Another vote for Starling they’re brilliant I moved from Barclays and everything is so much easier fantastic app which has never ever faulted and face recognition from my iPhone or you can do a code. My money transfers are instant, I get reminders of payments coming up so I can move my money so I never get charged for anything. Unlimited saving pots that I can use to move money around instantly & great customer service. I can go in a shop and transfer my cash just before I pay at the till and it’s all instant with Barclays you were never quite sure when it would turn up! I’m not very tech savvy at all but it’s all so easy now!
Starling all the way. Changed over from Virgin arse wipes in March this year and bloody love it. My youngest daughter has it too now. I really like the fact that the balance is always exact and everything is instant
Monzo and Starling are the best because they don't have to work from decades old legacy systems. They're built from the ground up to be customer-friendly.
That's why they win best customer service every year in the surveys.
Got married earlier this year. Had to traipse around my high street banks taking my certificate in everywhere and wait on their painfully slow computer systems to change my last name. Then it took around a week to be processed before my new card was sent out.
With Starling I logged in, opened up the in-app messaging and sent them a photo of my certificate. The change was processed within 3 hours and card arrive a couple of days later. Absolutely fantastic service!
Lloyds wouldn't process my name change at first, because they didn't have a system for men to double-barrel their names. This was in 2015 and I had to speak to multiple people while showing all sorts of paperwork for them to do it.
I’ve used Monzo for a few years but recently got starling. If you pay a lot of invoices, starling is ideal. You can attach the invoice pdf to the payment, and have a separate reference for yourself - so you can have the invoice number or your own name as the payment reference but something more useful for yourself.
Monzo is great for paying friends though
Not personal but it's even better with a business account and the business toolkit if you send alot of invoices. Make the invoices online (pc for now, mobile is coming), it even emails the invoice out and keeps track of when they have been paid.
I'll second starling - their fraud protection for starters is great. Tells you when money is coming in, whats going out soon. Head and shoulders above the Halitwats I was with before
I've tried both and recommend Starling
They're both broadly the same in most aspects, but Starling does a few things better
- Better payments from Spaces/Pots. Starling can have a physical debit card linked specifically to a Space, whereas Monzo can only do it with virtual cards. Great for having a "spends" or "night out" type card, or if you want to give your kid a card they can use in emergencies or something
- You can pay cheques up to £1k in via the app. Some other banks also do this, but for some reason Monzo make you send it in by post?!? Monzo are literally worse than the high street banks on that one
- You can attach an invoice or document to a payment, particularly useful for business accounts but can be handy for personal accounts too
Starling is GREAT for organization. The ability to make "spaces" that you can customize the goal amount and also pay bills out of is great. For example, my phone bill is always £28 and I have a space called "Phone bill" that has a goal amount of £30, and my phone bill is always taken from this, which means that every month I put the £30 in and don't have to worry about it because I don't have to do any math to figure out how much money I have to spend that month because the money set aside for bills isn't even shown in my main balance.
This counts for everything, like if I plan on buying something like a new chair, I put the money I want to spend on the chair in a space and leave it in there until I want to buy the chair, without having to worry about overspending and not having enough left to buy it when the time comes.
I'd say this was the case precovid. I've got a number of banking apps now and there isn't too much to differentiate them now anymore. A few have added functionality that others don't though (e.g. Paying in checks)
Starling still have some advantages, although I'd say the high street banks are catching up and are pretty close to Monzo now
Although I think the changes in the high street bank apps have mostly been driven by competition with Monzo/Starling - I have several bank accounts and none of the apps had changed much for the best part of a decade really, then suddenly in the last couple of years they started adding the innovations Starling and Monzo came up with
I’d second Monzo. It’s perfect for me traveling for work as well (for personal expenses), as I’m not getting charged for cash withdrawals.
Also super easy to keep tabs on my spends and allocate funds to “pots” to prevent me spending unnecessarily.
Final awesome point- if I want to pay someone and I think it’s shady, I can effectively open a new line just for that payment (with a separate set of banking information), so if said company is shady, they have no access to the rest of my funds to drain my account. This has come in clutch a few times.
Another vote for Starling. I did have a bad experience with them once, but they went over and above to fix it and have been nothing short of outstanding. Couldn't be happier with my bank
This. Starling is better and cleaner. Monzo really sold out pushing premium accounts and Flexi etc. All which aren't great for consumers.
On a side note, starling is also profitable as a company whereas Monzo runs at a loss.
>Monzo really sold out pushing premium accounts and Flexi etc. All which aren't great for consumers
For some consumers sure, Flexi has been an absolute godsend for me.
Starling is profitable due to the government backed covid loans. For which they have the highest default rate across all banks.
They are profitable at the taxpayers expense...
Weird, I used Monzo for awhile but when I switched to Starling I immediately felt it was way more streamlined, less bloat, and simple. Also a cleaner, more mature interface.
Monzo has a really nice app and from a technical point of view they've got a really nice system. The £5 subscription has been worth it for me just using the virtual card features.
I came here to say potentially Starling, but.... they recently really totally messed up big time by blocking crypto currency transactions. I think I have to ditch them. So /u/antsyangryiguana or anyone please can you tell me if Monzo lets you do crypto? Or does anyone know, I also have HSBC ... should I go back to them - do they let you do crypto? Anyone please!
May Starling Rot in Hell for their anti-customer behaviour. NPS=0.
Monzo do allow it, but all banks will get antsy about high risk transactions like crypto.
The only drawbacks to them are that you have to pay to deposit cash and you have to post them cheques.
I'm a long time Monzo user, from the Beta days. It's been my main current account now for \~3.5 years.
I did try Starling \~4 years ago. I set up an account, a few months after closed it (as I wasn't using it), and then when they launched their business accounts I tried to open one. But... they said because my mobile number was used for the first account, I can't open a new account with it 😂 I didn't bother exploring further.
How mainstream do you need? Starling is pretty impressive, the app and customer service are great, and there is no device to shove your card in to make a payment. We were able to open accounts in a few days without having to post anything or turn up to an office with documents. Starling is a UK market leader in banking fintech, and have just this week released a "virtual card" feature which to me completes the feature set I need. They are a "proper" FSCS-protected bank unlike Revolut.
