POLL: Where do you currently bank? And will you switch?

Was with first direct… already almost completely switched.

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MetroBank. I moved all of my stuff to CA (all DD and a standing order + salary), but I won’t close Metro.

I also have Starling, only used to test Monzo CA :smirk:, but will keep it too.

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I wonder if MetroBank are the “best of a bad bunch” when it comes to legacy banks?

I’m not really interested in having a fall back account, but i’m sure some will.

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All in Monzo, keeping Starling out of interest. Keeping HSBC purely for my credit report, as it supposedly helps to have had an account for many years.

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‘Other’ being Handelsbanken who have over 208 branches in Great Britain as opposed to Metro Bank who only have about 48 stores!

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Barclays, get no perks from it so will likely switch

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Legacy? According to their founder Vernon Hill they’ve just built a bank from scratch and are the Apple of banking :crazy_face: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2016/10/26/metro-bank-is-the-apple-of-banking-founder.html

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Halifax.

I will use Monzo for nearly all spending, but any direct debits and bills will mostly stay with my Halifax account for a while.

I really like Monzo, but still feel the need to be precautious whilst things are still new. So I’ll keep some money in my Halifax for emergencies etc.

I’m on the current account preview which may help with any anxiety about it, but I am looking forward to one day walking around with just one Monzo card for any and all spending.

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I guess he is entitled to his opinion :roll_eyes:

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Historically I’ve been a Santander customer with other bank accounts dotted around the place for interest/cashback.

I opened a Starling account a few months ago and because switching in app is so easy I used it to pull in and close all my other accounts.

My plan is to still use Santander to hold the bulk of my cash for the interest rate and I’ll leave direct debits that earn cashback to cover the cost.

Starling will be my bill account and Monzo my spend account (when I’m not using a credit card).

How that changes I guess will depend on what Monzo and Starling provide in terms of 3rd party integrations.

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No one banking in the regions then? (Yorkshire, Clydesdale, Ulster and Danske still yet to score.)

Hundred percent agree - they are the best of the rotten bunch, but almost in a tier of their own.

I closed and aggregated and folded NatWest and Barclays accounts into my Metrobank two years ago - and they are by far the best legacy bank I have had to deal with, occasionally so much so that I question whether or not they should be dumped in the same category as legacy banks.

Having lost my debit card before, it is always comforting to know that I can get a new one replaced in-store, almost instantaneously, including on a weekend. And though I don’t see the point in it, i occasionally still have to handle cash (birthdays, christmas, payments from friends) and it’s by far the easiest way to deposit it into Metrobank and then I can move it into Monzo and then move it into savings accounts (when these come via Marketplace) or wherever else.

My metrobank account will remain open though there will be no direct debits or standing going through, but there will always be a couple of hundred quid in that current account for an emergency, and maybe I’ll put £2k in there for an absolute emergency - just incase Monzo goes down.

They are a pleasure to deal with and I love them almost as much as Monzo.

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My legacy bank is Child & Co., a banking brand of The Royal Bank of Scotland. I joined it in March after leaving Smile after well over a decade. I tend to use this as a holding bills account and standing ordered a weekly allowance into Monzo prepaid. This is helping me save a deposit for a house by budgeting this way.

When I got my Monzo Debit card in early August, I started transferring all my direct debits over but then realised I was just turning Monzo into bills account and not actually using it or budgeting accurately as I previously did. Until Monzo releases their budgeting in-app options, I have started to transfer back my direct debits and set up a standing order each week again (but to the debit account not the prepaid). I will not switch fully until further features are available.

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Did you have to visit the branch on Fleet Street to open the Child & Co. account?

In the past I used to bank at Drummonds which also part of RBS. I tried Metro Bank but after a couple of issues with them I closed the account (though despite that they keep emailing me)

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I’ve switched from Nationwide > Starling > Monzo.

Look forward to when I can close all the other accounts down. Still paying off a whole load of overdraft debt at the moment.

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Currently have a personal and joint account with Lloyds and my Monzo Preview CA. Everythng has moved to Monzo and will be keeping my personal and joint Lloyds account for clearing cash and cheques.

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Santander, unfortunately my payday is Monday and I received the invite a bit too late for this month’s pay but I’m gonna switch it over from next month and use it as my main account, most likely.

I have a 1|2|3 lite account ATM, so I will need to downgrade that when I fully move over.

Got the card today. Just waiting for the first transfer to pop over :confetti_ball::tada:

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Main current account is with Coutts. However doing more things with Monzo. Won’t move everything bit can see me moving more transactional processing to Monzo.

Interestingly Coutts wrote saying they are expanding their online presence to use the new banking apis to present a holistic position.

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I have a bit of a complex setup for my accounts.
Nationwide for my main current account, and is a requirement for the current mortgage. I also have the nationwide credit card that gives cashback and free foreign transactions. Transactions are very slow to appear on the account, anywhere from next day to nearly a week, even with Android pay. Interestingly their latest android app update mentioned that they are preparing for instant transaction updates.

Halifax has a couple of small direct debits so that I get the £3 per month (previously £5), and it’s a requirement for higher cashback rewards from specific retailers. I also have a legacy Halifax cashback credit card that gives me 1% on supermarket spend and 0.5% elsewhere, which I have to manually claim every few months. With my latest phone change I’m now a heavy user of android pay, and they show up straight away in the Halifax account under a pending transaction section, though card payments are often slower. This highlighting of the pending transactions in the main list is something I prefer.

I have a bill payment account with natwest (previously Santander until they changed the fees making it no longer worthwhile). This gives some cashback and the money is allocated around pay day.

Many savings and investments scattered around. If those locations start appearing in the market place and I can pull in existing accounts, that starts getting more interesting.

So in summary I won’t be switching everything over, however will probably be using monzo for more discretionary and travel spending. Of course if those perks in the other accounts change that decision will be reviewed.

Android pay is so handy when carrying a toddler, compared to digging into my wallet, and will be needed before I move a significant amount to Monzo.

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