So, random question and don’t go with emotions on this one it’s just going from facts and experiences.
If your friend needed a bank account or was frustrated with their high street bank. Who would you recommend?
Monzo or Starling?
This will not end well.
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It depends entirely on what services my friend needs.
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This.
More often than not, my recommendation for most people tends to be a high street bank.
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Depends who they are and what they need to do.
If they’re heavy reliant on cash then probably a high street bank or Starling. Mainly because Monzo and cash don’t really go together.
If they’re tech-savvy and mostly card/contactless then Monzo would definitely be a recommendation. As long as they’re not into stuff like crypto or other shady stuff.
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Post Offices?
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Assuming this is a friend who has heard of new-fangled mobile-first banks and wants to give one a go I recommend Monzo because I’ve been happy with it (but I point out issues with cash, cheques and customer service). I also say they may want to take a look at Starling which is also popular but that I’ve never tried it myself.
When they bring up Revolut, I let them know Revolut’s not a bank!
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Starling. It has everything Monzo has but also has post office banking facilities. . It also doesn’t have limits on this that and the other like Monzo.
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Definitely not 
My friends having so much trouble with Halifax and getting on to Internet Banking and she uses a lot of cash but I use Monzo
So trying to find the best recommendation
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I have and will continue to recommend both - both have their strengths and weaknesses
Starling: Seems to be more customer focused with the web access for personal accounts
multi device support, quicker response times for their customers who need help
Where as Monzo is a nicer GUI and better budgeting tools
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Yeah
I couldn’t ever give up Monzo because of Direct Debits from Pots 
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If I had to choose between only Monzo and Starling it would be Starling but that’s because in my experience their customer service is significantly better.
If I were allowed to expand the choices I’d recommend Virgin Money to someone wanting something new
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What’s Virgin Money coming into the league with?
Fee free foreign transactions, nice app, easy sign up process.
You can’t activate the card on Apple Pay until you’ve received it, but you do get instant notifications.
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I used to have a Yorkshire bank B account a while ago before going full Monzo. Is the account still the same style?
Odd because i’m with Virgin Money and I don’t get instant notifications when I paid money in
But they do have cheque scanning *ahem(
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It is indeed
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If it doesn’t have to be a digital bank I’d recommend Barclays.
You can now sign up online (I believe), they have a (sometimes functional) app chat, some other accounts in app, instant notifications, basic budgeting and merchant enrichment. They also have flux and loyalty cards in app. Not to mention cheque imaging and that you don’t have to give up on branches if you ever need them.
Oh and if they pay in a certain amount each month and have two direct debits, Barclays will throw some money their way monthly.
I’ve been with Barclays since I moved to the UK and can’t fault them really. I tried Monzo and Starling but neither really offered enough incentives to give up on my extra free cash each month so the other accounts sit more or less dormant now, waiting for a better day
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