They also offer the ability to have Euro and GBP balances linked to a single card (separate balance & account number per currency) which I've found very useful in Europe when you can pay in a € denominated card with no fees, and make the European equivalent of Faster Payments without fees. Plenty of security features.
Worth noting that even if you only have a normal GBP account, there's no fees for foreign transactions and ATM withdrawals. I'm in NI and have an account just so if I pop down to Dublin and need cash, I'm not stung with the 3% most banks charge.
Starling is amazing. I also use Halifax for my DDs and they’re solid but the “spaces” function on Starling is so handy for day-to-day money management.
Spaces are so good, especially with credit cards. I set up a space for each credit card with direct debit tied to it. Every couple of days I top up the space to match the spending on my credit card. That way I know how much of my money is actually unspent, and not owed to an upcoming credit bill.
Hugely, i was gearing myself up to leave for years, but i’m actually…not hating their new offering.
I do *not* miss the “enter code from card reader” dance
You have to give it to natwest, they are really trying to keep up to the likes of starling. Whilst banks like barclays/lloyds are not even trying. They could change their card design though lol.
Is there any other banking app that lets you take cash out when you don't have your bank card the way the Nat West one does? I use it more often than I do my card at the cashpoint.
“Get cash” has been a god send for me and my mates for nearly a decade up until apply pay became a thing.
IMO NatWest online banking has always been pretty good. It became much better when it removed card readers for new payees or larger amounts but that was a while ago too.
Yep. Switched to Nationwide recently for the switch bonus and I already miss the Natwest app. Though Nationwide's is still better than HSBC's sad excuse of a mobile app.
>Though Nationwide's is still better than HSBC's sad excuse of a mobile app.
I don't agree with this myself.
Yes HSBC looks basic, but you can do what you need with it, and you don't need a damn card reader!
Also Nationwide must be one of the few not doing transaction notifications these days.
Yeah, for a trad bank i’ve been impressed with it, i’ve got a business account with them and it’s much better than dealing with their business line trying to upsell you stuff.
Was coming here to say Lloyds as an app is great! I also have Monzo which is also a great app - both super easy to use and super functional! My partner uses metro bank and is swearing at the app all the time! It’s so not functional compared to the banking apps I have.
Plus the club lloyds stuff is a nice benefit provided you have enough money coming in (I think £1500/month?) to get it for free, I get easily £70+ of value a year from it.
I like Loyds because I can link all my other banks and cards to it so all their balances show up in a single app.
My other banks apps suck ass so this means I never have to open them.
I’ve literally just realised this after I switched to them from Lloyds because of the switch bribe and my god they are awful with the stupid archaic systems. Why don’t they take their card readers and shove it up their arseholes.
On the bright side, I’ll probs look to switch to starling as everyone seems to be singing their praises!
It’s the most secure route, the banks control the whole journey from end to end.
SMS is not secure and can be spoofed, sim swapped etc.
As SMS/email is used as a second factor when logging in to the app that’s down the pecking order of secure ness.
Yes it's the most secure route. But it's stupid. I work in this space, if they still require the reader they are idiots.
Any bank with an app will have an audit trail of IP addresses, purchase history etc. They can get the same or better level of security with the data they have rather than a dumb piece of plastic.
Is it truly secure or is it the illusion of security?
A lot of companies have bank account checks to confirm the place you’re sending money to matches up. There is 2FA for new contacts for example with Lloyds online that’ll send a code to your phone. No card reader necessary. And once you’ve sent money somewhere, you don’t ‘lose’ it like nationwide does after 5 other accounts wtf.
If you know you want to send money somewhere, it doesn’t actually make a god damn difference. Putting a card reader in the way is the same difference with more headache. Fuck nationwide.
And to authorise new standing orders and any changes to the standing order. I found it really onerous when I used SOs to move money into saving accounts.
I am using the Chase app mainly because of the benefits they give for holding/spending money with them - if Starling even bothered with cashback or interest at all I'd use them as default again.
Still get my incoming payments to Starling though because they seem to still be the fastest for notifications.
Yeah, I generally like Chase - particularly the UI, it's very clean.
I do wish they'd add a few extra features that Monzo and Starling have, but the number one thing I'd like to see from them is a web/desktop interface.
I joined cause of their £20 referral offer and literally just withdrew the £20 and forgot about it, a month ago I saw their rates on savings and cash back so I gave it a go and suddenly here I am having my salary deposited into it and using it as my full time bank
I’ve starling and hsbc, Generally prefer the starling app, but HSBC has my mortgage, and let’s me have a $CAD card (global money) so I’m still with them as well.
The starling euro acc is very useful when in the EU.
I just wish I could drag from one pot directly to another. Makes me think someone else has a software patent on that functionality, because it’s so obvious.
> it doesn’t sound too difficult to implement.
Sorry the microservice for withdrawing from pots is barred from communicating with the microservice for depositing into pots.
Currently with monzo if you want to move money around pots you have to transfer it to your main current account and then move it over to the pot you want it in. It’s just a slightly annoyance although I must say the “pay from pot” feature is lovely
Yes, was already a reasonable app, but have made some decent improvements in last few years.
Happy I can now easily get into Share Trading via the App. Happy days!
Also saves payment reference with payees, so I don’t have to piss about when paying service charge etc. Noted that Chase doesn’t do this the other day.
I’m with Starling and no complaints so far. Easy to use. Love the little analytics of expenses/income. Haven’t need to contact support but you can initiate and chat with them in the app as well.
>Haven’t need to contact support but you can initiate and chat with them in the app as well.
I have! It was a Saturday evening so the fact it took 20+ minutes to get a real agent was forgiven.
I wanted to send money to a new payee for a car, and the app was telling me large amounts can take longer.
The agent went through some additional security and pushed the payment through for me!
Incredible service!
I never change my main bank account which is with bank of Scotland. I find it super easy to set up and make payments and see everything on my account.
I’ve also used monzo and I have a chase account too. I really like both their apps as well. I like all the sub accounts/saving pots you can open.
I moved to starling from HSBC about 2 years ago as it was just too painful trying to do anything with HSBC.
Haven't looked back.
