Are employers able to pay by bank transfer if the employee had an account that accepted it? I know literally nothing about the American banking system so apologies if this is a stupid question
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Most larger employers (>50 employees) offer direct deposit, but still many people like getting a check, or do not bother setting up direct deposit. They like the social aspect of going to the bank to deposit their check, or the physical feeling of the pay.
It is not easy for regular people to pay money directly into someoneās account, If I send money online with my bank often it just mails a physical check. Many smaller employers either do not know how, or do not have the facility to pay electronically.
It is worth noting most staff are paid hourly, even āsalariedā workers. Employees are ether āexemptā or ānon-exemptā from overtime pay. (over 40 hours per week) To be exempt you must meet certain criteria. This means that many staff have variable pay. If they do not use online banking they like to see their pay in physical form. Otherwise they would need to wait for their statement. Physical checks are attached to a pay-stub.
It is also worth noting most staff are paid every two weeks, or weekly. This needs to be a consideration when working on the summary tab in the app.
Paper checking is also important for bill pay. Some companies charge fees to pay electronically. For example a utility company could charge $5 if you want to pay by direct debit, but free if you mail in a check.
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Thatās really interesting, thank you 
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One thing that Monzo will need to do is absorb ATM fees. ATMs are generally not free, unless they are owned by your bank.
Most banks charge their customers a fee if their customer goes to another bankās ATM.
Most banks who operate ATMs charge non-customers fees to use their ATMs.
Whilst Monzo could choose to not fine their customers for using other bankās ATMs, they also need to absorb the fee.
Charleās Schwab Bank does this worldwide, and Fidelity does this domestically.
Both are technically brokerage accounts, but have no-minimum balance, and the brokerage account does not actually need to be used.
Bill pay is also a must. Direct debit just is not a big thing. So customers need to be able to push the money online. Depending on the merchant relationship with Monzo it will ether be an ACH/EFT, or a physical check posted.
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Thanks for both of your comments
I used US banks during trips in 2006 and 2012 purely as a holiday maker - so withdrawing some cash and paying in shops using a variety of wild and wacky technologies - but none of that exposed to the actual day to day vagaries
Not sure Monzo can ride to the rescue fully, but they certain have some meaty topics to tackle
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+1 to being able to transfer between USD and GBP. I am using HSBC globally-linked accounts for this today, and would love to replace that system with Monzo. 
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Round up feature becomes common with all challenger bank. Also, the Pots can be automated with specific rules such as monthly % or dates or whenever making any particular purchases. Hope Monzo can include these features.
Monzo being a mobile first bank, check deposit by taking photo should be a must feature.
Shared pot will be a very useful saving tool between couples.
right now, I rely on Mint to keep tracking my transactions and stay on top of my bills and balances. I donāt think any of the current US bank accounts is able to offer this kind of budgeting feature.
Instant transfers between Monzo accounts will totally avoid using third party apps such PayPal, Venmo, cash, etc.
Mind. Blown 
So instant bank transfers are really not a thing in the US? And people donāt have direct debits for all their bills?? And itās more common to get paid via cheque rather than bank transfer as well?
Iām used to seeing people on US TV shows being shown with a stack of bills needing to be paid, but always thought it was just to add to the story side of things rather than being a reality for most people!
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Not at all. The inter bank transfers take 3 days unless one is ready to pay Instant Transfer Fee through third party app:unamused:
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Wow. Honestly did not realise things were so different!
Land of the free, except for the two hours every month you need to spend paying bills by cheque 
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Wells Fargo has this in the US. It automatically groups and shows you all of your repeating/subscription payments in the app.
I think lot of paying bills by check comes down to living āpaycheck to paycheckā. More control for when you do (or donāt) pay. I think that every one of my bills has an auto draft feature and and most have discounts or interest incentives for using it.
Except maybe my credit cardsā¦ Even they let you link a bank account and do transfers over their apps.
The one issue I run in to is that companies and lenders use their date due very loosely. It may ādraftā on the 25th but take 3 days to process. And thatās if it doesnāt fall on a weekend.
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I know the new T-Mobile money bank thing is using the check photograph deposit option. It would definitely be a good idea as I donāt know of any other mainstream banks that use it.
Monzo have recently paused development on cheque imaging in the UK. I wonder if itās a similar system.
Iām not sure. Their system is ran by an outside bank and not TMo themselves. You still have to endorse it along with writing āfor mobile deposit onlyā underneath your name. Then snap a pic.
If Monzo does manage to do this, itād be great if they made all funds available at the time of uploading the picture. The above system only lets you access $200 and the the rest later.
It sounds like a similar system here, our cheques max out at Ā£500 (usually) for mobile deposits - I donāt think any part of it is available early though.
A number of USA banks support paying in checks via OCR
For instance, HSBC and Santander both support it.
As do Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargoā¦ the option has been legal in the USA since at least 2004 when the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (or Check 21 Act) was passed
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Interesting. I guess I just donāt know of anyone that has taken advantage of it yet.
Almost all US banks offer this mobile check deposit in this new age of mobile banking. I canāt remember when I last went to a bank just to deposit a check.
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