Digital banks are on the rise in the UK and worldwide. Their popularity is fuelled by growing demand for easy, convenient banking via smartphone app. We do everything on our phones, so why not our banking?
If you’re considering making the switch to a digital bank, read on. We’ve put together a complete guide to all of the best digital banks in the UK. This includes the likes of Revolut, Monzo, Starling, Chase and many more.
We’ll run through everything you need to know, including account features, fees and how to sign up.
Remember though that a bank account isn’t the only option for managing your money. If you travel a lot or need to make international transactions, the Wise account could be the perfect alternative.
With Wise, you can hold 40 currencies at once, send money worldwide for low fees and spend on your own Wise card.
But more on that later. For now, let’s get back to looking at UK digital banks.
What is a digital bank?
A digital bank is a financial services company which offers online-only accounts. In most cases, this means accounts that are primarily managed via a smartphone app.
However, not all digital banks are fully licensed banks in the UK. Some money apps may not have protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
6 of the best digital banks in the UK
So, which is the best digital bank in the UK? Here’s a list of all the most popular options, including helpful info on accounts, features, fees and anything else you need to know.
All are online-only banks with no high street branches, where you manage your account through a smartphone app.
1: Revolut
One of the leading digital banks in the UK and internationally, Revolut has around 30 million personal users. It also supports business customers, with dedicated accounts and products for small companies and freelancers.
For personal customers, Revolut’s app brings together a wide range of money services all in one place. You can manage a current account and savings ‘vault’, make crypto investments and exchange foreign currency.
Revolut accounts come with a physical debit Mastercard, which is contactless and works with mobile wallets.
The Revolut app also offers extra rewards and lifestyle benefits, depending which plan you go for. It’s also packed with features and tools to help you manage your money. Here’s what you can do with it:
- Manage subscriptions
- Set up savings vaults and ‘pockets’
- Make international transfers
- Use budgeting and analytics tools
- Manage commodities and cryptocurrency investments
- Set up spending notifications
- Freeze your card if you lose it
- Generate single-use virtual cards.
Accounts
Revolut offers a choice of free and paid plans:¹
- Standard - free
- Plus - £2.99 a month
- Premium - £6.99 a month
- Metal - £12.99 a month
- Ultra (coming soon) - £45 a month (introductory offer).
You can sign up quickly and easily using the Revolut app, and you can cancel anytime.
Features
The more you pay for your Revolut plan each month, the more features you get. Many of the perks are travel-focused, such as airport lounge access and travel insurance.
With the free Standard plan, you’ll still get a current account, debit card and features such as:¹
- Up to £200 a month in fee-free foreign ATM withdrawals
- Fee-free currency exchange up to £1,000 a month
- Up to 3% cashback on accommodation
- Up to 2.29% interest on savings.
Upgrade to the most expensive plan, Metal, and you’ll unlock a huge number of extra features. This includes an exclusive Metal debit card, priority customer support, increased foreign transaction limits, global medical insurance and much more.
Fees
Alongside the monthly plan fees, here are all the other key Revolut charges you need to know about (based on the Standard plan):²
| Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| ATM withdrawals above the monthly limit | 2% |
| International payments | Varies by currency and destination |
| Foreign exchange above the monthly limit | 1% (0.5% for Plus plan) |
Security
Revolut is pretty hot on security, with numerous safety features working to protect you and your money. This includes:
- Your money protected by regulated banks (although you won’t have FSCS protection)
- App access controlled by two-factor authentication
- Automated in-app reviews of transactions
- Virtual single-use cards
- Freeze/unfreeze your card in the app.
2: Chase³
Chase is the online banking arm of the global financial services JPMorgan. It’s well established in the US, and launched in the UK in September 2022. It’s an FCA regulated and licensed bank.
When you sign up for a current account with Chase, you’ll get a numberless debit card, where all card details are stored in the app for security. You’ll manage all your day-to-day finances within the app.
You just need to be a UK resident over the age of 18 to open an account, but you’ll need a smartphone.
Accounts
While US customers have a choice of a larger range of products, Chase UK only offers two accounts. These are a current account and a saver account, both of which are free to open and offer a straightforward banking experience.
Features
The Chase current account offers the following features:
- 1% cashback on everyday debit card spending for a year (capped at £15 a month)
- 1% AER variable interest on your current account balance
- Option to open a linked saver account paying 3.8% AER variable interest
- 5% interest boost on ‘round-up’ pots.