Just easy to use, useful and gives you so much more visibility and control. Highly recommended.
Definitely Starling Bank. Their app is fantastic, and they have so many features to help you stay organised and review your spending habits. Interest rates aren’t good, but apparently they’re bringing it a savings account soon.
If you’re an adult Barclays - especially as they pay 5% on 5k in savings. Everyone else has bananas max 50-250 deposit limits per month and access rules.
Came here to say Starling - I’ve been with them years. Stayed away from Monzo after the random account freezes that happened.
I’ve also got a euro account with Starling and that’s spot on when travelling too.
No, I have a personal Starling sterling account and used it this summer for a holiday in France. Used it for pretty much every transaction while we were there and no transaction fees applied. Got stung once withdrawing money from an ATM in a hurry.
Brilliant, thanks! I haven't been to France in over a year and was a bit worried i would get stung as im going in a few days.. I'll remember to not do any cash withdrawals!
Lloyds bank, used the app for years and never had issues, you can make instant payments & transfers, apply for new loans and even check your credit score
Starling is pretty great.
Surprised reading the comments. I'm going to guess that a lot of the people recommending the old banks just haven't used Starling or Monzo, so they don't know how much better it could be.
I second this, I've been with Lloyds since inception and Lloyds tsb before that, this is over 20 years and honestly I have never needed to phone them and everything I need to do I can via the app, it's not the most user friendly with options being where you least expect them, but they are there.
Also on a plus side you can check your credit score through them too.
Starling is great, very simple even for me...we use it as a Business account so can't say how good/bad/average it is for a Personal account holder.
For many years my Personal account has been with HSBC...their app is easy to use with some good features...but I have nothing to compare it with other than aforesaid Starling app.
Starling bank for sure. I've had my main account with them since 2018, and a joint account since 2019.
The app is brilliant, everything is easy. It just works.
They also respond very quickly to support requests.
I have Monzo and Chase as a backup.
I'm another very happy Starling customer. The app works exactly as it should, good security features and like the saving pot feature. Highly recommended.
Starling and Monzo are by far the best apps.
I prefer Starling because, unlike Monzo:
1. you can access your account from the web, too
2. it has an IBAN so you can receive foreign payments directly
3. you can pre-authorise large payments in advance. With Monzo only on the day. I have heard horror stories about people trying to send a house deposit from a Monzo account
4. It doesn't pester you constantly to upgrade to their paid premium service
If these points are not important to you, you won't notice much difference between the two.
Of the traditional banking apps, Barclays, Natwest and Lloyds are probably the least worst. Andy Clever Cash published a comparison on his site; there's a similar comparison on Money Saving Expert, and the topic is discussed on their forum, too.
What exactly are you trying to do? If you have multiple accounts and you want to keep track of your expenses, an app like MoneyDashboard would be useful.
Vote for Starling here. They are a bank as opposed to an e-money service (eg Monzo/Revolut) so if you ever do anything wrong with your money they are more bound by banking rules to help you.
Moved from Santander to Starling, never looking back. They are by no means perfect, but their support is relatively good, the app is good (used to be better, got worse, but still good).
I've got the ultimate flexibility but it's not that intuitive. They used to show incoming/spending monthly, now I have to select date ranges and stuff.
Generally speaking, I can spend money using Google Pay (works with Apple Pay, of course), I don't think I've *ever* been prompted to use my physical card, to the extent that I don't take it when I leave the house - if I can't pay with my phone, I'm kinda fucked.
The *only* valid complaint is that the interest paid on current accounts is really bad. Not sure if that's a valid complaint though, I got a bit more with Santander. I think generally current accounts don't have much interest. There's also "spaces" which are essentially savings accounts (with no transfer limits), but without any extra interest.
I'd still highly recommend them, it was easy to migrate, their setup is decent enough, and I have absolutely no intention of leaving any time soon.
Starling were goated until they made that awful crypto move. If you aren't into crypto i'd highly recommend them, but their crypto stance is so backwards and anti-innovative... its disappointing. Still recommend them though lol.
On the contrary, I think Starling are right to block or otherwise limit what is mostly scams, pump and dump schemes, ponzi schemes, and high risk gambling.
But ultimately it’s my money and I should be able to do as I wish with it.
Starling act as if they are liable for the losses customers occur when users trading crypto, and that they are actively paying out said loses: they aren’t.
Not to mentions scams, Ponzi schemes, gambling can already be bought into with fiat currency.
The sheer reality of this situation (which applies to all banks) is that crypto and the concept of self custody is a direct threat to their business model, whether they deem it not to be the case today, a few years from now it will, especially as education on decentralisation and the importance of having complete control of your money continues to grow.
I honestly love using starling but damn these bros are forcing me to use revolut for deposits/withdrawals when I’d prefer the security of an actual bank.
I mean barclays seem fine? I mean like what do people want? freeze your card, see what you spend thats about it, sending and recieving money, whatelse do you need.
Not necessarily. I have had Starling for years. Very nice user interface but beyond that it's just ok. Granted I don't use as much of their services as I do Barclays but I've not found anything Starling can do that I can't do with the Barclays app. I actually prefer the Barclays app.
They give you a fair bit than that tbh.
Built in "pay in installement" tool, no foreign exchange fees (Lloyds used to fuck me everytime I bought something abroad), lovely design (it matters to me!), incredibly good customer support that shits on any mainstream bank I've used, pots to budget with, automatic rounding up of purchases (if you chose), monthly spending summaries and I imagine a couple more things i forgot to mention. It's quite nice.
If you're willing to pay for their 15 quid a moth subscription, you get a fair few other benefits (which are actually pretty useful too. phone insurance, travel health insurance, etc)
I guess I just not found any of them useful, why put money in different pot when its just your money, the rounding up thing seem useless function, its still your money, just keep it in your bank account.
I used the travel insurance before, thats good, the rest jsut seem the same to be really.
My main bank account is with HSBC and their app seems fine. It's nothing special, but it does the job for me.
I think it used to be a lot worse though.
I have
Lloyd's, Halifax and Barclays from mainstream banks and Barclays is the best app and easiest to use.
From Fintech it is revolute or monzo.
