Banking Without Borders

Technically Money

Banking Without Borders is a podcast about modern money — from digital banks and cashback cards to savings, credit cards, FX, global accounts, and the financial products reshaping how people manage money in the UK and beyond. We focus less on hype and more on what actually matters: who a product is for, how it makes money, where the trade-offs are, and whether it’s genuinely worth using. If you want clear thinking, real-world context, and fewer buzzwords and less BS when it comes to banking, cards, and personal finance, this is the podcast.

  1. 4d ago

    We Ranked the UK’s 10 Best PAID Bank Accounts

    In this episode, Jonny and Jan rank the ten best paid bank accounts in the UK by what a household actually gets back: cashback and insurance, minus the fee. The winner costs £12.50 a month — and the £595-a-year Revolut Ultra didn’t make the ten. What we cover: How we scored every account the same way: a model household, insurance priced at average market quotes, perks shown but not countedRevolut Ultra and Metal: huge subscription bundles, but travel cover only counts on trips paid with the cardNatWest Reward Silver vs Platinum: what the extra £11 a month buys, from Europe-only to worldwide family coverClub Lloyds Platinum: travel cover to 80 and the £5 fee that catches people outMonzo Max at £19, Nationwide FlexPlus and its Fairer Share payment, and Virgin Money’s £14 family bundleCo-op Everyday Extra: the fee cut from £18 to £12 and the most cover per pound of any accountSantander Edge Explorer and Chase Protect: the two accounts where the cashback pays the feeChase vs Santander savers, and the switch offers worth havingGet 5 FREE shares with XTB: https://link.bankingwithoutborders.co.uk/xtb  Terms apply.  Join the new Banking Without Borders Discord community  https://link.bankingwithoutborders.co.uk/discord Subscribe on YouTube https://link.technicallymoney.com/oy8e Check out our website DepositScout.com for the latest savings rates.  Connect with us (via LinkedIn) Jan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-watermann/ Jonny: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-pease Got a question or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message at jonny@technicallymoney.com

  2. Oct 6

    Best UK Savings Rates — October 2026 | 5.35% Fixed & Starling 5% Easy-Access Warning

    In this episode, we run through the best UK savings rates for October 2026. What we cover: Why fixed rates have jumped — three Bank of England members want a hike, and banks have moved firstSwitch offers — Barclays' new £300, Lloyds' £200 for three Direct Debits, and two deadlines this weekEasy access — Starling's new 5% and why it's one to be careful with, LemFi, and the best no-cliff rateCash ISAs — eToro at 4.87%, Plum and Trading 212 at 4.60%, and the set-and-forget 4.52%Fixed ISAs — every term from two years up now above 5%, and why Close Brothers tops the table but isn't the pickFixed bonds — 5.35% for five years, and why interest paid annually matters for your taxNotice accounts — still paying less than easy accessRegular savers — the 8% club is down to one, Chase's new 6.5%, and which account wins at £200, £300 and £500 a monthThe Savings Stacker — build a five-account stack and see the blended rate, live on DepositScoutEvery account we mention is on DepositScout.com — filter by type, compare rates properly, run the savings and tax calculators, and check the rate history graphs before you open anything. eToro's 4.87% Cash ISA (Market Leading) Tembo's Home Saver Join the new Banking Without Borders Discord community  https://link.bankingwithoutborders.co.uk/discord Subscribe on YouTube https://link.technicallymoney.com/oy8e Check out our website DepositScout.com for the latest savings rates.  Connect with us (via LinkedIn) Jan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-watermann/ Jonny: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-pease Got a question or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message at jonny@technicallymoney.com

