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Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Monzo insider reveals best app features including way to get paid early
You may know Monzo for its bright coral pink bank card - but there are plenty of nifty features within its app that can help you manage your money better From getting paid early, to managing your pension, one Monzo insider has revealed all the clever features you may not realise are available in your banking app. The Mirror caught up with Andy Smart, chief product officer at Monzo, shortly after the digital bank swept the British Bank Awards 2025, winning Best Bank, Best Banking App and Best Children's Financial Provider. 'We spend a lot of time building things that I think most banks don't really steer towards,' says Andy, when I ask what makes Monzo different to its bricks and mortar rivals. 'I've been at Monzo for nine years and I would have given you the same answer nine years ago and we just built on that over time. 'The overall summary of that is that we really live our mission. Monzo's mission is to make money work for everybody, and that really comes through in everything we do. 'A lot of the way we design products and features, is we design them for customers who are both just starting out in their financial lives or just getting a foot on the ladder, as well as customers who are maybe a little bit more experienced.' Here, we round up some of the best features in Monzo that can help you manage your money better. Get the best deals and tips from Mirror Money WHATSAPP GROUP: Get money news and top deals straight to your phone by joining our Money WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Get paid early If payday still feels ages away, then you can request Monzo pay your salary one day early. There are no fees for this service and the money is normally paid at 4pm one business day early. "I really love get paid early. I think the only bank in the UK that does that, and it's a universal appeal," says Andy. "It doesn't matter what you're earning, the benefit of getting your salary just a little bit earlier still feels really, really good, almost like an endorphin moment." Sort your salary Monzo also has a salary sorter feature, which divides your incoming pay packet or other payments into different pots - for example, for savings, bills, or spending money. In order to do this, you need to have your salary paid into your Monzo account, plus pots already set up, ready for the app to divide your money into. "One thing I think is possibly sometimes not as talked about, is that we have a tool to let you sort your salary," says Andy. "Good savings habits and good principles around saving is, you pay yourself first, so you put that money aside and you don't spend it, or you decide, I need this much for bills, or this much for saving, and this much to go towards my holiday next month." Monzo pensions Monzo can now help you track down your pensions and consolidate them into one place. Pensions can get lost really easily, especially if you've had a lot of jobs or moved address often. In order for Monzo to find your pensions, you need to provide information about your previous employment. This feature isn't available to all customers just yet, but you can register for updates. There is a platform fee of 0.45% – 0.35% for Monzo Perks and Max subscribers – and 0.18% fund fee. "We found that there was a real problem in the UK, in particular where customers weren't really thinking about their retirement early on," says Andy. "Like any savings journey, the earlier you start, the much easier it is, because you have the benefit of time and compounding to support you. "And so what we wanted to do there was not necessarily convince people to start throwing all their money into their pension overnight, because we realised that's not what people are going to do, but to give people a level of visibility of how they're doing." Round up If you find saving tricky, there is a feature which rounds up your transactions to the nearest pound, and then Monzo puts the extra money away for you. For example, if you bought something for 70p, Monzo would round it up to £1 and put that extra 30p into a savings or investment pot. "You haven't thought deeply about where you spend that 30p, but now it's going to be invested for you - it's in the stock market and growing," says Andy. "One in five Monzo customers are using round ups, so it's one of the most adopted features across the business." 1p savings challenge Monzo became the first bank to offer a fully automated 1p savings challenge within its app last year. The principle of the 1p savings challenge is simple. You start by saving just 1p on January 1, then you increase this amount by 1p each day going forward - so 2p on January 2 and 3p on January 3, and so on. The most amount you'll put away on a single day is on December 31, where you'll save £3.65. Complete the challenge, and you would have saved £670 over the year. Instead of having to physically put coins in a jar, or remember to move the money across to a separate bank account, what Monzo has done is automated the process, so the app will move the money across into a savings pot for you. "It gives people all sorts of ways to start saving for the first time," says Andy. "Or with investing, we help customers start investing with £1, which everyone can get started with £1, they can try that out and experience it for the