Best Banking Apps UK (2026): Monzo, Starling, Chase and More

The best banking apps in the UK for most people are Monzo (best for budgeting) and Starling (best all-rounder with no fees abroad), with Chase UK a strong pick for travel and Revolut the best for frequent currency exchange. All of them are now UK-licensed banks with FSCS protection up to £120,000, and all are free to open in minutes on your phone. If you want a branch, Nationwide and First Direct have the best-rated apps among traditional banks.

Quick comparison: the best UK banking apps

All fees and limits checked November 2026. Local ATM operators abroad may add their own charge whichever card you use.

Our “best for” picks

• Best overall for budgeting: Monzo
• Best free all-rounder: Starling
• Best for travel: Chase UK (or Starling)
• Best for multiple currencies: Revolut
• Best for interest on your current account: Kroo
• Best traditional bank app: Nationwide or First Direct
• Best for a joint account: Starling or Monzo
• Best for sending money abroad: use a specialist like Wise alongside your bank (see our best way to send money abroad guide)

Monzo: best for budgeting

Monzo made the hot coral card famous and still has the most polished budgeting features of any UK bank.

What it does well

• Pots for separating bills, savings and spending, including a Bills pot that pays direct debits automatically.
• Salary sorter splits your pay into pots on payday, which makes a 50/30/20 budget almost automatic.
• Instant notifications, spending categories, and the option to get paid a day early.
• Bill splitting and shared tabs with friends.
• No Monzo fees on card spending abroad, using the Mastercard exchange rate.

What to watch

• Free cash withdrawals outside the EEA are limited to £200 every 30 days, then a 3% fee. If Monzo is not your main bank, UK and EEA withdrawals are also capped (at £400 every 30 days) (checked November 2026). Paid plans raise the allowance.
• Monzo pushes its paid subscriptions (Perks, Max and others). The free account is genuinely good; you do not need to upgrade.
• Like all app banks, there are no branches. You can pay cash in at PayPoint, which may carry a fee.

Best for: people who want help managing money day to day, shared households and anyone who likes seeing exactly where their money goes.

Starling: best free all-rounder

Starling is the quiet, sensible choice. It does not have paid tiers to upsell you, and it has consistently ranked near the top of independent customer service surveys.

What it does well

• No Starling fees on card spending or cash withdrawals abroad, using Mastercard’s rate with nothing added. Cash abroad is capped at £300 a day (checked November 2026).
• Spaces (Starling’s pots), including paying bills from a Space.
• Joint accounts, business accounts and accounts for teens under one app.
• Cash deposits at the Post Office.
• Fee-free and simple: one account, no subscription tiers.

What to watch

• Fewer flashy features than Monzo, and the interest offering is through a separate saver rather than the main balance.
• Starling was fined by the FCA in 2024 over weaknesses in its financial crime controls. It has since worked through restrictions on onboarding high-risk customers. This does not affect your deposit protection, but it is worth knowing.

Best for: anyone who wants a dependable, free main account that also works well abroad.

Chase UK: best for travel

Chase UK is the British arm of JPMorgan Chase, launched in 2021. It is app-only and runs on the same idea as Monzo and Starling, but with a few extras.

What it does well

• No Chase fees on spending or ATM withdrawals abroad, at the Mastercard rate. You can withdraw up to £500 a day and £1,500 a month abroad (checked November 2026).
• Cashback on some everyday UK spending for a limited period on eligible accounts, plus round-ups into savings. The terms have changed several times, so check the current offer in the app. Cashback does not apply to spending abroad.
• A linked saver paying interest, with separate accounts for different goals.
• A numberless card for security.

What to watch

• Fewer budgeting features than Monzo, and no branches.
• Chase has strict fraud controls that occasionally lead to payments being held for checks.

Best for: frequent travellers who want a free card with no foreign fees as a main or second account. Our best travel money card guide compares it with Wise and Revolut.

Revolut: best for multiple currencies

Revolut is the app many people already have for holidays. After a long wait, it launched as a fully authorised UK bank in March 2026, with existing customers moved across in phased batches (checked November 2026).

What it does well

• Hold, exchange and spend in dozens of currencies at a rate close to the interbank rate on weekdays.
• Free Standard plan, with paid plans (Plus, Premium, Metal, Ultra) adding higher allowances, insurance and perks.
• Instant transfers between Revolut users worldwide, budgeting tools, savings vaults, and investing.