  3. Oct 2

    Revolut Handed Customer Data to a Scammer. Here's What Happened

    Revolut has just had the worst month in its history: two customer data breaches, one of them a months-long con run from a hijacked Italian government email account, and a facial-recognition payments launch in the middle of it all. Jonny was caught up in one of the breaches himself, so this one's personal. In this episode: How hackers used a stolen Ministry of the Interior email account and forged European Investigation Orders to get Revolut to hand over passports, selfies and home addressesWhy the targets weren't random: blockchain analysis, the richest crypto wallets, and what a "wrench attack" isThe victims, including the former Mt. Gox CEO who's moved his family into a hotelThe moment Revolut corrected the hackers' paperwork for themRevolut's response, and why "no funds were affected" misses the pointThe DriveWealth breach: Jonny's own data, Revolut's chatbot reply, and who's actually responsiblePay With Smile: what it is, why it's really a merchant acquisition play, and whether there's any upsideWhy data breaches have become background noise, and what, if anything, you can do about itJoin the new Banking Without Borders Discord community  https://link.bankingwithoutborders.co.uk/discord Subscribe on YouTube https://link.technicallymoney.com/oy8e Check out our website DepositScout.com for the latest savings rates.  Connect with us (via LinkedIn) Jan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-watermann/ Jonny: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-pease Got a question or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message at jonny@technicallymoney.com

  4. Sep 23

    Monzo Aura: The £15 Credit Card That Doesn't Add Up

    In this episode, Jan and Jonny put Monzo's new £15-a-month credit card, Aura, under the microscope — what you actually get for the fee, how much you'd need to spend or invest to break even, and whether it holds up against the cashback cards you can get for nothing. What we discuss: 1% cashback on groceries, 0.5% on everything else — and which supermarkets actually countThe break-even maths: £1,500 a month on groceries, or £3,000 elsewhere, just to cover the feeApple TV, Google AI Plus and lounge passes — is the "worth £360 a year" claim real?Spending abroad at Mastercard's rate, and earning cashback in PortugalThe investment fee waiver — who it helps, and why most people should ignore itThe Flex-to-Aura funnel, and the flexed payment that earned no cashbackThe metal card: beautiful, but at 14g the lightest metal card we've weighedWhy the interchange cap means a free version was never on the tableLloyds Ultra, Amex Cashback, Barclaycard Rewards and Revolut Metal — how Aura comparesHalf-baked, or just not for you? Who should actually get this cardJoin the new Banking Without Borders Discord community  https://link.bankingwithoutborders.co.uk/discord Subscribe on YouTube https://link.technicallymoney.com/oy8e Check out our website DepositScout.com for the latest savings rates.  Connect with us (via LinkedIn) Jan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-watermann/ Jonny: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-pease Got a question or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message at jonny@technicallymoney.com

  5. Sep 1

    Best UK Savings Rates — September 2026 | 5% Fixed & Premium Bonds' Rise

    In this episode, we run through the best UK savings rates for September 2026. What we cover: Premium Bonds' rise to 4.35% — why that's not an interest rate, and the only people they genuinely suitSwitch offers up to £500 — plus the bank now paying switchers in toothbrushEasy-access at 5% — a brand-new NatWest brand, the best no-cliff rate, and the small-balance account that quietly beats Santander's 6%Cash ISAs — eToro at 4.87%, Chip, Moneybox, a set-and-forget 4.52%, and Tembo's mortgage-linked HomeSaverFixed bonds at 5% from £1,000 — and NS&I's Treasury-backed 4.82% with no protection capNotice accounts — paying less than easy access; convince us in the commentsRegular savers — four at 8%, why a 6% account out-earns them all, and stacking them with our new Savings Stacker toolEvery account we mention is on DepositScout.com — filter by type, compare rates properly, run the savings and tax calculators, and check the rate history graphs before you open anything. eToro's 4.87% Cash ISA (Market Leading) Tembo's Home Saver Join the new Banking Without Borders Discord community  https://link.bankingwithoutborders.co.uk/discord Subscribe on YouTube https://link.technicallymoney.com/oy8e Check out our website DepositScout.com for the latest savings rates.  Connect with us (via LinkedIn) Jan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-watermann/ Jonny: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-pease Got a question or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message at jonny@technicallymoney.com

About

Banking Without Borders is a podcast about modern money — from digital banks and cashback cards to savings, credit cards, FX, global accounts, and the financial products reshaping how people manage money in the UK and beyond. We focus less on hype and more on what actually matters: who a product is for, how it makes money, where the trade-offs are, and whether it’s genuinely worth using. If you want clear thinking, real-world context, and fewer buzzwords and less BS when it comes to banking, cards, and personal finance, this is the podcast.

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