From XU Magazine, 
Online News

Take total control of your spending by paying on card, from a Pot

September 22, 2021

This article originated from the Xero blog. The XU Hub is an independent news and media platform - for Xero users, by Xero users. Any content, imagery and associated links below are directly from Xero and not produced by the XU Hub.
You can find the original post here:
https://monzo.com/blog/pay-on-card-from-a-pot/#article

You’ve been able to pay Direct Debits and standing orders from a Pot for a while, and now you can make card payments too – including via Apple Pay and Google Pay!

It works using virtual cards (more on those in a bit) which means it’s exclusive to Monzo Plus and Monzo Premium. Sign up today to start making card payments from your Pots.

Monzo Plus has a 3-month minimum term and Monzo Premium has a 6-month minimum term. You need to be 18 to get Monzo Plus and be between 18 and 69 to get Monzo Premium. Some exclusions apply.

Yours to use however you like – turn a Pot into a night out spending card or even a holiday expenses card

An iPhone tapping a card reader, showing a virtual card in Apple Wallet.

Set money aside for an upcoming holiday then book your travel and accommodation from that ringfenced cash. That way you’re in total control of your spending, because you decide where the money comes from and how much you can spend. While you’re away, pay on card from the same Pot to use it as your holiday spending money, so all the expenses for that trip come from one place.

Holidays are one example of how you’d use paying from a Pot, but there are many others.

Stop at a café on the way to work and pay for your morning croissant directly from your Pastries Pot.

Give yourself a self-care budget for things like Deliveroo or beauty treatments and enjoy it, without having to worry about overspending.

Even create a Pot for making charity donations so you get a statement at the end of the year showing all the causes you supported.

How you use it is entirely up to you.

Keep bills and subscriptions separate to where you spend day-to-day so you never miss a payment

A list showing "Personal account", and then some Pots – "Household", "Holiday", "Rainy Day".

Until now, you had to make all card payments from your main balance. Even for things like monthly Netflix and Spotify fees, because they’re technically card payments and not Direct Debits or standing orders.

Which has always felt weird, because to you they’re regular payments – they’re bills – just like your utility bills or your rent. So it was frustrating that you could only pay some of your monthly outgoings direct from Pots, away from where you spend day-to-day.

With this update you can finally consolidate all your regular payments to keep them separate from what you’re willing to spend each month. Which is great because it means you can’t overspend and miss making an important bill payment.

So you can pay your monthly Netflix and Spotify subscriptions straight from your Streaming Pot, letting you keep all your monthly outgoings totally separate from your spending money.

Being able to pay from a Pot has been one of our most requested features

This is a huge update that makes your Pots even more powerful, unlocking a whole new level of money management. It’s also the number one thing you’ve asked us for in the last year. You love Pots. In fact, almost half of our 5 million customers use them.

Some of you use them for long-term saving – like for a house, a car or a honeymoon. Where others love using them to budget – by using Pots to make sure you’re only spending a certain amount each week, or to set aside money for spending on holiday.

For everything you’re using Pots for, there’s one big thing that’s been missing: making payments directly from your Pots, instead of having to transfer the money into your balance first. Well we’ve heard you loud and clear, and your wish has now been granted.

Compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay – so it works wherever you are

An iPhone showing lots 6 different Monzo cards in different colours

Like with your physical Monzo card, you can set up the virtual cards you use to pay from a Pot with Apple Pay and Google Pay. So you can pay directly from a Pot in-person or on websites just by glancing at your phone or using your fingerprint.

Paying from a Pot works using virtual cards

A virtual card and a notification saying "Household Pot. £25.00 at Amazon. Paid using your Entertainment virtual card."

A virtual card is pretty much what it sounds like. It’s a debit card that exists digitally instead of being one you can hold in your hand.

Just like your physical card, they have all the information you need for paying online: card number, expiry and CVV code.
 They’re different to the ones on your physical card, and each virtual card has its own unique details.

With Monzo Plus and Monzo Premium you can have up to 5 virtual cards at once, you can name them and even choose a colour to display them in.

You’ll need to create a new virtual card to pay on card from a Pot. That’s because it doesn’t work for existing virtual cards at the moment.

Tell us what you think (and what you’ll use it for)

Start getting even more out of Pots by signing up to Monzo Plus or Monzo Premium.

As ever, we’d love to hear how you’re getting on with the new feature and what you’re using it for. Tweet us or comment below.

Why leave it there?

To learn more about Monzo

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