Indeed! We can’t allow that over here
Is it available to view somewhere online? Don’t have a TV…
https://www.itv.com/hub/the-martin-lewis-money-show-live/2a4600a0006
Not sure what time it’s featured. I think they are mentioned a few times throughout.
I was going through the channels and saw this, I was gonna post too but cba instead I just chuckled and thought good now we can get rid of the whats left of the free loaders and Starling can have them then they will start charging too lol
They might do but the real test is if they add an extra per cent charge to the customer which the bank itself are not charged themselves. Which if they do that is a pretty sneaky way of overcharging. Thank goodness no fintech bank I know of does that…Or do they?
Seems Starling were recently recommended by Martin Lewis, causing various issues and server errors as they can’t handle the extra load and meet demand
If they turn the feature off because they want to start gambling again, customers will get a message saying: “You are cancelling the block you put in place to prevent you from gambling. If you are worried you spend more than you should on gambling, call the National Gambling Helpline now on 0808 8030 133 for free advice on how to stay in control.”
So the barest minimum of friction to prevent someone with a gambling problem from turning off the block.
Starling says that its feature is an industry first but last month Monzo introduced something similar, giving customers the option to block payments to gambling merchants through the company, both online and in person.
It’s nice to see Monzo have put more friction into this, as just having the ability to turn it off and on on the fly isn’t really preventing.
Looking over on the Starling forum, the response to this is fairly luke-warm. And they are not happy that this was “revealed” elsewhere in advance.
On the one hand, I’m actually really pleased that Starling are introducing the feature, but on the other hand the implementation (and subsequent promotion) of it has been poor. I’ll wait to see their official release note for it.
I’m not sure why people are criticising a feature designed to help those who need it.
You could argue that whilst it is 1 step harder with Monzo (you have to contact CS, rather than turn it off yourself), there is still nothing stopping you from doing so.
Let’s move past the point scoring between banks trying to better the lives of others, and be grateful they are doing something to help in the first place.
Kudos to Monzo for leading the way.
Seems a little rushed,
I think it’s still fantastic banks are adding these features though
Yes but the time delay in doing so gives the user chance to think about their decisions.
By the time cops get back to them and ask a few questions they may end up leaving it on.
A lot of people choose to do something and by the next morning regret it, Monzo’s 48 hour wait stops this.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t do this, I think they should. But there is nothing wrong with comparing the features like for like, and showing a prefrance.
Yeah, well unless Monzo plan on keeping someone on hold for a few hours, I don’t see any difference.
If someone wants to take the block off, they will - Monzo have said they won’t stop people, and I don’t see it taking very long to do.
These steps are designed to make people think twice (those who need it) - Both systems do that.
I don’t see it being rushed - I see it that Starling have taken one route, and Monzo have taken a different route.
I’m sure there will be people who like/dislike both.
EDIT:
I didn’t know about the 48 hour wait - I do like that and see a huge benefit there.
Does Monzo’s include all bookies and racecourses?
I think all round it’s cool but I won’t use it…world cup is coming up…
It should do, it blocks transactions based on the MCC (Merchant Category Code), so any transactions MasterCard identifies as gambling are blocked. I imagine Starling have gone down the same route so it should also with them.
Ahh category codes! Didn’t think of that!
Now that Martin Lewis has decided that Starling is now a travel card anyone wanna take bets as to when will stop free ATM outside the UK?
He has been touting it for a wee while (since monzo made changes).
They’ll either stop free ATM withdraws or introduce a traveller subscription…
As for timescale… before the end of the financial year.