently . If a customer does choose a service such as say an overdraft or account plus then at that point Monzo can refuse on credit grounds or not offer that customer as much as say a customer with a better credit score but this practice of screening customers is not a good sign and to me looks like Monzo is playing with us .

What do you mean by this? How are Monzo “picking and choosing”?

I think they might be referring to the “A/B” testing which could give the impression of “Picking and choosing”

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Ah I see, well it is just A/B testing so :man_shrugging:t3::man_shrugging:t3:

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In the military we are required to have a cheque book for going on deployments as that is how we get in country cash when deployed as you can imagine you can’t pop to the ATM in the middle of Afghanistan. Many bank accounts no longer offer cheques which limits the choices.

Also when I was between 13 and 16 I was earning anywhere from 100 to 300 pound a week working on a farm and also cleaning cars but struggled getting a good account to put the money in this has improved over the years I believe but still seems banks don’t think teens are capable of earning a few bob.

In the UK? All main banks offer cheque books on request.

Monzo currently don’t and I’ve encountered issues getting a cheque book in the past from other banks. Especially at short notice. I litrally go through a whole cheque book every 2 years and it’s always a pain getting a new one

Obviously Monzo dont. Im interested in which banks you had issues with, ive never had issues with Lloyds or Barclays and you can reorder them online in advance.