Can We Really Trust Digital Banks?
What the rise of app banking could mean for your privacy, money, and the economy
Waking up to an email from your bank is never fun. I’m used to receiving emails about my bank balance or recent transfers. I read them with bored, glazed-over eyes, and then archive them. However, I recently received an email that caused me to lose faith in a bank that I used to trust.
Nobody wants to hear that their bank PIN code may have been compromised. On August 5, 2019, me and 479,999 other customers of Monzo, a British app-based bank, found out that unauthorized staff had access to to our PIN numbers for six months. While many use Monzo and other app-based banks as a secondary account, I am all in. I made this decision after being frustrated with slow payment notifications and exorbitant fees from mainstream banks while traveling internationally.
With Monzo, I had so far enjoyed fee-free international credit-card payments. I liked the instant payment notifications and the way the app automatically filed my spending into categories like “Eating Out” and “Bills.” Opening an account was also quick and easy, as was transferring funds from my previous account. I was so happy with my user experience that I recommended it to my partner who, as a new arrival to the UK, had struggled to open a bank…