One thing to note about the Chase account though is that it doesn’t allow you to send or receive international payments.
Fees
One of the main benefits of banking with Chase, apart from the cashback, is that it charges zero fees for using your Chase card abroad. This means that you can withdraw money from overseas ATMs and pay for overseas purchases without being charged by Chase.
And in fact, there are no fees for this account at all.
Security
When you bank with Chase, your money is covered up to £85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Other Chase security features include:
- Numberless debit card - all details are securely stored in the app
- Active fraud monitoring
- 24/7 support in the app.
3: Starling Bank
First launched in 2024, Starling Bank was one of Britain’s first digital banks. Since it launched, over 3 million customers have opened accounts on the Starling app.
It offers a choice of current accounts, business banking solutions, overdrafts and loans. You can open an account in minutes using just your phone.
Accounts
Starling has a few different account types available for personal customers. This includes a Personal account, Joint account and Euro account. You can also get a Teen account (for 16-17 year olds) and Starling Kite, which is a debit card for children.
Features⁴
Starling claims to offer “Everything you need. Nothing you don’t” in its online accounts. Let’s take a look at the features available within its app and for its current accounts:
- Instant spending alerts
- Create dedicated ‘Spaces’ - eg. for paying bills or savings
- Send and request money, and split bills easily
- Virtual cards
- Overdrafts (if eligible)
- Connected cards - designed for carers and people spending on behalf of someone else
- Access to a Fixed Saver paying 3.25% interest
- Round-ups to help grow your savings.
- 0.05% AER on current account balances up to £85,000.
Fees
Starling Bank offers fee-free spending and ATM withdrawals both in the UK and overseas. There are also no account fees to worry about.
You’ll only pay a fee if you make use of subscriptions such as Starling Kite (£2 a month) or Connected Cards (£2 a month per card).⁵
Security
Starling Bank is a fully regulated bank and offers FSCS protection up to £85,000 per person. It claims to have world-class security features, which include:
- In-app instant card locking
- Instant transaction alerts
- 24/7 customer support
- Biometric identification
- 3D Secure when using your card online.
4: Monzo
One of the biggest digital banks in the UK, London-based Monzo has around 7 million customers.⁶ It serves both personal and business customers, with current and savings accounts as well as loans.
You can open an account using just the Monzo app, which was named Best Banking App at the 2023 British Bank Awards.
Accounts
Monzo offers a range of current accounts, including joint accounts, premium solutions and dedicated accounts for 16-17 year olds.
Like Revolut, Monzo offers a free account along with a couple of paid options:⁷
- Monzo (standard) - free
- Monzo Plus - £5 per month (3 month minimum)
- Monzo Premium - £15 per month (6 month minimum).
The more you pay, the more features you’ll get.
Features
With the free Monzo plan, you’ll get a UK current account and debit card, which works with mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
If you upgrade, you’ll get additional features (which vary depending on plan) such as:⁷
- Interest on balances up to £2,000 - 1% for Plus, 1.5% for Premium
- Virtual cards
- Fee-free withdrawals abroad up to £400 (Plus) or £600 (Premium) a month
- Phone insurance (Premium)
- Worldwide travel insurance (Premium)
- Discounted airport lounge access (Premium).
Fees
Aside from the account fees for paid plans, here are the other Monzo fees you need to know about:⁸
| Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Receiving international payments in euros | 1% currency conversion fee |
| Overseas ATM withdrawals above monthly limit | 3% |
| Unarranged overdraft | 33.4% per annum (variable) |
Security
With Monzo, your money is protected by the FSCS up to £85,000. Other key security features to know about include:
- Instant payment notifications
- Approve payments with Touch ID, Face ID, fingerprint or PIN
- Freeze card in the app
- 24/7 customer support.
5: Monese
Launched in 2015, British fintech firm Monese offers mobile money accounts designed to make everyday banking easier. It has millions of customers in the UK, and also operates throughout Europe.
Monese serves both personal and business customers, with just a couple of straightforward account options for each. You can sign up and manage your money using the Monese app, and you’ll get a debit card too. All you need is a photo ID and a selfie to get started.
