There are lots of times where my card gets declined in front of the checkout till and it’s really awkward pulling out my phone to transfer money into my current account from a pot when there’s lots of people behind me.
It would be cool to see that when my card declines, Monzo automatically takes the declined transaction amount from a specific pot and transfers it into my current account.
Any reason you keep money in a pot rather than in the main account?
I prefer to separate money. For example, if i put money in a ‘rent’ pot then I don’t have to think about it and when spending from my main account i know i can spend x amount.
If it’s happened ‘lots of times’ but you know you have money in your pots, try to get into into the habit of checking your account before heading to the shops.
Move it across beforehand if necessary - you can easily move it back if you don’t use it.
Some people would probably rather their card got declined in the shop than they accidentally spent their rent money?
the rent pot was an example of why i use different pots.
I was thinking of a different pot for when a transaction declines
Monzo has an IFTTT integration for when you spend money. It’s also possible to just withdraw money manually every time you make a transaction and put it in a different pot but the point is to make things more automatic
I would definitely find a feature like this useful. Sometimes I know my balance is low and am not sure if there is enough to cover a purchase. It’s a hassle to check my balance and move money into my account while stood at the checkout. But I have a ‘spare change’ pot, and it would be great if I could set it so Monzo would automatically move money from it to cover a transaction that would otherwise decline. I can then sort out my overspending at another time, not when I’m trying to pay for a coffee.
Cards on the table - I hate this idea. Many users use pots to ring fence money. If your card is stolen, that money is pretty saf; with this feature added… it can be spent by whoever stole your card fairly effortlessly.
Actually if your card is stolen, the thief can still take what’s in your main bank account, there’s no way around that. If your card ever got stolen you could easily freeze the card. Also, it is possible for Monzo to ask your express consent before taking an action like transferring money from a pot. In a notification like this for example you’d be able to accept/decline the withdrawal from the pot and I don’t believe the thief will be able to do much about that.
They can only take what’s in the main account, not what’s in the pots which was my point. If monzo impliment the change you suggest, your pots could be emptied as a transaction fails.
Originally I thought this suggestion would defeat the point of having money in pots, but this notification idea is really interesting.
Have a designated “Overflow Pot” (or similar name).
You try to make a transaction but there’s not enough money in your account.
The transaction is declined and you get a notification asking if you’d like to withdraw the difference from your Overflow Pot.
You unlock your phone, pull down the notification and click “Yes”.
Enough money to cover the transaction is automatically transferred to your main account from the Overdraft pot and you can make the transaction.
I don’t use Pots or IFTT, so take this as you will…
But if Monzo is all about making people more aware of their money, surely this applies to the main balance and Pot situation?
Sure, there may be the odd occasion where you have to shuffle things around, but if it’s all automated, you aren’t really in control - The computer is in control, and you just have to trust it.
Not if the phone needs to be unlocked to accept the notification.
That’s not actually true. In the Monzo API docs, it says it’s possible to move from a pot to a different account. Please see below image
It’s miliseconds to accept/decline if memory serves me well.
But I’m talking about your physical card getting stolen here, not your email password and phone…
yes! this is exaclty what I had in mind
Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean.
If your card gets stolen, you can freeze the card.