Best LHV Bank alternatives

#1 alternative

Starling Bank

active

The grown-up UK challenger: bank first, app second.

4.7

London · 4M+ · ~$1.1B raised

8.1Strong

If the question is ‘will this still be here in ten years,’ Starling scores at the top of the UK set. Monzo is more fun; Starling is more bank.

Best for: UK individuals and SMEs who want a real bank, not a wallet.

Licence

UK bank

Protection

FSCS up to £120,000 per depositor per bank (Starling FSCS information sheet). Joint accounts: £120,000 per holder.

Monthly

Personal free · Business from £0–£7+

#2 alternative

Monzo

active

UK current account that made banking feel like a group chat.

4.7

London · 11M+ · ~$1.3B raised

8.1Strong

The UK salary account to beat. Pair it with Wise or Revolut if you invoice in euros or dollars. Do not open Monzo expecting a travel-card replacement on the free plan.

Best for: UK residents who want FSCS protection and the best everyday app.

Licence

UK bank

Protection

FSCS up to £120,000 per depositor per authorised firm (scheme cap from 1 December 2025) at Monzo Bank Limited.

Monthly

Free · Plus/Premium/Max paid

#3 alternative

Kroo

active

PRA/FCA UK bank. FSCS. FRN 953772. Not an EMI and not a prepaid leftover.

4.8

London · UK challenger-scale · Bank capital / venture-era

7.1Solid

Kroo Bank Ltd is a UK bank. PRA and FCA, FRN 953772, 20 Farringdon Street. FSCS up to £120,000. The old Kroo prepaid was e-money. That product is not this product. Starling and Monzo remain the salary default on this desk. Kroo is a real bank with a smaller toolkit. Do not demote it to a wallet because the app is pretty.

Best for: UK residents who want a PRA bank with FSCS and can live without Starling’s SME toolkit.

Licence

UK bank — Kroo Bank Ltd, FRN 953772, company 10359002

Protection

FSCS up to £120,000 per depositor per authorised firm (scheme cap from 1 Dec 2025)

Monthly

£0 core current — confirm live

#4 alternative

LHV Pank

active

Estonian bank. Finantsinspektsioon / ECB. Tagatisfond €100k. Not the UK LHV Bank Ltd file.

3.6

Tallinn · Estonian bank-scale · Listed LHV Group

7.0Solid

AS LHV Pank is an Estonian credit institution. Finantsinspektsioon, Eesti Pank, ECB. Tagatisfond up to €100,000. Euromoney still calls it Estonia’s best bank in 2026. LHV Bank Limited in London is a separate PRA bank with FSCS. Two licences. Two schemes. Directories smash them because the letters match. This desk will not.

Best for: Estonia residents who want a local bank IBAN, not a Lithuanian EMI and not the UK LHV file.

Licence

Credit institution — AS LHV Pank

Protection

Tagatisfond (Estonian Deposit Guarantee Fund) up to €100,000 per depositor per bank

Monthly

Account packs — confirm live

#5 alternative

Yuh

active

Yuh is not a bank. Swissquote Bank Ltd is. esisuisse cover is CHF 100,000, shared.

Gland · Swiss all-in-one app · Swissquote (100% after July 2025)

7.6Solid

Yuh is not a bank. The English homepage says it in one paragraph: Swissquote Bank Ltd provides the banking, FINMA authorises that bank, and esisuisse cover is CHF 100,000 shared with Swissquote. July 2025 ended the PostFinance joint venture. If you already hold cash at Swissquote, do not count CHF 100,000 twice. Zak is Bank Cler. Neon sits at Hypothekarbank Lenzburg. Read those files separately.

Best for: People who live in Switzerland and want spend plus invest, and who accept Swissquote as the bank.

Licence

Fintech app — not a bank

Protection

Yuh itself is not a bank. Banking sits at Swissquote Bank Ltd, FINMA-authorised. esisuisse covers eligible deposits up to CHF 100,000. Yuh and Swissquote are one entity, so the cap is shared.

Monthly

No fees whenever possible — live list on yuh.com/en/pricing

#6 alternative

Chase UK

active

J.P. Morgan Europe Limited trading as Chase. UK bank, PRA/FCA, FSCS up to £120,000.

London · UK digital bank · JPMorgan Chase

7.6Solid

Chase UK is a bank. The legal name is J.P. Morgan Europe Limited. PRA-authorised, FCA-regulated, FSCS up to £120,000. It is a useful UK current account with honest travel spend. It is not Revolut’s multi-country stack and not a US Chase login. UK tax residents only.

Best for: UK residents who want a JPMorgan current account in an app, with FSCS, and cheap travel spend.

Licence

UK bank

Protection

FSCS up to £120,000 per depositor per bank (Chase UK FSCS page) at J.P. Morgan Europe Limited.

Monthly

£0