Accounts
For personal customers, Monese offers one current account, although you can also open a joint account with a partner. There’s a free plan, or you can upgrade to a paid plan to access more features. Here are your options:⁹
- Simple - free
- Classic - £5.95 a month
- Premium - £14.95 a month
As the name would suggest, the Instant account can be opened in minutes using the Monese app.
Features
The free Monese instant account offers the following features:
- Multi-currency account details in GBP, EUR and RON, plus free instant transfers between accounts
- International transfers at mid-market exchange rates
- Advanced app features like budgeting tools and instant notifications
- Money pots to make savings easier
- Purchase protection.
But if you upgrade to Premium, you’ll get extra perks such as insurance (covering accident, sickness, unemployment and hospital stays) and higher ATM withdrawal limits.
Fees
We’ve already mentioned plan fees, but what other charges do you need to know about with Monese? Here’s a rundown of fees for the Monese Simple plan:¹⁰
| Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Delivery fee for physical Monese card | £4.95 |
| Instant Card top-up | 1% |
| UK transfers above allowance of 50 a month | £0.20 per transfer |
| Currency exchange between Monese accounts - at weekends | 1% |
| Currency exchange on outgoing international transfers | From 2.5% + 1% extra fee at weekends |
| Receiving international transfers | 2% |
| Spending in foreign currency other than GBP, EUR, RON and SEK - or above monthly allowance | 2% |
Security
The Monese app is secured by biometric login details, and the money in your account has FSCS protection up to £85,000.
Other security features include:
- 3D Secure when shopping online
- Strong multi-factor encryption and authentication protocols
- Single phone access
- Lock and unlock your card if you lose it
- Real-time notifications
- 24/7 monitoring
- Virtual cards for extra-secure shopping.
6: Tandem
Tandem was one of the original digital ‘challenger’ banks in the UK. It was launched in 2014, before expanding by buying Harrods Bank a few years later.
Today, Tandem claims to be “building the UK’s greener, digital bank providing hard working people across the UK with sustainable ways to save, borrow and spend.”¹¹
It primarily offers savings accounts, mortgages, personal and home loans, and motor finance. Notably, Tandem doesn’t offer current accounts - so skip past this one if you’re mainly looking for a money app for everyday use.
Accounts
Tandem doesn’t have a current account, but it does have a couple of savings accounts to choose from. These include:¹²
- Instant Access Savers - offering a rate of 4.3% AER
- Fixed Savers - offering a guaranteed fixed rate of between 5.85% (1-3 years) and 6.15% (18 months) AER.
Features
When you open a savings account with Tandem, you’ll manage it through a dedicated mobile app. This only offers limited features, such as viewing your balance and interest, transferring money and managing connected accounts.
And as there’s no current account, you won’t get a debit card for spending and ATM withdrawals.
Fees
The good news is that Tandem doesn’t charge any fees for opening or operating your account. And as there’s no debit card, there are no spending or cash withdrawal limits or fees to worry about.
Security
Tandem offers FSCS protection of up to £85,000 per person when you save money in one of its app-managed accounts.
The app itself is protected by biometric login, along with secure log-in codes sent by text for an extra layer of protection.
Looking for a truly international account? Check out Wise
The digital bank accounts above might not quite meet your needs, especially if you travel a lot or need to make international transactions. Some have high foreign transaction fees for using your debit card abroad, or put limits on the number of international transfers you can make.
Wise is the ideal alternative. Open a Wise account online in just a few clicks, and you can start managing your money in 40+ currencies. You can send payments worldwide for low fees and mid-market exchange rates, and receive it for free in 9 major currencies.
There’s even a Wise card for spending in 160 countries, where your pounds are automatically converted to the local currency at a great rate. There are no foreign transaction fees, just a tiny conversion fee - or it’s free if you already have the currency in your Wise account.
There are never any monthly fees with Wise, and it’s free to sign up. You can get your Wise card for a one-time charge of just £7.
Join Wise today
Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees.
After reading this, you should have a better idea of what’s out there when it comes to digital banks.
We’ve covered all the main contenders, including Revolut, Monzo, Chase UK, Monese, Starling Bank and Tandem. But new digital banks and money apps are launching all the time, so you really are spoilt for choice if mobile-first banking is something you’re interested in.
Sources used:
Sources last checked on date: 21-Jul-2023
Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information. This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional. We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
