Opening a bank account for my 16-year-old was so easy that it took me longer to find his passport than it did to do the application!
This afternoon, I helped Master Frugal open his own bank account with Monzo and it was so easy that I thought I’d share it with you because it was so much easier than I expected!
(BTW – I’m not working with Monzo at all, I’ll explain below why we picked Monzo over the other options 😂 )
The first reason we chose Monzo was that they advertise an ‘easy’ online account opening process which was a big sell to me after the nightmare we had trying to get an appointment in a branch to open an account for one of the high street banks last time we tried to get this sorted.
The ease of the application wasn’t the only reason we went for Monzo though (although it was a big one), a few people we know have a Monzo account and can’t recommend it highly enough. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to someone who’s had a bad experience with them so that plus the easy application process pretty much had us sold.
The last thing that tipped us in their favour is actually quite a superficial reason but they really seem like quite a fun brand and that feels like a good fit for a 16-year-old for their first grown-up bank account. Oh, and did I mention that the debit card is a bright coral colour that perfectly matches my card – obviously not a factor in Master Frugal’s decision but I must admit it played a small part in mine. 😂
Anyway, now you know why we chose Monzo, here’s how the application process went…
10:00
Master F – ‘Mam, let’s set up that bank account thing. Where’s my passport?’
Me – ‘It’s where it always is, I’ll grab it and we’ll get it sorted.’
10:00 – 10:21
Me – ‘Where the heck is that passport, it should be here in the drawer with the other passports?’
Also Me – ‘Where would you be if you were a passport?’
Me again – ‘Oh, that’s where that bill went, best get that paid!’
And me again – ‘Why on earth would your passport be in the first aid drawer?’
10:21 – 10:26
Master F – Downloads the Monzo app, fills in the personal details, verifies email address and phone number with an email and text.
10:27
Master F – Takes a photo of his passport and submits that.
10:28
Master F – ‘OMG, I have to make a video, you didn’t tell me I’d have to make a video!!!’
Me – Giggles away while I hear him practising saying ‘My names …. and I want a Monzo account’ before recording himself and uploading it.
At this point, we got a message to confirm that everything had been submitted and that they were now going to verify his identity using the video and the passport. The message said it can take up to 48 hours to complete this part of the application which is fair enough.
10:37
Master F – ‘Mam, just got a message to say my account’s open and my card’s on its way now.’
So, it took me 21 minutes to find the passport, less than 10 minutes to do our part of the application and less than 10 minutes for the application to be reviewed. On a Sunday.
I just think that’s amazing, so much easier than having to go into a branch and definitely the way that things should be done in 2021. He’s so impressed with things and his app is now at a page that says ‘activate your card’ ready for when it gets here this week.
If anyone’s interested then I’m sure he’ll do a little review of the app from his point of view when he’s been using it for a little while but for now, we’d definitely give it a 10/10 for the application process.
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