AIBU to not use Monzo as main current account

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I have been using Monzo for about abyear as a second account. I pay all bills from Natwest account then transfer the rest to Monzo for spending / saving in the pots.

It would be easier if i just used it as my main account but for some reason I am fearful of having an online only bank as my main current account?

So AIBU to not use Monzo as main current account or do people actually do this and everythings ok?

I use Starling (similar bank with much nicer interface ;)) as my “spends account”. Bills and my wages go out/into a different current account with Barclays. This is partly because I get Blue Rewards so get £7 a month from Barclays, and partly because it works for me to manage my money like that.

(I also have a Monzo I put work expenses through)

I do the same OP, I have my main account and then I have a Starling account (originally to spend overseas as they didn't charge stupid fees to use your card abroad or take out money). I also have a euro account with Starling.

I haven't gone full Monzo because I've been with my main bank for 20 years so it feels a bit weird leaving. I also have a loan and savings account with them. I keep all of bills in my main bank account and use Monzo for everything else so I can monitor disposable income.

I'm the same OP, I have a Monzo that I pop money into when I don't want to take my full card stock out with me and me and DH have a joint account with Monzo for weekly spending like food and petrol. But I'm still hesitant to put wages and direct debits to it, and like paddington I get my £7 direct debit bonus from Barclays!

If you don't visit an actual bricks and mortar branch, there's no difference (IMO).

I'm the same OP. I get better interest from my other bank as well as access to loan offers etc - not that I tend to take them up on that, but a 'traditional' bank offers more services than Monzo at the moment. I just keep £50 or so on my Monzo for walking around money - unless we're abroad, where it is my main card as my trad bank's fees are shocking out of the UK.

I think this is how most people use Monzo - I transfer my budget for the month on to it but all bills, direct debits etc come out of my ‘normal’ account.

I use Starling as a spending account and have a main current account with a high street bank. Last year I had a problem with the Starling app for a few days, and very occasionally I've had problems paying for things online using my Starling debit card. For both of those reasons I would be reluctant to transfer over to using Starling for everything.

www.businessinsider.com/banking-only-with-monzo-could-weaken-customers-credit-scores-2020-1?r=US&IR=T

An online bank as your main account shouldn't make much difference but what you do want to avoid is having all your eggs in one basket.

All banks have problems and if the system goes down for any reason, you need to have a back up so you're not stuck for day to day essentials. Look at all the 'Bank X is down and I can't buy food' threads that pop up when this happens.

Also, unless you have lots of excess money, it's a lot easier to separate your bills account from your spending account, so you don't need to watch the balance closely and think ahead wrt direct debits etc, so you don't spend the mortgage money on shopping/petrol/whatever.

I have a starling account but I would never use it or monzo as a main bank account as it’s tied to my phone. If I lost my phone I wouldn’t be able to do any banking task except cancel the card.

Too risky! It’s very convenient as a day to day spending account however.

I stopped using Monzo when it turned out they were anti-women.

I use it as a main account but I have two credit cards and another account that always has a good amount of funds in it and I have two phones (one work). As @PaperFlowers4 says it is tied to your phone so you can spend money via card but you can’t make transfers etc without your phone.

@Bezalelle Any background on this? I like the fresh approach of Monzo but do not like the sound of them being anti-woman...

We’re the same - we use it for all of our spending and I have lots of savings pots set up but I still use my main account with Halifax for our bills and to have wages paid into :)

@MrsPotatoHeadsSheeWee they believe TWAW and TMAM and they use is for their 50% female/male hiring aim. So they aim to have an equal split of sex but if they believe in self identifying they could quite easily have no women working for them. I think that's the jist.

Yep, I'm the same. Have my main bank account(s) for bills and main funds and I use my Monzo account when travelling and for a specific savings pot. For instance, I am going on a weekend break next week and I have moved all spending money to Monzo as its easy to ave it totally seperate from any other monies in my main accounts.

I have a high street bank account and a Monzo account. Currently use it in the same way as you, but am toying with the idea of having my salary paid into it too and going Full Monzo.

I would, however, still keep a high street bank account open for now.

The only issue with going Full Monzo is that on the rare occasion you need to access a large amount of cash quickly, you can’t. Monzo sets a daily ATM limit, same as most banks, and as far as I know there is no way to withdraw a larger amount from them. So I’d keep another account open in the event that you needed say £2k in cash within the space of a day or so. Unlikely, but possible!

I used to be the same, I had my Nationwide account where my money went in and direct debits went out and I'd transfer my "spending money" to Monzo. About 6 months ago, I decided to go full Monzo. I've had no problems so far and I actually really like it. I like that it shows me what's coming up the next day if there's a DD due - so for example today it shows me coming up on Monday I have a DD due out. It also does the same for money coming in - again I can see I have money coming in on Monday but if I want, I can collect the money at 4pm today. The only real "issue" I've had was a cheque I needed to pay in, but I just paid it to my nationwide account that I've kept open, then transferred it to Monzo.