Is everyone ignoring that Starling has 100x as many business accounts, and so makes more money off them?
Additionally they’ve been able to get more grants than Monzo for building them out.
Not to forget that they also did a huge amount of government backed lending due to coronavirus so have that to look forward for.
Ultimately, I personally see Starling & Monzo starting to deviate on their paths a bit - with Monzo being more personal banking focussed.
Failing at Monzo+, and not increasing their lending risk are the main blockers for Monzo, tied to the falling interchange rate they’ve had to struggle through. Starling have more paid accounts and a lower reliance on interchange fees etc.
I think Monzo will be concentrating on Business accounts as said in their annual report they have realised how much they generate in returns, quite why it took so long to realise
hmmm do they have 100x ? , Monzo had 36000 in feb after a twitter advertising push , dont know how many Starling currently have - edit 200,000 in their trading update , up from 87,000 in November annual report, having had the benefits of the RBS remedies fund for a year , mass advertising on TV with the flying shed to achieve 87,000 ?? , Starling have more than doubled business accounts maybe wanting Govt support in the last few months, presumably because where the business accounts were held previously wouldn’t give the businesses a loan ??? maybe they were / are Monzo business accounts holders, who knows
I have tried them before, but closed my account for reasons I’ve already discussed above. The only reason I haven’t yet is because of the issue I have with going through the verification process (aspergers, anxiety), also discussed above. I’ll get around to it, just as soon as I’m in the right mindset and have the free time to do it.
Monzo Plus is working okay for my needs. I’m satisfied, but I don’t think I love it enough to keep it beyond the minimum term (again, it’s issues with summary that are ruining some of the plus features for me), unless we get those virtual cards working with their own dedicated pots. Bills pots aren’t as elegant as I’d like either and seem redundant when summary predicts and deducts them from left to spend anyway, but they serve their purpose and I need virtual cards to work in the same vein too. Enough about Monzo though, because this is the Starling thread!
I’m probably the worst Starling customer possible, I just use my account to pay in salary, pay rent and pay direct debits. I never used the debit card, I haven’t withdrawn cash from a cash machine for years and always have a very small positive balance. All of my savings accounts are elsewhere.
All of my other spending is on a credit card that I pay off in full every month as it offers good rewards (Amex) and a few other perks.
I think if Monzo want to focus on consumers over business banking they should release a credit card with perks - that would attract a lot of interest I reckon. Heck, if they could do something like the Apple Card but in the UK they’d be onto a winner.
I’d say the Starling UI is functional and that’s it, if they’re paying my direct debits/standing orders on time, accepting my salary and tells me how much is in my account - I’m happy.
I think UI would matter more for me if I did all my spending on the debit card, but to me spending on a CC is so much better so I mostly just use the Amex app.
Starling never has any customer problems at all …o…k…a…y … Monzo have loads of problems on their public forum …pick a bank look at the reviews of customers having their accounts blocked for no reason …all banks have the same legal requirements
I’ve seen reviews on TrustPilot and Social Media about Starling restricting accounts. It’s the same with all banks. Like you say, Monzo is only highlighted because they come complaining on here.
When I google “Monzo freezing accounts” a ton of articles come up and disgruntled accounts from customers. When I do the same for Starling, virtually nothing…
I get half a ton of disgruntled Starling customers when i google , despite them having a third of the amount of customers Monzo have…nah its not worth it even on a slow Friday night …enjoy your evening
… Monzo have loads of problems on their public forum …pick a bank look at the reviews of customers having their accounts blocked for no reason …all banks have the same legal requirements