Oh don’t get me wrong, I am sure as things move forward with the current account it will be totally fine really - I am sure there is a psychological element to it - it just feels nice to have this set aside amount of money on a prepay card for some reason!
All that being said, I am really pleased with my experience with Monzo, the support is excellent and I really hope they disrupt the banking sector a bit, it needs it. I have recommended them to many friends already 
It’s worrh noting that the overdraft is purely optional. You can’t dip into it if you don’t have it.
There are a couple of safeguards on this 
Does that help a little?
I love the pre-paid card for all the reasons already listed here. I understand that it will have to go so I’ve applied for the current account and will aim to run it as if it was the pre-paid one.
There are lots of threads that are similar, so I’ll resurrect this one after 2 weeks rather than starting a new one…
It’s been said a number of places that the current account “will feel like” the pre-paid account. Surely, there are a number of cases that show this can’t possibly be the case.
Most obviously, if it’s a debit card it’s not a credit card, so can’t be used the same as a credit card. Unless I’m mistaken, international websites etc that take a credit card won’t accept a UK debit card instead.
The thing about not being able to go overdrawn is all very well, except the small print acknowledges that it is possible. One of the absolute best things about the prepaid card is that it feels like a safe way to buy from the internet as if my card number is ever used fraudulently, it can’t be used to rack up a lot of debt that I’d be liable for.
Finally, I don’t really understand how operating a pre-paid credit card can’t be profitable - if you’re making several percent from each transaction and have our money earning interest for you until we spend it, how can that be less profitable than a traditional credit card operator that allows payment in full each month?
It just seems wrong to build up your customer base by offering one thing, and then switching it to something else that only a subset (admittedly, a large chunk) of your customers actually wanted.
Until it’s explained how exactly the current account can be operated in exactly the same ways as the pre-paid card and provide the same protections, the current account isn’t something I can get on board with which will probably result in me just leaving Monzo when the pre-paid card is shut down.
I really don’t understand what you’re getting at here. The prepaid debit card that was issued in the first phase of Monzo’s operations was just that. It wasn’t a credit card. The CA card will have better acceptance.
If you don’t sign up for an overdraft, you cannot go overdrawn. I’m unsure of the fine print you refer to, can you provide a link? I suspect it’s just CYA material, I’ve verified transactions do fail if you don’t have the required balance.
Again, not sure why you keep bringing up credit cards. It’s not as profitable because Monzo aren’t doing the card processing themselves - for the prepaid card that’s GPS (who are pretty useless in general, to be honest).
Monzo was always about building a better bank, and the prepaid card was a stopgap solution to help build infrastructure whilst there was no banking license granted. This was made clear (at least to me!) when I signed up. I’m unsure how customers not taking the time to read this and understand it is anyone’s fault but their own?
From day one - the prepaid card alpha/beta test was made very clear that it was just that - a test ahead of getting a banking licence and launching a current account.
The prepaid card is not a credit card.
It’s been mentioned several times before how the CA can be used in an identical way to the prepaid card so I’ll let someone else jump in on that point.
I think a lot of people are not understanding the full suite of features that will exist with Monzo. They have discussed placing money in a ‘pot/vault’ and even assigning another debit card or virtual card to that ‘pot/vault’ so in essence there are definitely ways for it to exist like the prepaid scheme.
Cheers for that. Worth noting it’s the same case with the prepaid app, you can go into a negative balance which happens sometimes with people using the tube (though AFAIK you aren’t charged interest).
It is an edge case and one I wouldn’t really personally worry too much about, I think? I don’t think a TfL trip would bring you more than £20 below zero and I think giving you a chance to clear it without penalty is a reasonable approach. Charging interest/the standard overdraft fee stops people taking advantage of the feature and e.g. staying in a hotel with no intention to settle the fee with the bank in a timely manner.
Like I say, for me one of the main advantages of the pre-paid is that I can use it for purchases when I might not be entirely sure I trust the retailer - internet purchases, restaurants (especially overseas), etc.
Being able to run with a small buffer of under £50 and topping up before such a purchase means that if they are unscrupulous and try to use my card details a week or two down the line, I’ll know about it immediately and there’s no way I could possibly lose more than the £50 balance. This also makes the Monzo card ideal for taking out if I’m going somewhere where there’s any risk of having my wallet stolen, etc. (And yes, I have had my wallet pickpocketed whilst abroad and it was a real pain to sort out).
Regardless of how much of an edge case it is, if someone can use my card without my permission and blow past my chosen safety limit, it’s not a safety limit at all.
The bit about the pre-paid card not being a real credit card was new to me. I thought it was classified as a Mastercard credit card. I’ve not been abroad since I got the card, so I’ve not actually tried it out, but it was my understanding that debit cards abroad were far less reliable than credit cards.
Now there’s a phrase I’ve not heard in a long time… “Out in the boonies” lol
The prepaid card was a Mastercard prepaid debit card, with a debit hologram, not a credit card.
It is possible in certain circumstances with certain merchant types, typically public transport, also due to exchange rate changes between the time of the transaction and the final presentment of the charge to the card scheme
Having a debit card rather than prepaid debit card makes no difference in this regard.
LOL, so it does. I’ve somehow never noticed that (or just forgot)!
I think @ralf and others are telling us that it feels like they are being forced into something different to what they signed up to and enjoy using.
Maybe Monzo needs to address these fears when building up the buzz for launch, as the default approach is probably to bang the drum about how much more is going to be possible and how different it will be, rather than how it will have all the same benefits plus some killer features on top - which might scare away less users.
Anyone with the CA preview will know it is exactly the same as the prepaid and there is nothing to be scared about - but 95% of users do not have the CA preview so will not know this. The only difference between the two apps is you pay in salary or bank transfer rather than top up, and you can set up direct debits. Other than this it is almost completely the same thing from the user perspective - definitely nothing to be worried about.
We did have quite a few reactions on support after the last announcement about moving everyone over.
I think a current account is quite a scary thing for a lot of people, because of legacy bank hangover, small print nonsense, and general FUD (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt) that people have instilled into them from decades of poor behaviour from banks.
Ultimately for now we really just need to inform those people that the current account really doesn’t differ that much from the prepaid card. It’s the same product but with Faster Payments and Direct Debits/Credits, plus solves a ton of acceptance issues that exist with prepaid cards.
It’s why the “Pots” feature is so important and we’re looking to roll it out as soon as we can. I think for a lot of people the “separation” of the prepaid is a selling point, and Pots will help us to achieve the same thing 
Please Monzo, you’re doing a great job smashing the current banking conventions, but don’t replace archaic, indecipherable banking language with unintelligible acronyms of your own.
Every business sector has to work hard at not using acronyms, colloquialisms and language that is difficult to understand in general. If I have to go and look something up, it’s badly written, and FUD is as impenetrable as APR and CASS.
Please don’t fall into the trap of thinking that in order to turn banking inside out, you have to start using internet slang.
There is no minimum balance for the current account, so you can top up in the exact same way. It will also support top ups in thesame way. If you don’t have an overdraft, Monzo will just reject the payment. The exception is TfL, but that isn’t usually that much
That’s fair. Updated the post. Amongst my internet circles, it’s almost as common an acronym as LOL, but I appreciate you pointing it out!