Top budgeting tips for January and beyond

Cyber Monday has arrived! And it is, as ever, a veritable behemoth of a worldwide sales event, bristling with bargains and a dizzying array of offers, all at low, low prices. It’s all too easy however to get a little disorientated by the mass-induced shopping frenzy, and perhaps a little careless in our singular pursuit of that must-have item we've seen online. This means we can often overlook, or ignore, the warning signs that what we're buying, and where we’re buying from, might not be all it seems.

With this in mind, we thought it would be helpful to list a few tips and tricks – as provided by our Fraud Team – that should help keep you stay safe during the Cyber Monday excess, and help keep your money protected from any dodgy deals. One smart way to stay protected while shopping online is to keep your device optimized and free from security vulnerabilities. Using a tool like CleanMyMac can help by removing junk files, clearing malicious threats, and ensuring your system runs smoothly while you browse. A cluttered or sluggish computer can slow you down and even make you more susceptible to scams, so giving your Mac a quick cleanup before diving into Cyber Monday deals is a simple but effective safety measure.

Lock down the URL

When inputting sensitive information, especially financial information on a purchasing page, make sure the URL starts with ‘https’. The ‘S’ means it’s secure.

Avoid bank transfer buying

Try to use trusted payment sources only. Professional merchants usually will have websites that support a variety of payment options. Fraudsters tend to prefer bank transfers.

Watch out for those ‘hidden’ subscription traps

Have you ever looked at your account to see a recurring charge that you didn't expect and didn't order? A subscription trap occurs when you're purchasing online and you're tricked into buying additional products or services that you don’t need. Many have been stung by these types of subscription traps. Over the coming days, check your balance very closely!

Protect your most valuable asset, your data

When making purchases online, think twice if you’re asked for additional personal and sensitive data. Are you being asked for ID, passport or driving licence numbers? Or even National Insurance numbers? These details are irrelevant to your purchase. Your identity could end up getting ‘stolen’ and used to commit unscrupulous things.

Beware fake “IT Support”

Some scammers can give the impression that the website you’re visiting has ‘frozen’ and urge you to call a support team to fix it. During the phone call, these scammers can masquerade as major computer companies and persuade you into believing that your computer is riddled with viruses. In reality it is not, and you’ve passed over sensitive information unnecessarily.

Buy from trusted sites only

Buying from third-party sellers, including some social media stores, offers no refund policies and are a haven for fraudsters looking to steal your money.

By keeping sight of these basic rules of engagement, there’s no reason why your Cyber Monday shopping bonanza – even if you’re just hunting for a great deal on a new phone – shouldn’t be an easy, secure and rewarding pre-Christmas indulgence.

We’re dedicated to providing next-generation financial services to everyone, which is why we offer a range of account options - to suit the various needs of our customers.

First and foremost, we cater to those who simply need a free, fully operational Monese account - one that offers all the essential features you’d expect of a standard bank account. Some of our customers, however, are more active than others, which is why our fixed-fee Plus plan is often a better choice - offering lower rates on currency conversions and cash top-ups.

Unmetered money management is cleared for launch

Now we’re introducing the unlimited Premium plan! Designed with the most heavy-duty Monesers in mind, we’re offering them this fantastic opportunity to enjoy the removal of all transactional fees of all kinds, providing a truly exceptional and frictionless mobile money management experience. For a fixed transparent monthly fee, we’re proud to offer Monese Premium - capping the cost of a completely unmetered financial service. Money management simply doesn’t get any better than this!

A fixed fee that’s simple and fair

The flat fee of £/€ 14.95 a month will allow for genuinely unlimited money management, offering you as many free ATM cash withdrawals as you like. You’ll also enjoy free foreign currency exchange at the wholesale rate, free cash top-ups and free instant card top-ups. You’ll also get a second account (either UK account or Euro IBAN, depending on your first account) and card at zero extra cost.

