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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I have braced myself @Peter_G
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It depends entirely on what services my friend needs.
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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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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?
Free 
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I’m sure you do this on purpose.
Worth noting that despite not being a bank, Revolut do now offer this service (Pockets) for DDs and CPA’s. Stealing a bit of a march.
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weird… I have a lot of bank accounts and I thought they did but maybe I’m getting confused with transaction notifications.
runs off to test this… 
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As for High St Banks I have banked with RBS, TSB, Barclays, Santander, Halifax and Lloyds. Some for longer than others.
The only one I’ve kept is RBS. I prefer the app to another other High St account I’ve used, and I have a Select Account which doesn’t require me to pay anything in - I may switch to Reward which will pay me to have the account. I do find it ludicrous the amount of things you have to do with a card reader though.
Lloyds were OK (only closed it as the switch deal was to club Lloyd’s, and I had no intention of paying in £1500 a month even as a workaround), a better online banking experience than Barclays I’d say. Halifax was obviously similar but the app was a lot laggier for me.
Santander were by far the worst, with TSB a close second.
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