What features currently put the Monzo card ahead of the competition?
For me theyāre slightly behind Starling now. The features I use the most and the instant payment notifications. I use YNAB and those remind me to enter the transactions.
Starling have the slight edge just because of current accounts but that will change within the next few months (hopefully).
I look forward to seeing where the marketplace for both Monzo and Starling lead us (and whether theyāll have access to each other).
Both are miles ahead of traditional banks in terms of communication (took Starling a while but theyāre catching up with Monzo now) and ease of use. Itāll take some time to see the problems of being mobile only.
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I dont think there really is any features which put them ahead of the competition anymore. I think they are either at the same level on most aspects or slightly behind.
I think that Starling releasing a current account first has shifted the balance slightly towards them (Weird way of saying it I know). I think when Monzo release the current account they will catch back up with the competition but otherwise iād say they are either level with or behind the competition
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i disagree as iāve been led to believe that the current account is in beta mode. its not worse than having a pre-paid card for a current account
Hi Henry
Interested to know which point you disagree with, please.
Starling is still in beta, yes.
While I 
Monzo and itās cool Google Maps it is clear to see that Starling have:
ā¢Individual Account Numbers NOT a Common Account Number
ā¢IBAN
ā¢Overdrafts
ā¢BACS Credits
ā¢BACS Direct Debits
ā¢Standing Orders
ā¢Ability to send Faster Payments System transfers
ā¢a Debit card NOT a Prepaid card
ā¢FSCS deposit protection
so I am looking forward to the Monzo accounts launching so we can compare like for like
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Off the top of my head, hereās a few features which Monzo has that are still unique (compared to Starling & Revolut, who are the main competiton right now):
- Payment requests with bill splitting & instant payments aka Monzo.me, without the user needing to set up an account
- Targets & forecasting (including the Pulse Graph)
- A much more complete merchant database
- Crowdsourced travel tips
- Greater transparency & sharing of knowledge with users
- Community events
So if you really need a service that provides the standard banking features (faster payments, direct debits etc.) &/or overdrafts right now (and youāre not relying on Targets), go with Starling. But if youāre happy to let your legacy bank account continue to handle those things, go with Monzoā¦
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that for me is one stand out plus for Monzo, as other competitors are a lot more secretive
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the point that starling are slightly ahead. yes they do provide the many of the services available, the fact that the current account is in beta mode means that there is cause for problems.
iād rather have a service ironed out before launching to the public (like monzo) than to offer a service but there are still bugs to be ironed out (starling)
One of Monzoās advantages for me is the attention to detail, and careful thought behind every design decision. This results in a lot of small things that add up to a big difference. Design encompasses the entire way you interact with something, and when it comes to banking on a phone, this matters a lot.
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Yep agree Monzo 
is still ahead. OK so it doesnāt yet have a complete current account, but features such as Monzo.me, bill splitting, adding notes to transactions, emoji categorisation, monthly spending and travel spending reviews which are retrievable, ability to add funds greater than Ā£250 via Apple Pay, targets (and the auto-categorisation is more accurate more of the time), locations of ATM withdrawals (Starling gives no indication whatsoever), better maps and icons.
For me, though, the biggest fault is that damn Pulse in the opening page. Iāve said it before, but it is simply ill thought out. A dayās worth of transactions which disappear overnight is just not useful enough, and once itās gone itās not viewable in an archive. To have just āno transactionsā on the whole page displayed before spending any money, and having to swipe up, is too restricted. Monzoā s graph, which predicts into the future, is easily better, and being able to swipe to any day of any previous month is far more useful. Afraid this Pulse, which Starling seem to be so proud of, has killed the appās usefulness for me.
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Donāt forget Monzo works on iOS 11 without any updates!
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2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Starling Feedback
This is not a reply to TomWās post.
Iāve just moved the last couple of topics to the Starling Feedback thread because - as youāre probably tired of me mentioning by now - it makes it easier for users to find discussion & avoid repeating themselves if all of the posts about a particular topic are in one place.
This topicās obviously a bit of a grey area, as it looks like the only real competitor to Monzo is Starling 
but if we stick to comparing the challengerās product / services as a whole here, rather than individual elements, that arenāt enough to swing the balance one way or another by themselves, then hopefully this will still workā¦
With all the negative comments we leave about Starling I think itās time to rename that thread āStarling hateā 
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To be honest, thatās the very thing that turns me off monzo. I love a community. I love the idea of transparency. I love the idea that a bank that is informed by the community it serves.
What I find hard to wrap my head around, is when this community starts talking āhateā. When itās mindless love of itās own product gets in the way of conscious and productive discussion about other products- products that are attempting to do the same thing (open banking) that this community are proud of Monzo for doing. This negative behaviour surely goes against the very principles that this revolution of openness is striving for.
I read a lot on here, and very rarely post, but Iām moved to now- to remind us, that this community is worth only what itās members give. And this member of the community would like more constructive and conscious productivity, and less mindless, spiteful criticism. Please.
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To be honest my comment was more of a joke - personally I havenāt noticed any real āhateā here yet - all the issues talked about on that feedback thread are real, and I donāt fine the comments on there hateful. If anything, it actually provides a way for the competitor to read them and improve the product, pursuing the idea of āopening bankingā.
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A post was merged into an existing topic: Targets for Android?