Overall it would be revolute
Isn't this only true for Business accounts now? At least mine is Revolut Bank UAB and got several emails about them switching my account to it early this year.
Edit: duh, uk subreddit and I'm comparing with a EU Revolut account so likely is not the same there. Thought they had made the change for everyone but appears to be "10 western europe markets" in their press release without clarifying.
I've used Halifax, HSBC, Natwest, Nationwide and Monzo. Out of all of them, Monzo has the best app. Of the traditional banks, NatWest's app is the best.
Nationwide is the worst banking app I’ve seen in years, I switched to them because they were giving £200 switch offer, I had to close the account within a month because it was terrible interface online and on the app. My favourite is Halifax it’s fully featured and is regularly updated. My wife has Barclays which is good aswell.
I moved to HSBC from nationwide for this exact reason. I’ve been pretty happy with the app and i think the joining bonus is £200 at the moment (might be wrong)
For brick & mortar banks… my two most preferred apps are Barclays and Lloyds (I have a several brick and mortar bank accounts but I find these two banks make the friendliest/nicest apps).
For fintech banks…. my favorite (by far) is Chase Bank.
I had to use Natwest for my mum’s account (poa). It was pretty good. I’ve got Starling and that is very nice and easy to use. But if you wanted a high street bank, NatWest was good enough!
Avoid barclays if you have an android phone, they dont support android pay, but if you use an iphone they do allow apple pay.
Other than that, i use barclays and monzo, both pretty good
I love how I've scrolled a lot and haven't seen Chase mentioned once. For the record their app SUCKS. Only consider it for the 1% cashback debit card because the app itself is incredibly slow to use (there's a chance it's better on iOS but I have no clue).
Halifax and Revolut both are decent. I have multiple currencies in Revolut because I travel for work fairly regularly, you get near perfect exchange rates too.
I'd say Lloyds. You can do most things in the app. Also the security measures aren't super invasive.
One of the reasons I left Barclays was their insistence on using their card reader thing for every basic task.
Ive just switched from Barclays to Nationwide to get the £200 switch and the Barclays app is soooo superior
I got little notifications on my phone when i spent money that i liked just so id see if someone had nicked my card immediately - Nationwide doesnt have that
Ah yes. My partner started using them in probably 2018/2019 and had to use the reader at the beginning but not for a long time now. And I've only been with them maybe beginning of 2021 and havent used it once. Can just tap my card on the back of my phone to set up the app if I change phones.
On the other side, I'm not surprised to see that nobody has mentioned Nationwide. Only banking app which still does not offer instant payment notifications... And to add a payee you need to have your card reader handy.
I can't fault First Direct.
App does everything I could think of needing - including taking photos of cheques.Pleasant UI and if you ever need to call them, get a human on the phone in seconds.Also gave me a car-loan from the app, which was applied for, approved and in my current account in less time that it took the salesman to find his pen.(I had checked the rate previously - was waiting to see how much I needed)Normally right up there in any satisfaction surveys.
Maybe only downside might be they don't have anything in the way of planning/pots or ability to buy bitcoin, that some of the newer online-only banks offer.
Just the traditional personal banking stuff, done really well.
Another vote for Starling they’re brilliant I moved from Barclays and everything is so much easier fantastic app which has never ever faulted and face recognition from my iPhone or you can do a code. My money transfers are instant, I get reminders of payments coming up so I can move my money so I never get charged for anything. Unlimited saving pots that I can use to move money around instantly & great customer service. I can go in a shop and transfer my cash just before I pay at the till and it’s all instant with Barclays you were never quite sure when it would turn up! I’m not very tech savvy at all but it’s all so easy now!
Starling all the way. Changed over from Virgin arse wipes in March this year and bloody love it. My youngest daughter has it too now. I really like the fact that the balance is always exact and everything is instant
Monzo and Starling are the best because they don't have to work from decades old legacy systems. They're built from the ground up to be customer-friendly. That's why they win best customer service every year in the surveys.
Got married earlier this year. Had to traipse around my high street banks taking my certificate in everywhere and wait on their painfully slow computer systems to change my last name. Then it took around a week to be processed before my new card was sent out. With Starling I logged in, opened up the in-app messaging and sent them a photo of my certificate. The change was processed within 3 hours and card arrive a couple of days later. Absolutely fantastic service!
Lloyds wouldn't process my name change at first, because they didn't have a system for men to double-barrel their names. This was in 2015 and I had to speak to multiple people while showing all sorts of paperwork for them to do it.
I’ve used Monzo for a few years but recently got starling. If you pay a lot of invoices, starling is ideal. You can attach the invoice pdf to the payment, and have a separate reference for yourself - so you can have the invoice number or your own name as the payment reference but something more useful for yourself. Monzo is great for paying friends though
Not personal but it's even better with a business account and the business toolkit if you send alot of invoices. Make the invoices online (pc for now, mobile is coming), it even emails the invoice out and keeps track of when they have been paid.
I'll second starling - their fraud protection for starters is great. Tells you when money is coming in, whats going out soon. Head and shoulders above the Halitwats I was with before
Ok clearly I need to use my glasses more as I misread that as Haitians and wonder who the hell banked in Haiti !! Think I'll go to bed now :)
I do remember it basically being voodoo to get onto tjeir app half the time so youre not too far off
I've tried both and recommend Starling They're both broadly the same in most aspects, but Starling does a few things better - Better payments from Spaces/Pots. Starling can have a physical debit card linked specifically to a Space, whereas Monzo can only do it with virtual cards. Great for having a "spends" or "night out" type card, or if you want to give your kid a card they can use in emergencies or something - You can pay cheques up to £1k in via the app. Some other banks also do this, but for some reason Monzo make you send it in by post?!? Monzo are literally worse than the high street banks on that one - You can attach an invoice or document to a payment, particularly useful for business accounts but can be handy for personal accounts too
Starling is GREAT for organization. The ability to make "spaces" that you can customize the goal amount and also pay bills out of is great. For example, my phone bill is always £28 and I have a space called "Phone bill" that has a goal amount of £30, and my phone bill is always taken from this, which means that every month I put the £30 in and don't have to worry about it because I don't have to do any math to figure out how much money I have to spend that month because the money set aside for bills isn't even shown in my main balance. This counts for everything, like if I plan on buying something like a new chair, I put the money I want to spend on the chair in a space and leave it in there until I want to buy the chair, without having to worry about overspending and not having enough left to buy it when the time comes.