What to watch

• On the free Standard plan, currency exchange is fee-free only up to £1,000 a month; above that a 1% fair usage fee applies. Exchanging at weekends adds a markup (1% on Standard for major currencies) (checked November 2026).
• Free ATM withdrawals on Standard are limited to 5 or £200 a month, whichever comes first, then 2% (minimum £1).
• Revolut has drawn more fraud-related complaints to the Financial Ombudsman than other UK banks, and customers report frustration with automated support and account freezes.
• Check your account status: FSCS protection applies once your account has moved to Revolut Bank UK. Before that, money is safeguarded as e-money instead.

Best for: frequent travellers, people living between countries and anyone who regularly exchanges currency. Read our full Revolut review for the details.

Kroo: best for interest on your current account

Kroo is a smaller UK bank with a full banking licence. Its main selling point is paying interest on your current account balance, which few UK banks do, and no Kroo fees on card spending abroad (using the Visa rate). Its rate has been linked to the Bank of England base rate and has changed several times in 2026, so check the current figure on Kroo’s site.

What to watch: Kroo is not a member of the Current Account Switch Service, so moving your salary and direct debits uses its own slower switch process. It also has a smaller feature set than the big app banks, and a cash withdrawal allowance abroad that has changed in the past, so check before you travel.

Best for: people who keep a healthy buffer in their current account and want it to earn something without moving it to savings.

Traditional banks’ apps: when they make sense

The big high-street banks have improved their apps a lot. Nationwide, First Direct (part of HSBC), Barclays, Lloyds, Halifax, NatWest, HSBC and Santander all let you freeze cards, see spending categories, set up savings goals and pay contactless with your phone.

Where they are better

• Branches (for most of them) for cash, cheques, power of attorney and complex problems.
• Switching bonuses. High-street banks regularly pay new customers to switch via CASS, often in the region of £150 to £250, with conditions like paying in a minimum amount and moving direct debits. Offers change monthly (checked November 2026).
• Mortgages, overdrafts and loans under the same roof.
• Packaged accounts with travel and phone insurance, for a monthly fee. Only worth it if you would buy the insurance anyway.

Where they are worse

• Spending abroad. Many still charge a non-sterling transaction fee, often around 2.75% to 2.99%, plus a fee for cash withdrawals. Spending £1,000 on holiday could cost you about £30 in fees that Starling, Monzo or Chase would not charge.
• Instant notifications and budgeting tend to be more basic.

Best traditional app: Nationwide and First Direct consistently top customer satisfaction surveys among traditional providers.

Is your money safe in a banking app?

This is the question people ask most, and the answer is simple once you know what to look for.

FSCS protection

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects eligible deposits at UK-authorised banks up to £120,000 per person, per banking licence, after the limit rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025. Joint accounts are covered up to £240,000. Temporary high balances (from a house sale or inheritance, for example) are protected up to £1.4 million for up to six months (checked November 2026).

“Per banking licence” matters: some brands share one licence. For example, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Birmingham Midshires share one, and First Direct shares with HSBC UK. If you hold more than £120,000 across them, only £120,000 is covered.

Banks vs e-money apps

Not every money app is a bank. E-money institutions (such as Wise, and Revolut’s old UK entity) do not have FSCS protection on your balance. Instead, they must safeguard your money in separate accounts, so it should be returned if the company fails, though this can take time and is not guaranteed in the same way. That is fine for spending and transfers, but think twice before keeping large savings in an e-money account.

How to check

Search the firm on the FCA Register (register.fca.org.uk). A bank will show as authorised by the PRA and regulated by the FCA and PRA. An e-money firm will be listed as an electronic money institution.

How to switch bank (CASS)

The Current Account Switch Service is free, guaranteed and takes seven working days:

1. Open your new account in the app (usually 10 to 15 minutes with photo ID and a selfie).
2. Start the switch in the new bank’s app and choose your switch date.
3. Your balance, direct debits and standing orders move automatically. Payments sent to your old account details are redirected for at least three years.
4. Your old account closes on the switch date. If you want to keep the old account open, use a partial switch instead, though that usually will not qualify for a switching bonus.

The CASS guarantee means that if anything goes wrong with a switch, any interest or charges on your old or new account caused by the switch are refunded.

Tip: you do not need to switch to try an app bank. Open Monzo or Starling as a second account, use it for a month, then switch your salary if you like it.

How we chose

We looked at what matters most to UK readers: deposit protection, everyday fees (especially abroad, where costs are highest), interest, budgeting tools, ease of switching, and customer service record. We checked fees on each provider’s own pages in November 2026. Some of the providers mentioned are partners, which means we may earn a commission if you sign up through our links, at no cost to you. It does not change our picks: Starling, our best free all-rounder, would still be our pick if it paid us nothing.

Our pick: If you only open one app, make it Starling for a free, no-fuss account that also works well abroad, or Monzo if budgeting tools are what you need most. Add Revolut or Chase UK as a second card for travel.