first time. "Whereas if you compare that to other platforms, you might see a £500 minimum or something like that, which is a real barrier to a lot of customers." Scam protection Monzo has a 'call status' feature so people can see if they're currently in a call with Monzo. If the 'call status' shows Monzo is not on the phone to them, the customer is urged to hang up and report the attempted fraud. If the person on the other end of the line is from Monzo, then the 'call status' should show as 'talking to you now'. "The fact that our bank is our app, we can detect when you're on the phone, when you're in the app. That's something that your phone provides the ability to do that," says Andy. "So if we detect that you're on the phone and you're on the phone to Monzo, we can show you that in the app to reassure you that you are actually genuinely speaking to a member of our staff, and that this is a safe conversation for you to have." Gambling block Monzo has an optional gambling block tool, which can be useful if you want help with gambling. How it works is, the app tracks transactions that are tagged with a gambling merchant category code. "It's not something we loudly promote as its specific to customers who need it - but again, that was another sort of industry first for us," says Andy. "We don't make any money from it, but the impact it has on society, the impact it has on our customers and their lives, is incredibly huge. If we can help somebody overcome a gambling addiction through a very simple tool in the product, that's life changing."
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Martin Lewis shares 'key message' after major Winter Fuel Payment U-turn update
Martin Lewis shares a "key message" after Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed yesterday that Winter Fuel Payments will be extended to more pensioners this winter. Speaking at an event in Rochdale, Greater Manchester yesterday, Reeves told reporters that "more people will get Winter Fuel Payment this winter", adding that further details will be announced "as soon as we possibly can". She said: "People should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get Winter Fuel Payment this winter." The Money Saving Expert (MSE) website founder took to social media after the news broke, and posted a video with his "instant" response. He opened by saying he was "delighted" by the news, adding that the government was set to increase the level of means-test for the up to £300 winter support payment. He then said it was worth "explaining" the two issues he had always had with the way that the Winter Fuel Payment means-test had been put in place. He explained: "The first one is the level. Currently, for a single pensioner, only those earning under £11,800 a year get the £200 or £300 winter fuel help. Now with energy bills still high and other energy bill help being taken away, that really was a big hit to the pensioners who were just above that limit. "I'm hoping to see this limit increase from the current £11,800 up to £20,000 or more. Perhaps they might only do it and link it to higher-rate taxpayers. Martin then said the other question - which was one of the "main reasons" he wanted to publish a video response - was about the "method of means-testing." He added: "The means test that they linked Winter Fuel payment to was Pension Credit. Now, Pension Credit has long been a flawed benefit which has been critically underclaimed, and even now, after all the communication over Winter Fuel, there are still 700,000 eligible pensioners who should get Pension Credit and thus winter fuel payments who don't because they don't claim. "Often, it will be vulnerable people with onset dementia or people who just can't go through the complicated process, especially on forms, or the message hasn't been passed on to them as it's quite difficult to explain the level of income that you need to get it. "So let's just put that into perspective, 700,000 people who have a total income of under £11,800 a year are missing out on the Winter Fuel Payment, even though that's the level the government says they should get it. From universal credit to furlough, employment rights, travel updates and emergency financial aid - we've got all of the big financial stories you need to know about right now. Sign up to our Mirror Money newsletter here. "So my big message to the Chancellor is, don't just increase the threshold. You have to look at the means test mechanism to make sure that the most vulnerable pensioners in this country, if they have income below your threshold, actually get the Winter Fuel Payment. And my fingers are crossed they'll be listening." Last year, the Labour government means-tested the Winter Fuel Payment. This meant that only certain pensioners over the age of 66 would receive the money, rather than all pensioners. The move saw over nine million pensioners in the UK lose the extra cash last winter. Labour faced severe backlash at the time, which has continued to follow them. Legal challenges have been raised against the government for the move, with charities warning that it would push more older Brits into poverty. The axing of the benefit was also linked to the rise in Reform Councillors in the recent elections. The Chancellor said public finances are in a stronger position than they were last July - meaning thresholds can be raised. Reeves added that ministers had listened to concerns about the controversial decision.
