I’ve been asking my bank to implement this for ages. The notion having to set up an actual account for everything is archaic. The account itself is really just infrastructure, with a more flexible data layer on top we can start to do all sorts of things that are much more relevant. Just like these virtual accounts.
1 for virtual accounts. Definitely a game changer.
But then think what we could do. Maybe you could gamify your money management. Say I set up a virtual splurge account and the only way to access the money is if I record 15,000 steps on my fit bit. Or something similar. Or maybe you set an account goal and it only unlocks when a certain amount has been saved.
There are so many options and permutations I don’t know what would work and what wouldn’t. But instead of the high street dinosaurs we now have someone that could open up a whole new world of how we interact with our money.
Instead of seeing Mondo as a bank. Maybe look at it as an operating system layer on top of which different applications can be developed. I don’t think we’ve even begun to imagine what could be possible.
Maybe because this is not how direct debit works. They can’t just take whatever they want. Direct debit is actually more secure than a standing order.
Did you hear about direct debit guarantee ?
Direct Debit Guarantee
The Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits
If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request the organisation to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request
If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society
If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to
You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify the organisation. Direct Debit Guarantee
If Sky or EE decides to increase my bill payments and I’m not home to read the letter or email I won’t get that money back. If someone uses my PayPal account (tethered to my bank account via DD), I’m going to have a battle on my hands getting that money back. What’s ‘secure’ is subjective.
I feel that having full control over the amount and date of payment is way more secure than a guarantee of a refund in ‘error’. Let’s not split hairs
This idea about labelling money from a salary sounds amazing, thats defiantly a feature that would be used to no-end.
I know I have payments that go out at the beginning, middle and end of month, but I still manage to get my money wrong.
For example, if merchant - such as Tesco - is about to debit money from my account it comes from the virtual account labeled “Food” first then then if needed also comes from the main current account.
Also for more merchant filtering, If you could tell a merchant - like Giffgaff - when that SPECIFIC payment for my phone bill is about to be debited, go from my virtual account labeled money called “Phone Bill” and backup to the main current account.
Another feature that would be great is when my salary comes into my account, automatically transfers set amounts to the virtual accounts labelled X, Y and Z the sum of A, B and C.
This is something I’ve been wishing for for years. Every time my Bank asks me about the online banking I mention this idea.
If this is happening then I’m already on the way to being a very happy customer.
Fantastic idea, even better if you can point your direct debits or standing orders as the various virtual accounts. Obviously in reality the money is still in the same account but as you’ve portioned it up, you can instantly see what you’ve got left.
Virtual accounts with request forwarding. If vendor, company, merchant or label is XXX please charge to VirtualAccount_YYY
So you can set your rent, utilities and other bills tide up in a virtual account.
As @ Matthew set about cards (Super idea Matthew!) but with virtual accounts where concept is PRIME please charge to the following virtual account if funds, charge if not decline or allow only one transaction, or until specific date. with virtual accounts you can go creative as you want.
Thanks @anon85247981 to bring this Game Changing idea!
Looking forward to see @hugo works with this unicorn.
Not sure if this has been mentioned already but BNZ already offer virtual accounts (this is pretty much the main thing I would want from my accounts). And I am sure there was a feature to choose the account at the point of sale.
IMO The crucial point for this to be successful is that when the current account pays interest (eg Santander 123) then each of the ‘savings pots’ or virtual accounts need to remain as contributing to the overall current account balance. Each ‘pot’ receiving the same interest rate as the current account. Personally not interested in paying from these ‘pots’, I’d simply move the money back to my current account when the time came to pay. Or…if you want to be really smart Link the pots to corresponding dd/so so the money can be ‘saved’ at the start of the month (this could happen automatically) so you can see instantly how much is left for the month or not
It would be really nice to allocate money to a savings bucket that’s a percentage of every transaction - say every time i spend under £100 in one go, 10% (variable option) of that is added on to the charge and moved into a savings bucket
I was playing with gamification ideas with my friend.
He was wondering if he could earmark and put money aside when he “saved it” by not spending it on something or rewarding himself for say a fitness activity.
I think it would be cool to see a budget/virtual pots combination, as that’s great for savings. For example I want to aim to spend a maximum of £X on food this week, and anything left over should be added to my ‘project Y’ pot. Or if I manage to keep spending below £X in this category, add £Y to a certain pot. It could be useful as a motivational system.
Link the pots to corresponding dd/so so the money can be ‘saved’ at the start of the month (this could happen automatically) so you can see instantly how much is left for the month or not 