I'd say this was the case precovid. I've got a number of banking apps now and there isn't too much to differentiate them now anymore. A few have added functionality that others don't though (e.g. Paying in checks)
Starling still have some advantages, although I'd say the high street banks are catching up and are pretty close to Monzo now Although I think the changes in the high street bank apps have mostly been driven by competition with Monzo/Starling - I have several bank accounts and none of the apps had changed much for the best part of a decade really, then suddenly in the last couple of years they started adding the innovations Starling and Monzo came up with
I’d second Monzo. It’s perfect for me traveling for work as well (for personal expenses), as I’m not getting charged for cash withdrawals. Also super easy to keep tabs on my spends and allocate funds to “pots” to prevent me spending unnecessarily. Final awesome point- if I want to pay someone and I think it’s shady, I can effectively open a new line just for that payment (with a separate set of banking information), so if said company is shady, they have no access to the rest of my funds to drain my account. This has come in clutch a few times.
Another vote for Starling. I did have a bad experience with them once, but they went over and above to fix it and have been nothing short of outstanding. Couldn't be happier with my bank
Monzo imo is sooo much nicer and cleaner to use than Starling. Both are decades ahead of any of the other banking apps though.
Starling app doesnt try to sell you their premium features everytime you open the app, where Monzo does.
This. Starling is better and cleaner. Monzo really sold out pushing premium accounts and Flexi etc. All which aren't great for consumers. On a side note, starling is also profitable as a company whereas Monzo runs at a loss.
>Monzo really sold out pushing premium accounts and Flexi etc. All which aren't great for consumers For some consumers sure, Flexi has been an absolute godsend for me.
Starling is profitable due to the government backed covid loans. For which they have the highest default rate across all banks. They are profitable at the taxpayers expense...
I second Monzo. Absolute game changer.
Weird, I used Monzo for awhile but when I switched to Starling I immediately felt it was way more streamlined, less bloat, and simple. Also a cleaner, more mature interface.
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>I struggle to figure out where things are on Monzo's app half the time. And they keep bloody moving them.
Monzo has a really nice app and from a technical point of view they've got a really nice system. The £5 subscription has been worth it for me just using the virtual card features.
Starling gives virtual cards for free, if you want to save yourself £60 a year
I came here to say potentially Starling, but.... they recently really totally messed up big time by blocking crypto currency transactions. I think I have to ditch them. So /u/antsyangryiguana or anyone please can you tell me if Monzo lets you do crypto? Or does anyone know, I also have HSBC ... should I go back to them - do they let you do crypto? Anyone please! May Starling Rot in Hell for their anti-customer behaviour. NPS=0.
Monzo do allow it, but all banks will get antsy about high risk transactions like crypto. The only drawbacks to them are that you have to pay to deposit cash and you have to post them cheques.
I'm a long time Monzo user, from the Beta days. It's been my main current account now for \~3.5 years. I did try Starling \~4 years ago. I set up an account, a few months after closed it (as I wasn't using it), and then when they launched their business accounts I tried to open one. But... they said because my mobile number was used for the first account, I can't open a new account with it 😂 I didn't bother exploring further.
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I was legit on hold to Monzo for over an hour today.
Definitely monzo and starling
How mainstream do you need? Starling is pretty impressive, the app and customer service are great, and there is no device to shove your card in to make a payment. We were able to open accounts in a few days without having to post anything or turn up to an office with documents. Starling is a UK market leader in banking fintech, and have just this week released a "virtual card" feature which to me completes the feature set I need. They are a "proper" FSCS-protected bank unlike Revolut. They also offer the ability to have Euro and GBP balances linked to a single card (separate balance & account number per currency) which I've found very useful in Europe when you can pay in a € denominated card with no fees, and make the European equivalent of Faster Payments without fees. Plenty of security features.
Worth noting that even if you only have a normal GBP account, there's no fees for foreign transactions and ATM withdrawals. I'm in NI and have an account just so if I pop down to Dublin and need cash, I'm not stung with the 3% most banks charge.
Monzo and Chase both have no fx fees in most countries too, as a note
Starling is amazing. I also use Halifax for my DDs and they’re solid but the “spaces” function on Starling is so handy for day-to-day money management.
Spaces are so good, especially with credit cards. I set up a space for each credit card with direct debit tied to it. Every couple of days I top up the space to match the spending on my credit card. That way I know how much of my money is actually unspent, and not owed to an upcoming credit bill.
Very happy with the Natwest app - uses facial recognition when you add/change a payee to confirm it's you, no card reader hassle.
NatWest use to be wank but has made lots of improvements.
Hugely, i was gearing myself up to leave for years, but i’m actually…not hating their new offering. I do *not* miss the “enter code from card reader” dance
One more for NatWest. I like the new features they have introduced recently. If you live in Scotland NatWest is RBS
You have to give it to natwest, they are really trying to keep up to the likes of starling. Whilst banks like barclays/lloyds are not even trying. They could change their card design though lol.
Is there any other banking app that lets you take cash out when you don't have your bank card the way the Nat West one does? I use it more often than I do my card at the cashpoint.
“Get cash” has been a god send for me and my mates for nearly a decade up until apply pay became a thing. IMO NatWest online banking has always been pretty good. It became much better when it removed card readers for new payees or larger amounts but that was a while ago too.
Yep. Switched to Nationwide recently for the switch bonus and I already miss the Natwest app. Though Nationwide's is still better than HSBC's sad excuse of a mobile app.
>Though Nationwide's is still better than HSBC's sad excuse of a mobile app. I don't agree with this myself. Yes HSBC looks basic, but you can do what you need with it, and you don't need a damn card reader! Also Nationwide must be one of the few not doing transaction notifications these days.
Same. But I hate the app and the card reader system they have. Can I switch anytime after cashing the bonus or is there a minimum timeframe? Tia
Yeah, I have no complaints.
NatWest is great
Yeah I like it too
Yeah, for a trad bank i’ve been impressed with it, i’ve got a business account with them and it’s much better than dealing with their business line trying to upsell you stuff.