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Two more major retailers hit by cyber attacks with customer information stolen
Luxury watchmaker and jeweller Cartier and outdoor retailer The North Face confirmed this week that they had become the latest retailers to be hit Two more major high street retailers have been hit by cyber attacks and both confirm customer data was compromised, as the number of malware hacks at retailers continues to climb. Luxury watchmaker and jeweller Cartier and outdoor retailer The North Face confirmed this week that they had become the latest retailers to be hit. In an email to customers, the upmarket watch retailer said that "an unauthorised party gained temporary access" to its system and "obtained limited client information". This included names and email addresses. However, the Swiss-owned company confirmed that the data accessed did not include passwords or banking information. Cartier did not confirm exactly when the cyber attack took place. In the email, it said: "We contained the issue and have further enhanced the protection of our systems and data." It added that it had boosted its cybersecurity measures and reported the incident to the relevant authorities. Get the best deals and tips from Mirror Money Fashion brand The North Face admitted that it had experienced a "small-scale" attack in April this year. The retailer said the stolen information could include shipping addresses, purchase history, email addresses, names, phone numbers and dates of birth. Again, it told customers that financial information was not accessed. The retailer told its customers that the hackers had used a technique called "credential stuffing". This is where attackers try usernames and passwords stolen from another data breach, in the hope that customers have reused the same passwords across multiple accounts. It urged all customers to change passwords to their accounts. Sign up to Mirror Money's newsletter for the latest advice and news From universal credit to furlough, employment rights, travel updates and emergency financial aid - we've got all of the big financial stories you need to know about right now. Sign up to our Mirror Money newsletter here. These attacks are part of a series of recent cybersecurity incidents that have affected high-profile retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Co-op, Adidas, Harrods, and Victoria's Secret. M&S and the Co-op had their operations severely disrupted when they were targeted in April. M&S said the cyber attack will cost it over £300million, and seven weeks after it occurred, the retailer is still unable to take online orders. It says its services will likely continue to be disrupted until July. At the time, the upmarket supermarket and retailer confirmed that the stolen information could include people's names, home addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses, as well as dates of birth and online order history. Retailers are often targets of cyber attacks, due to the amount of data they can hold on a customer. James Hadley, founder of the cybersecurity company Immersive, told the BBC that the attacks are a "harsh reality" for the industry. He noted that retailers were "overflowing with customer information," and are "easy targets for attackers".
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
DWP pension shake-up to give 20million Brits major boost to retirement savings
Labour's new Pension Schemes Bill is designed to help working people plan for their retirement by making pensions simpler to understand and manage and " driving better value over the long term" The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says the new pension shake-up introduced today will boost the retirement savings of over 20million Brits. Labour's new Pension Schemes Bill is designed to help working people plan for their retirement by making pensions simpler to understand and manage and " driving better value over the long term." One of the main parts of the bill will be the merger of small pension pots. The DWP says having multiple small pots can stop savers getting a good return on their retirement fund if they have to pay multiple flat rate charges. The new bill will move small pension pots holding £1,000 or less into one for each Brit - there are currently around 13million pension pots with less than a grand in them. The Bill also introduces a new system to show how well pension schemes are performing. This will cover "Defined Contribution" (DC) schemes, which are a type of private pension that you contribute to on a regular basis. The DWP says this will help savers understand whether their scheme is giving them good value. If it's not, Brits will be able to move their savings somewhere. The Bill will also require schemes to offer "clear default" options to grow pension pots for those approaching retirement. This means people will have "clearer, more secure routes to decide how they use their pension money over time." Other measures part of the bill include: Implementing new rules creating multi-employer DC scheme 'megafunds' of at least £25billion, so that "bigger and better pension schemes can drive down costs and invest in a wider range of assets" Consolidating and professionalising the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), with assets held in six pools that can invest in local areas infrastructure, housing and clean energy Increased flexibility for Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes to safely release surplus worth collectively £160billion, to support employers' investment plans and to benefit scheme members Major players within the pension sector, including Phoenix Group, NEST, Now Pensions, and Royal London, have supported the new bill. The Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) have also welcomed the bill. