The irony is that Starling is consistently the better bank, from my perspective.
I started off getting Monzo when it advertised itself as a pre-paid debit card and it's big selling point was free foreign ATM transactions. I never actually used it all that much (I've been with them about 5-6 years, and maybe done about £1000 total foreign withdrawals).
At some point when they introduced limits, there was a post on their forum comparing them to Starling, Revolut and N26 and others. N26 was a bit of a hassle, but I got the other two just in case I needed more than the £200 a month you were now allowed.
Since then, the service at Monzo has steadily declined, as they decide to start charging fees for this that or the other than used to be free, adding more and more junk dressed up to look pretty, but every month or so the service gets degraded a little more somehow. An extra charge here. A restriction there. More in-app advertising for services I don't want, etc.
And yet throughout that, Starling has continued to do everything you'd expect from a bank, and with the convenience of an online bank. Their app hasn't really changed at all in that time, and yet somehow it's still better than Monzo's. Simpler, sure, but certainly less annoying.
It's telling that I've never felt comfortable trusting Monzo with my salary, because it always feels like it'll fold any moment, so I've always had my salary paid into a "real bank" and just have a standing order each month to transfer £500 a month for monthly expenditure, but pay most bills directly from the old brick and mortar bank. I needed to keep that old account around anyway, because Monzo makes life impossible if you need occasionally to use cheques.
And so, when I started a company and needed to choose a bank for my business account, it was a no brainer - Starling.
Of the "traditional" banks First Direct generally have quite a good reputation. I've used them for a while and they've been fine. Customer service is good on the occasions I use it and the product's been reliable.
That said I'd be surprised to see a bank like Monzo just fold without warning. It's possible that one or more of the "challenger" banks won't last a long time, but the outcome there will most likely be them getting bought by someone else.
I started off getting Monzo when it advertised itself as a pre-paid debit card and it's big selling point was free foreign ATM transactions. I never actually used it all that much (I've been with them about 5-6 years, and maybe done about £1000 total foreign withdrawals).
At some point when they introduced limits, there was a post on their forum comparing them to Starling, Revolut and N26 and others. N26 was a bit of a hassle, but I got the other two just in case I needed more than the £200 a month you were now allowed.
Since then, the service at Monzo has steadily declined, as they decide to start charging fees for this that or the other than used to be free, adding more and more junk dressed up to look pretty, but every month or so the service gets degraded a little more somehow. An extra charge here. A restriction there. More in-app advertising for services I don't want, etc.
And yet throughout that, Starling has continued to do everything you'd expect from a bank, and with the convenience of an online bank. Their app hasn't really changed at all in that time, and yet somehow it's still better than Monzo's. Simpler, sure, but certainly less annoying.
It's telling that I've never felt comfortable trusting Monzo with my salary, because it always feels like it'll fold any moment, so I've always had my salary paid into a "real bank" and just have a standing order each month to transfer £500 a month for monthly expenditure, but pay most bills directly from the old brick and mortar bank. I needed to keep that old account around anyway, because Monzo makes life impossible if you need occasionally to use cheques.
And so, when I started a company and needed to choose a bank for my business account, it was a no brainer - Starling.