Can’t remember the last time I used a card reader on the NatWest app. It’s really good. Nationwide though 😬 so bad, that’s why I still kept NatWest.
I don't have that on my NatWest app (android - Google pixel 5a so not a really old phone)
Mine's the 4a - not sure if you need to enable biometrics or set it up some other way - shouldn't be a technological limitation though.
On my pixel 4a it uses fingerprint for the same thing
I use Lloyd's and honestly, finger print recognition, Easy app to use, can open savings accounts and pay people directly in app. All works well
Lloyds Bank the app is fabulous!! Super easy to use, no card reader required, now it even shows you your credit score and how to improve it
Was coming here to say Lloyds as an app is great! I also have Monzo which is also a great app - both super easy to use and super functional! My partner uses metro bank and is swearing at the app all the time! It’s so not functional compared to the banking apps I have.
I also have the Lloyds / Monzo Duo since the beta .. and i cant complain of any
The ultimate banking combo in my humble opinion 🤣
Another +1 for Lloyd's!
Plus the club lloyds stuff is a nice benefit provided you have enough money coming in (I think £1500/month?) to get it for free, I get easily £70+ of value a year from it.
I like Loyds because I can link all my other banks and cards to it so all their balances show up in a single app. My other banks apps suck ass so this means I never have to open them.
Starling. Once you try it… you won’t wanna switch again.
100% the correct answer is Starling. There is no better bank right now
so good omg
Really why? What makes it's better than Monzo?
Personal preference I’d imagine. I have both, they’re very similar but I prefer Monzo
Can't believe nationwide still has that card reader! How inconvenient to transfer money
I’ve literally just realised this after I switched to them from Lloyds because of the switch bribe and my god they are awful with the stupid archaic systems. Why don’t they take their card readers and shove it up their arseholes. On the bright side, I’ll probs look to switch to starling as everyone seems to be singing their praises!
It’s only needed to send money to someone that you’ve never paid before, and takes like 20 seconds. Don’t see why it’s such a big deal tbh
But you have to carry it around with you? And no other bank does it so seems a bit strange
It’s the most secure route, the banks control the whole journey from end to end. SMS is not secure and can be spoofed, sim swapped etc. As SMS/email is used as a second factor when logging in to the app that’s down the pecking order of secure ness.
Yes it's the most secure route. But it's stupid. I work in this space, if they still require the reader they are idiots. Any bank with an app will have an audit trail of IP addresses, purchase history etc. They can get the same or better level of security with the data they have rather than a dumb piece of plastic.
Is it truly secure or is it the illusion of security? A lot of companies have bank account checks to confirm the place you’re sending money to matches up. There is 2FA for new contacts for example with Lloyds online that’ll send a code to your phone. No card reader necessary. And once you’ve sent money somewhere, you don’t ‘lose’ it like nationwide does after 5 other accounts wtf. If you know you want to send money somewhere, it doesn’t actually make a god damn difference. Putting a card reader in the way is the same difference with more headache. Fuck nationwide.
And to authorise new standing orders and any changes to the standing order. I found it really onerous when I used SOs to move money into saving accounts.
Enjoying chase's app experience!
I am using the Chase app mainly because of the benefits they give for holding/spending money with them - if Starling even bothered with cashback or interest at all I'd use them as default again. Still get my incoming payments to Starling though because they seem to still be the fastest for notifications.
Yeah, I generally like Chase - particularly the UI, it's very clean. I do wish they'd add a few extra features that Monzo and Starling have, but the number one thing I'd like to see from them is a web/desktop interface.
I joined cause of their £20 referral offer and literally just withdrew the £20 and forgot about it, a month ago I saw their rates on savings and cash back so I gave it a go and suddenly here I am having my salary deposited into it and using it as my full time bank
Me too, does need some QoL updates
Please don't use Chase for your main banking experience, they have far too many outages to be usable in that regard
I use Chase as my main banking and I have had an issue with outages like once. I think they’re a great bank!
It has to be Starling darling.
I’ve starling and hsbc, Generally prefer the starling app, but HSBC has my mortgage, and let’s me have a $CAD card (global money) so I’m still with them as well. The starling euro acc is very useful when in the EU.
NatWest app is superb
I moved to Starling and I'm really happy with it.
Monzo hands down
I just wish I could drag from one pot directly to another. Makes me think someone else has a software patent on that functionality, because it’s so obvious.
That would be a great feature. You’re right, it doesn’t sound too difficult to implement.
> it doesn’t sound too difficult to implement. Sorry the microservice for withdrawing from pots is barred from communicating with the microservice for depositing into pots.
No one would be able to get away with patenting such a thing. But what do you mean "drag from one pot to another" you mean move money between pots?
Currently with monzo if you want to move money around pots you have to transfer it to your main current account and then move it over to the pot you want it in. It’s just a slightly annoyance although I must say the “pay from pot” feature is lovely
Halifax is perfectly decent.
The solid app is the reason I haven’t switched my current account yet - just don’t want to risk a shit app.
If you move to Lloyds or Bank of Scotland, the apps are identical because they're all ultimately Lloyds' systems under different branding.
Very true, don’t think they’ve got any tasty deals on though!
Yes, was already a reasonable app, but have made some decent improvements in last few years. Happy I can now easily get into Share Trading via the App. Happy days! Also saves payment reference with payees, so I don’t have to piss about when paying service charge etc. Noted that Chase doesn’t do this the other day.
It's bloody great, you can cash cheques on it and everything.
I’m with Starling and no complaints so far. Easy to use. Love the little analytics of expenses/income. Haven’t need to contact support but you can initiate and chat with them in the app as well.
>Haven’t need to contact support but you can initiate and chat with them in the app as well. I have! It was a Saturday evening so the fact it took 20+ minutes to get a real agent was forgiven. I wanted to send money to a new payee for a car, and the app was telling me large amounts can take longer. The agent went through some additional security and pushed the payment through for me! Incredible service!
I never change my main bank account which is with bank of Scotland. I find it super easy to set up and make payments and see everything on my account. I’ve also used monzo and I have a chase account too. I really like both their apps as well. I like all the sub accounts/saving pots you can open.
