Mobile banking puts your finances at your fingertips 24/7. There's a host of challenger banks, digital-only banks and personal finance apps available, designed to give you better, faster control of your money.
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How we picked theseTo make comparing even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Fees, features and customer service across 20+ of the most popular banks are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score the better the account – simple.
Read the full methodologyWe review every digital bank, app and challenger. Our reviews are regularly updated to cover new features and releases.
Uphold is a digital asset platform with a multi-currency payment card. Their mission is to spotlight and solve some common money challenges from budgeting and saving to travel – and the age-old debate of whether anyone still uses cash anymore.
Use the Bigmo app to stay motivated and reach your savings goals faster.
The Finder team roamed the streets of London to quiz the general public about whether they prefer cash or card. Paid content.
Digital banking is a way to control your money, usually through a smartphone app or web app. It allows you to log into your account anywhere with Internet access, giving you constant visibility of your money and helping you understand the best way to manage it.
There are several advantages to app-based banking:
Another major benefit of app-based banking is the degree to which it has opened up the competition. New Open Banking rules have enabled third-party apps to innovate, drawing on the infrastructure of traditional banks.
Here are a few things that you may not know about using your mobile as your main point of contact with your bank:
Many banking apps are designed to help their customers save. These apps access your current bank accounts and use clever computer programs to analyse your spending and look for ways that you could save money.
Previously, you could ask your bank to give these apps permission to view your banking data and the bank could refuse. Now, as long as the app is properly licensed, your bank must grant access if you agree to it.
| Response | % of customers that would recommend |
|---|---|
| High-street banks | 89.12% |
| Digital banks | 98.51% |
App-based banking is different from traditional banking in many ways. Unlike traditional banking, app-based banking covers a much wider definition of “banking”.
As part of the app-based banking innovations, a clear class of banking app has emerged: the challenger bank. Challenger banks are new, fledgling banks that are aiming to take on the big, traditional high street banks and change the way we save and spend money. Challenger banks such as Starling and Monzo are similar to traditional banks in that they offer the full current account experience but with all the added benefits of an app-based bank.
One of the most common reasons for people switching away from traditional banks and towards app-based banking is how easy app-based banking makes it for people to save money. Several providers such as Plum and Chip offer automatic savings for customers. Plum’s clever computer program looks at your spending habits and income and identifies how much you can reasonably save each month and then helps you set up a direct debit to your Plum savings account for this same amount.
Another way to use app-based banking to help you save is through the use of prepaid cards. Cards with providers such as Pockit, Zempler and Tuxedo allow you to load specific amounts of money on to your card and even segregate this money into “pots” to spend on different things. This way you don’t have access to too much money all at once and are less likely to fall for those expensive “impulse buys”.
Another popular way to use app-based banking is saving through investments. Apps such as Moneybox allow you to make weekly or one-off deposits to three risk-assessed categories of investments. Several of the app-based banks also allow you to sign up to a “round-ups” feature where your account rounds up your purchases to the nearest pound and uses the change you would have received as an investment.
App-based banking doesn’t only apply to challenger banks or money-saving banking apps; it’s becoming increasingly possible to bank on your smartphone with traditional banks such as Barclays and Natwest, which now offer highly-rated mobile apps where you can control your money.
Keen to manage all your money directly from your smartphone? We’ve put together a list of the best banking apps available in the UK.
Just got a job in the UK and need a bank account to have your salary paid into, but have no proof of address? Here’s what you can do.
Compare the UK’s new challenger banks by using our table of features and fees, or by browsing our A-Z list or customer satisfaction rankings.
Fed up with the hassle of using multiple bank cards? Curve helps you connect all your accounts to a single app and payment card.
Open Banking can open the way to new products and services for UK customers. Read this guide to find out all you need to know about Open Banking, from APIs to regulations.
Is Tuxedo the right solution for you? We explore the account and all of the features of Tuxedo’s prepaid cards. Read our review to get the low down on Tuxedo.
Looking for a digital-only bank account? We explore the app and all of the fees and features that come with a Pockit online current account.
Plum’s app uses artificial intelligence to help you set aside money and spend wisely. Our review analyses the money management features on offer.
The Chip savings app will connect to your current account and stash money away automatically. We cover all you need to know about the innovative app in this review.
Is Atom bank the right challenger bank for you? We explore the app and the features of Atom’s Fixed Saver accounts.