Monzo Multi-currency Card with no fees?

aussi

aussi

Well-Known Member
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Location
Shropshire, boat in Conwy
www.eboatcards.com
Does anyone here have any experience of Monzo (a new multi-currency pre-pay card and mobile app) that apparently has no fees, even when used abroad? This looks like something that travellers (many of those here) may find useful:

I have nothing to do with this company BTW, I'm just interested in opinions as I have signed up but there is a waiting list.
 
aussi said:
Does anyone here have any experience of Monzo (a new multi-currency pre-pay card and mobile app) that apparently has no fees, even when used abroad? This looks like something that travellers (many of those here) may find useful:

I have nothing to do with this company BTW, I'm just interested in opinions as I have signed up but there is a waiting list.
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That looks very interesting. It is amazing how crap online banking is, by the standards of technology available these days.
 
However, if you read the T&Cs....

"The card is an e-money product, and as such it is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. In the unlikely event that Wirecard Card Solutions Ltd becomes insolvent, your funds may become valueless and unusable, and as a result you may lose your money."
 
pvb said:
However, if you read the T&Cs....

"The card is an e-money product, and as such it is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. In the unlikely event that Wirecard Card Solutions Ltd becomes insolvent, your funds may become valueless and unusable, and as a result you may lose your money."
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Run!

Most foreign exchange operators are covered by the FCA, with client funds held in a trust account so secure. Would not touch one that is not secure.
 
pvb said:
However, if you read the T&Cs....
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Interesting. Been reading a bit more and this Telegraph Article mentions this too, but also states that "balances are held by a third-party bank, and so the risk of loss is low". It doesn't, however, mention which 3rd party bank.

You could run your Monzo balance at zero and transfer money into it just before you use it (which is how I intended to use it).
 
There seem to be quite a few of these around. I have a Revolut account, which I think is more-or-less the same thing as Monzo. I got it because I needed to transfer some money toa colleague who uses one, and I have been deeply unimpressed. Their whole system is bizarrely opaque and when my colleague transferred some cash back to me it never turned up. It had to go to a bank account, because there was a limit on transfers into my Revolut account, and Revolut could not or would not tell me which account they had tried to transfer it to. If any. It left my colleague's account with them OK.

Basically I assume that all such schemes are run by the twenty-something children of Russian mafiosi and act accordingly. As Tranona says ... run.
 
Well I'm going to give it a try, with my eyes as wide open as possible (thanks for pointing out the Ts and Cs pvb), as I'm pretty fed up with the ridiculous bank charges and paltry exchange rates applied when making payments overseas.
 
aussi said:
Well I'm going to give it a try, with my eyes as wide open as possible (thanks for pointing out the Ts and Cs pvb), as I'm pretty fed up with the ridiculous bank charges and paltry exchange rates applied when making payments overseas.
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Exchange rates do depend on how and where you spend your money abroad. But what are Monzo's exchange rates for foreign transactions? I can't find anything at all on their website.
 
pvb said:
Exchange rates do depend on how and where you spend your money abroad. But what are Monzo's exchange rates for foreign transactions? I can't find anything at all on their website.
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Ah, it seems they charge the usual Mastercard exchange rate.

Incidentally, there's apparently an ATM withdrawal limit of £1000 a month, which wouldn't go far in an emergency.
 
I have got one and just used in Spain. Yes there is the withdrawal limit but the card can be used the same as a debit/credit card to buy goods and pay for services. The only thing it can't be used for is hire cars some petrol stations & toll booths. If you go through Martin's Moneysaving expert website you can jump the queue. I got mine about two days after I applied and there is also good information about the card on the site:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-travel-cards
 
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I just spent 5 days in France and I used the opportunity to try out my new Monzo card whilst at the same time paying for a few transactions with my ordinary HSBC Visa Credit Card. I found that the exchange rate used by Monzo was 1.08 (£1 = Euro 1,08) for most of the transactions (consistently using two digits) whereas HSBC used 4 digits varying between 1.0743 and 1.0792 - an additional £1,70 on £792 of expenditure. I did save the entire Non-Sterling Transaction Fee, amounting to £24.00. In other words a net saving of £22.30 (2.8%) and well worth it for me.
I kept the balance on my Monzo card low and found it easy to add to the balance (using the mobile phone app) immediately before using the card.
Monzo was recommended on the Which? website which is how I came across it.
 
captainboo said:
I have got one and just used in Spain. Yes there is the withdrawal limit but the card can be used the same as a debit/credit card to buy goods and pay for services. The only thing it can't be used for is hire cars. If you go through Martin's Moneysaving expert website you can jump the queue. I got mine about two days after I applied and there is also good information about the card on the site.
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Wonder why it can't be used for hire cars?

You say it can be used the same as a debit/credit card, but does it give you any consumer protection, which a credit card does?
 
I would assume that as it is a pre-paid card then you would have limited or probably no protection. I just used it as a method of not having to carry or withdraw a large amount of cash before travelling. You can top the card up by the app and then immediately withdraw the cash or use it as a 'card' straightaway so you don't have to keep a large amount of money allocated to the card. I have a Santander Credit card which gives me zero fees for transactions abroad so used that for most of my purchases. The Monzo card was just used for cash withdrawals as there are no fees and the exchange rate is probably the best you can get.

I think the hire car bit is to do with the company 'ring fencing' money on your card in the event of damages etc.. This couldn't be done on a pre-paid card as the funds might not be there.
 
I've been using a Caxton FX prepaid card for € transactions for the past few years. No cost to get a card (at the time I go at one, don't know about now), easy to load via either an app or via the company website. Mid market rates and no charges for transactions or ATM withdrawals. Limit of €300 per day via ATM, no limit if you're using it as a card. Don't use it to buy petrol from an automated pump or for tolls as both these transactions put a large marker on the available credit for some reason and you can find yourself unable to access the balance.
No use for car hire as it's not a credit card and most companies require a credit card authorisation to cover their deposit.
I've also got a Caxton FX € payment account: I can buy € ahead of time (if I reckon the exchange rate might be dropping) and the use that to pay bills via bank transfer direct the boatyard. No charges and better rates than the card offers (usually by a cent or two in my favour), in contrast to doing the same transaction though my bank which gives me a worse rate of exchange and charges me about £20 for the transaction.
 
My lad got one via the Martin Lewis link and has used it successfully and without hassle or fees, since. He's very impressed and, as another poster has said, just keeps the balance low.
 
I've got a Revolut card this year , which so far works very well. We're hauled out in the Carribean and the marina invoice monthly charges, I load the card and they take payment. Very much less expensive than previous methods I've used. You can also make bank transfers with it. Not sure why anyone would describe the app as opaque. It seems very straightforward.
 
Ademist said:
I've got a Revolut card this year , which so far works very well. We're hauled out in the Carribean and the marina invoice monthly charges, I load the card and they take payment. Very much less expensive than previous methods I've used. You can also make bank transfers with it. Not sure why anyone would describe the app as opaque. It seems very straightforward.
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I got a Monzo through the MSE queue jump. Seemed an excellent deal until I discovered that at that time it was subject to a £3000 limit - not per transaction, or per period of time, but 'full stop' - once you've used that 'allowance' your card is no more use. This was explained to me by Monzo people as being for two reasons, one of which I can't remember, the other being that it was only ever intended as a temporary card pending introduction of the Monzo current account with its debit card. That is now being rolled out.
 
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