For starters, Mondo is based in the UK - Ally in the US
I'm not sure if there are any other UK based online banks, I couldn't find any in 30seconds of googling
I'm not sure if there are any other UK based online banks, I couldn't find any in 30seconds of googling
Not to mention a few of the big boys have "Internet only" brands: First Direct (HSBC), Smile (Co-operative Bank), etc. These typically have their own customer service and distance themselves from their parent operationally, while still leaning on that reputation.
One thing that concerns me about investing in Mondo is that their only fruitful exit strategy might be being bought out. People are notoriously relunctant to switch current accounts, and a bad decade for public faith in banks might mean people will likely stick with names they know.
They're also at least a year from launch afaict, and Android doesn't seem to be a priority. They could miss the boat.
Or, equally, make them switch to names they don't know and therefore don't distrust
> People are notoriously relunctant to switch current (checking) accounts
A big part of their pitch is being able to open an account on your phone in 30 seconds. We'll see if they're actually able to successfully market that though
They won't have a single branch either, unlike these others (or their parents). Apart from Atom they're the only ones like this.
Monese and FFREES aren't even banks by definition either.
I've been following Mondo for ages the only true bank like it is Atom & Starling. Starling isn't exactly in the same category though. Someone made a graphic to show the differences. Not sure if I can find that.