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: "Hardworking people across the UK deserve their pensions to work as hard for them as they have worked to save, and our reforms will deliver a huge boost to future generations of pensioners. Sign up to Mirror Money's newsletter for the latest advice and news From universal credit to furlough, employment rights, travel updates and emergency financial aid - we've got all of the big financial stories you need to know about right now. Sign up to our Mirror Money newsletter here. 'The Bill is about securing better value for savers' pensions and driving long-term investment in British businesses to boost economic growth in our country. 'As part of our Plan for Change we're helping people find work, stay in work, and ensuring that work pays them back to give them the secure income in retirement they deserve.' Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: "The Bill is a game changer, delivering bigger pension pots for savers and driving £50 billion of investment directly into the UK economy– putting more money into people's pockets through the Plan for Change.' Minister for Pensions Torsten Bell added: "We are ramping up the pace of pensions reform. Workers deserve to get better bang for each buck saved, and these sweeping reforms will make sure they do. 'Pension saving is a long game, but getting this right is urgent so that millions can look forward to a higher income in retirement.'
Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Martin Lewis' Council Tax warning for anyone who has moved house this year
Money-saving guru Martin Lewis has urged all Brits who have moved house in the last six months to check their Council Tax band - as hundred of thousands of households are thought to be overpaying Martin Lewis has urged Brits who have recently moved to make one Council Tax check that could be worth £1,000s. Earlier this year, more than 150 top-tier local authorities in England increased their Council Tax, with six areas given permission from the government to exceed the 4.99 per cent spike without triggering a local vote or referendum. The news came alongside multiple bill hikes - including soaring energy costs, higher road taxes, and even a more expensive TV Licence - in what was nationally dubbed as ' Awful April '. Used to fund services such as rubbish collection, roads, and street lighting - Council Tax is controversially based on the price your property would have sold for on the open market on April 1, 1991, in England, or 2003 in Wales. This means many Brits living in new build homes pay are on a higher tax band than those in million-pound houses that were built way before 1991. However, it is thought that hundreds of thousands of homes across England and Scotland are thought to be in the wrong Council Tax band altogether. "Moving or just moved house?" Martin Lewis wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "One of the most important things you should do is check whether you're in the right council tax band. You only have six months to make a formal challenge, after that it's much trickier." As Martin explains on his MSE website, the valuation of Council Tax bands was a rushed job - and in an attempt to band every house in time for the 1991 ruling, desperate officials asked estate agents to help. "They didn't have time to get the detailed information together, so [estate agents] set about doing it quickly by pairing up and driving down countless streets, allocating each property a band with just a glance," the money-saving expert wrote. "They became known as 'second-gear valuations' as they mostly never even stopped their cars, never mind got out of them." Get the best deals and tips from Mirror Money WHATSAPP GROUP: Get money news and top deals straight to your phone by joining our Money WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. If you've just moved house - it's worth checking to see whether you're in the right band. You can start off by finding out if you're in a band higher than your neighbours, or similar properties in your area using the Government's website. This is a good indicator as to whether you're being overcharged. But, it's important to understand that you can only ask to have your band revalued - and not just request if it can be lowered. This means you risk having your band (or your neighbour's band) increased - which has happened in the past. If you're still certain you're in a higher band than you should be, you can calculate how much your house was worth in 1991 (if it's old enough) for free on housing websites such as Zoopla and Rightmove. This mainly applies to those living in England as Wales revalued its properties much more recently. "In general you must've lived in the property for six months or less (it doesn't matter whether you own or rent, though if renting you should notify the landlord as a courtesy)," Martin added. "If you're able to challenge formally (also known as a 'proposal'), the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) must review your band. Although you don't have to officially provide evidence about nearby properties, we'd strongly suggest you don't skip that part.