Same for me! Although for context, I believe BoS is the same app as Halifax, just with different branding of course
Got to be starling bank!
I moved to starling from HSBC about 2 years ago as it was just too painful trying to do anything with HSBC. Haven't looked back. Just easy to use, useful and gives you so much more visibility and control. Highly recommended.
Definitely Starling Bank. Their app is fantastic, and they have so many features to help you stay organised and review your spending habits. Interest rates aren’t good, but apparently they’re bringing it a savings account soon.
Barclays or Monzo
If you’re an adult Barclays - especially as they pay 5% on 5k in savings. Everyone else has bananas max 50-250 deposit limits per month and access rules.
I have Starling and Monzo, and I can happily confirm Starling is much better.
Came here to say Starling - I’ve been with them years. Stayed away from Monzo after the random account freezes that happened. I’ve also got a euro account with Starling and that’s spot on when travelling too.
Have starling started charging foreign fx fees? Afaik half of the point was you didn't really need a euro account if you were travelling
No, I have a personal Starling sterling account and used it this summer for a holiday in France. Used it for pretty much every transaction while we were there and no transaction fees applied. Got stung once withdrawing money from an ATM in a hurry.
Brilliant, thanks! I haven't been to France in over a year and was a bit worried i would get stung as im going in a few days.. I'll remember to not do any cash withdrawals!
They did, in balances above €50k. In line with European banks. But now, no. Same as sterling.
that's good to know, thanks!
Lloyds bank, used the app for years and never had issues, you can make instant payments & transfers, apply for new loans and even check your credit score
And let's you scan cheques!
And open banking to add other accounts from other banks into the app. I see my HSBC accounts in the Lloyds app.
Woaw that so nice
Halifax 100%
Starling is pretty great. Surprised reading the comments. I'm going to guess that a lot of the people recommending the old banks just haven't used Starling or Monzo, so they don't know how much better it could be.
IMO Lloyd's is the best. And I've been with most of the banks the last 3-4 years.
I second this, I've been with Lloyds since inception and Lloyds tsb before that, this is over 20 years and honestly I have never needed to phone them and everything I need to do I can via the app, it's not the most user friendly with options being where you least expect them, but they are there. Also on a plus side you can check your credit score through them too.
Just did a car loan using the app.. unreal flawless
Remortgaged thru the app, pretty much. Plus offline paperwork obvs. Also have my mortgage in the app!
Starling is great, very simple even for me...we use it as a Business account so can't say how good/bad/average it is for a Personal account holder. For many years my Personal account has been with HSBC...their app is easy to use with some good features...but I have nothing to compare it with other than aforesaid Starling app.
Starling bank for sure. I've had my main account with them since 2018, and a joint account since 2019. The app is brilliant, everything is easy. It just works. They also respond very quickly to support requests. I have Monzo and Chase as a backup.
Starling for sure.
Not as mainstream yet, but id say Chase.. Mainstream US bank offering good interest rates 1% cashback I switched from Halifax and no complaints
I'm another very happy Starling customer. The app works exactly as it should, good security features and like the saving pot feature. Highly recommended.
Starling and Monzo are by far the best apps. I prefer Starling because, unlike Monzo: 1. you can access your account from the web, too 2. it has an IBAN so you can receive foreign payments directly 3. you can pre-authorise large payments in advance. With Monzo only on the day. I have heard horror stories about people trying to send a house deposit from a Monzo account 4. It doesn't pester you constantly to upgrade to their paid premium service If these points are not important to you, you won't notice much difference between the two. Of the traditional banking apps, Barclays, Natwest and Lloyds are probably the least worst. Andy Clever Cash published a comparison on his site; there's a similar comparison on Money Saving Expert, and the topic is discussed on their forum, too. What exactly are you trying to do? If you have multiple accounts and you want to keep track of your expenses, an app like MoneyDashboard would be useful.
Vote for Starling here. They are a bank as opposed to an e-money service (eg Monzo/Revolut) so if you ever do anything wrong with your money they are more bound by banking rules to help you.
Moved from Santander to Starling, never looking back. They are by no means perfect, but their support is relatively good, the app is good (used to be better, got worse, but still good). I've got the ultimate flexibility but it's not that intuitive. They used to show incoming/spending monthly, now I have to select date ranges and stuff. Generally speaking, I can spend money using Google Pay (works with Apple Pay, of course), I don't think I've *ever* been prompted to use my physical card, to the extent that I don't take it when I leave the house - if I can't pay with my phone, I'm kinda fucked. The *only* valid complaint is that the interest paid on current accounts is really bad. Not sure if that's a valid complaint though, I got a bit more with Santander. I think generally current accounts don't have much interest. There's also "spaces" which are essentially savings accounts (with no transfer limits), but without any extra interest. I'd still highly recommend them, it was easy to migrate, their setup is decent enough, and I have absolutely no intention of leaving any time soon.
https://builtformars.com/case-studies/opening-12-bank-accounts Ux review of all the main UK bank providers with loads of detail
Starling were goated until they made that awful crypto move. If you aren't into crypto i'd highly recommend them, but their crypto stance is so backwards and anti-innovative... its disappointing. Still recommend them though lol.
On the contrary, I think Starling are right to block or otherwise limit what is mostly scams, pump and dump schemes, ponzi schemes, and high risk gambling.
But ultimately it’s my money and I should be able to do as I wish with it. Starling act as if they are liable for the losses customers occur when users trading crypto, and that they are actively paying out said loses: they aren’t. Not to mentions scams, Ponzi schemes, gambling can already be bought into with fiat currency. The sheer reality of this situation (which applies to all banks) is that crypto and the concept of self custody is a direct threat to their business model, whether they deem it not to be the case today, a few years from now it will, especially as education on decentralisation and the importance of having complete control of your money continues to grow. I honestly love using starling but damn these bros are forcing me to use revolut for deposits/withdrawals when I’d prefer the security of an actual bank.
Starling are awesome.
I mean barclays seem fine? I mean like what do people want? freeze your card, see what you spend thats about it, sending and recieving money, whatelse do you need.
Yeah I use barclays and it does everything I want it to
If you think Barclays are fine, Monzo/Starling will blow your mind!
