Best Marygold & Co. 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

Atom bank

active

PRA/FCA UK bank. Savings and mortgages. FSCS. Not a Starling-class current account.

4.6

Durham / Newcastle · Savings-and-mortgage scale · Bank capital / BBVA-era shareholders

7.1Solid

Atom bank plc is a UK bank. FSCS applies. The live product is savings, mortgages and some SME lending — not a Monzo current account. Put salary at Starling or Monzo. Put a savings pot here if the rate wins. The purple app is not a licence upgrade for an EMI.

Best for: UK savers and mortgage-shoppers who want a PRA bank, not a current-account lifestyle app.

Licence

UK bank — Atom bank plc

Protection

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

Monthly

£0 on core savings SKUs — confirm live

#4 alternative

Deblock

active

French euro account plus crypto. Deblock SAS is an e-money institution, not a bank. No FGDR on the euro balance.

Lille · EMI + CASP · Private

6.9Mixed

Deblock is not a bank. Deblock SAS is a Lille e-money institution with an AMF crypto licence. The euro balance is e-money, not an FGDR deposit. Use it as a crypto-friendly euro account. Do not use it as a French salary bank unless you are comfortable without deposit insurance.

Best for: EEA residents who want a euro card and crypto in one French EMI, and who accept there is no FGDR.

Licence

Electronic money institution

Protection

No FGDR on the euro balance. Euros are safeguarded e-money. Crypto is self-custody. Deblock is not a credit institution.

Monthly

Standard free. Premium €10/month.

#5 alternative

GCash

active

The Philippines’ scale wallet. G-Xchange, Inc. is an e-money issuer. The wallet is not a bank deposit.

Taguig · ~94M have used GCash · Mynt / Globe

6.9Mixed

GCash is the wallet. UNO is the bank. G-Xchange, Inc. is a BSP e-money issuer. The GCash balance is e-money, not a deposit, and PDIC does not cover it. If you want insurance, open GSave at a partner bank and read that bank’s name. File GCash on Wallets, never on Neobanks.

Best for: Everyday peso payments in the Philippines. Not a PDIC bank account.

Licence

Electronic money issuer

Protection

The GCash wallet is not PDIC-insured. GSave balances sit at partner banks and follow those banks’ PDIC cover.

Monthly

No monthly fee on the wallet. Cash-in, cash-out and some transfers have fees.

#6 alternative

PhonePe

active

Indian UPI super-app. Wallet and payments layer. Not a bank.

Bengaluru · UPI scale · Walmart / PhonePe Private Limited

7.2Solid

PhonePe is how a large share of India moves INR. That does not make it a neobank. File it on Wallets. Put the deposit at the scheduled bank behind the UPI handle. Directories that drop PhonePe into “best Indian neobanks” are counting MAU as a charter.

Best for: Indian residents who want a UPI front end.

Licence

Payments app / PPI + UPI stack — not a commercial bank

Protection

UPI pulls from the linked bank. PPI wallet float follows RBI prepaid rules, not a commercial-bank DICGC box on “PhonePe Bank”. There is no PhonePe Bank on this file.

Monthly

UPI is typically free at the handle. Confirm live wallet fees.