Make savings with every transaction

We can confidently recommend Monese Premium as the best personal finance solution for those who travel frequently - whether it’s for business or pleasure. If you’re travelling for 3 months around the globe, or spending two weeks on holiday with the family, there’s no reason to worry about restrictions on withdrawals or charges on exchange rates. Everything is included in the cost - making for a money management experience that is completely unlimited.

Compared to our own Starter plan you can expect to make considerable savings on cash top-ups (£10 on a £500 Post Office top-up). You can also expect to rack up significant savings if you’re making regular international money transfers on a frequent basis - these could be potentially huge savings when compared to many high street banks.

No strings, no hidden fees

Monese Premium comes with no strings attached - if you don’t use it for an entire month (and don’t have any money in it), you won’t even be charged the monthly fee and there are no penalties. And you can always downgrade your plan whenever you like, without having to commit for a minimum term.

In the Monese Premium plan, we believe we’re offering something truly unparalleled, that champions our core ideals and our dedication to providing the very best service at the lowest possible prices. Whatever pricing plan you’re on, we’ll always present our costs of service in way that is completely transparent and ethical - and this latest addition is no exception.

To compare our all of our plans, you can have a look at our pricing page here.

We’re super excited to announce the launch of XYB, our end-to-end ‘coreless’ banking platform provider that we believe could shake up the banking industry.

XYB helps banks and other non-banking financial institutions to make new financial services solutions accessible in record time. It breaks down the barriers of traditional core banking systems, meaning that businesses can provide the financial products and services they need, when and where they need them.

What’s coreless banking?

XYB is revolutionising banking technology. How you ask?

We’ve removed the dependency on traditional technology and old legacy processes. Instead we leverage highly configurable and scalable microservices architecture, and provide a turnkey solution with a pre-integrated partner ecosystem.

XYB is coreless banking at its finest, running independently without a centralised core system. This means that businesses can pick and choose the services and components we offer to build the solutions they need.

How we got here

At Monese, we’re proud to service millions of customers across Europe and the UK.

With backing from investors like PayPal Ventures, HSBC, Kinnevik, Investec, Augmentum and more, we’ve used our modern retail banking experience and the early success of our modular BaaS technology platform to create XYB, which promises to enable the new generation of financial services to all.

Investec was our very first customer to leverage XYB's cutting-edge coreless banking platform – and in under twelve months, we helped them to develop a new current account offering for their business clients.

This opening success was the perfect way to demonstrate the swift and efficient strength of XYB, and we couldn’t be more excited to see what happens next.

Our founder & CEO Norris Koppel said:

“XYB is testament to our commitment to breaking down the barriers in banking using best-in-class technology. XYB enables banks and non-banks to launch modern money services quickly and cost efficiently, helping millions more people access financial services across the world and empower businesses to grow.”

Industry feedback

We’re thrilled that Chris Skinner, an independent commentator on financial markets and fintech believes in XYB’s vision to break down banking barriers.

Chris said:

“For almost fifteen years we have been talking about the development of Banking-as-a-Service, the Platform Economy and Ecosystems. The concepts are robust in financial services, but the challenge is how to curate this system. With thousands of companies creating financial innovation, how can you leverage and utilise them?

What Monese with XYB has achieved is the curation of that system as a pre-emptive offer to turbo-charge banks into this environment. It’s very innovative and admirable, and fits into my views of the curated economy, where firms work together to improve the processes and deliver the best customer experience.”

Onwards and upwards

With his experience spearheading Monese's BaaS platform business, Atul Choudrie’s appointment as CEO at XYB is a natural fit for our vision.

Atul said:

"I am thrilled to be working with Norris to introduce XYB coreless banking ecosystem to the market, a true game-changer in the industry. With comprehensive managed services and a focus on collaboration, XYB promotes innovation, agility, and exceptional customer experiences, shaping the future of banking for all players, traditional and non-traditional alike."

Available initially in the United Kingdom and Europe, XYB is also set to launch in the North American and Asia Pacific markets. Watch this space!

Find out more at xyb.co