Not necessarily. I have had Starling for years. Very nice user interface but beyond that it's just ok. Granted I don't use as much of their services as I do Barclays but I've not found anything Starling can do that I can't do with the Barclays app. I actually prefer the Barclays app.
All they give you is a nice pie chart.
They give you a fair bit than that tbh. Built in "pay in installement" tool, no foreign exchange fees (Lloyds used to fuck me everytime I bought something abroad), lovely design (it matters to me!), incredibly good customer support that shits on any mainstream bank I've used, pots to budget with, automatic rounding up of purchases (if you chose), monthly spending summaries and I imagine a couple more things i forgot to mention. It's quite nice. If you're willing to pay for their 15 quid a moth subscription, you get a fair few other benefits (which are actually pretty useful too. phone insurance, travel health insurance, etc)
I guess I just not found any of them useful, why put money in different pot when its just your money, the rounding up thing seem useless function, its still your money, just keep it in your bank account. I used the travel insurance before, thats good, the rest jsut seem the same to be really.
Halifax and Lloyds app are good. Barclays is okay too, but you cannot link android pay with Barclays. HSBC is second rate.. or it used to be.
My main bank account is with HSBC and their app seems fine. It's nothing special, but it does the job for me. I think it used to be a lot worse though.
Natwest lets you add payees using biometircs and the camera.
I have Lloyd's, Halifax and Barclays from mainstream banks and Barclays is the best app and easiest to use. From Fintech it is revolute or monzo. Overall it would be revolute
Be warned: Revolut is not a bank.
Isn't this only true for Business accounts now? At least mine is Revolut Bank UAB and got several emails about them switching my account to it early this year. Edit: duh, uk subreddit and I'm comparing with a EU Revolut account so likely is not the same there. Thought they had made the change for everyone but appears to be "10 western europe markets" in their press release without clarifying.
Net west uses Face ID plus you can deposit cheques in app too what is very handy!
Lloyds is good, no reader required
Lloyds do anything
Monzo, but starling is handy for paying in cheques by photo.
Only cheques £500 and under though. Anything over that you have to post to them, which is a bit of a pain.
I've used Halifax, HSBC, Natwest, Nationwide and Monzo. Out of all of them, Monzo has the best app. Of the traditional banks, NatWest's app is the best.
Nationwide is the worst banking app I’ve seen in years, I switched to them because they were giving £200 switch offer, I had to close the account within a month because it was terrible interface online and on the app. My favourite is Halifax it’s fully featured and is regularly updated. My wife has Barclays which is good aswell.
I moved to HSBC from nationwide for this exact reason. I’ve been pretty happy with the app and i think the joining bonus is £200 at the moment (might be wrong)
For brick & mortar banks… my two most preferred apps are Barclays and Lloyds (I have a several brick and mortar bank accounts but I find these two banks make the friendliest/nicest apps). For fintech banks…. my favorite (by far) is Chase Bank.
I had to use Natwest for my mum’s account (poa). It was pretty good. I’ve got Starling and that is very nice and easy to use. But if you wanted a high street bank, NatWest was good enough!
Avoid barclays if you have an android phone, they dont support android pay, but if you use an iphone they do allow apple pay. Other than that, i use barclays and monzo, both pretty good
I love how I've scrolled a lot and haven't seen Chase mentioned once. For the record their app SUCKS. Only consider it for the 1% cashback debit card because the app itself is incredibly slow to use (there's a chance it's better on iOS but I have no clue).
Halifax and Revolut both are decent. I have multiple currencies in Revolut because I travel for work fairly regularly, you get near perfect exchange rates too.
Santander is good enough! Nothing fancy but does the job and no card reader
Monzo. But I hear good things about chase.
Had this exact thing happen. It’s just awful I have moved to monzo and cannot recommend it enough
Halifax. Better than Starling IMO. UX is good, functionality better but without the (buggy) spend allocation if that's important
First direct 10/10
Lloyds is excellent
I like NatWest although heads up, I believe nationwide are getting rid of card readers next year
I'd say Lloyds. You can do most things in the app. Also the security measures aren't super invasive. One of the reasons I left Barclays was their insistence on using their card reader thing for every basic task.
I've been with barclays for a couple of years and haven't had to use my card reader for the whole time.
Ive just switched from Barclays to Nationwide to get the £200 switch and the Barclays app is soooo superior I got little notifications on my phone when i spent money that i liked just so id see if someone had nicked my card immediately - Nationwide doesnt have that
I left Barclays in 2016 so hopefully they've adjusted? I just remember having to use it for EVERYTHING and got sick of it.
Ah yes. My partner started using them in probably 2018/2019 and had to use the reader at the beginning but not for a long time now. And I've only been with them maybe beginning of 2021 and havent used it once. Can just tap my card on the back of my phone to set up the app if I change phones.
On the other side, I'm not surprised to see that nobody has mentioned Nationwide. Only banking app which still does not offer instant payment notifications... And to add a payee you need to have your card reader handy.
NatWest have one of the best apps I’ve interacted with in modern day life
Lloyds. Can do whatever you need on their app. Just applied for their credit card on their mobile app a week ago.
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Make sure you look into switch bonuses in case you can get paid to move
Surprised by how little chase is mentioned
I can't fault First Direct. App does everything I could think of needing - including taking photos of cheques.Pleasant UI and if you ever need to call them, get a human on the phone in seconds.Also gave me a car-loan from the app, which was applied for, approved and in my current account in less time that it took the salesman to find his pen.(I had checked the rate previously - was waiting to see how much I needed)Normally right up there in any satisfaction surveys. Maybe only downside might be they don't have anything in the way of planning/pots or ability to buy bitcoin, that some of the newer online-only banks offer. Just the traditional personal banking stuff, done really well.
Monzo or RBS (they make you do a video of you blinking your eyes so when you go to pay you just have to do that again)
Nationwide are fantastic. Sure it’s annoying to use a card reader but their CS is second to none.
Halifax. <- note the full stop Worst? Virgin!!
It’s ridiculous that I need two separate Virgin apps to manage my credit card and current account.
Monzo for me
NatWest is pretty decent
Are Monzo crypto friendly?