App-based banking

What else can the app do? As well as providing spending notifications and insights, the app lets you freeze and unfreeze your debit card at the touch of a button, report it lost or stolen or get a PIN reminder in-app. You can also turn off certain functions of your card such as online spending, contactless payments or ATM withdrawals if you want to control a specific type of spending.

Starling also has a 'marketplace', which lets you use other companies' services through its app. There are only a couple of companies featured at the moment, but in future it'll offer ISAs, savings accounts, insurance and mortgages, among other products.

Are there limits on using the card? You can make up to three cash withdrawals a day, totalling a maximum of £300.

What exchange rate will I get overseas? The debit card is a Mastercard, so you'll get the Mastercard rate, which you can check here. There are no fees to use your card abroad, making it a top pick for overseas use.

Will Starling credit-check me? When applying for an account, Starling will run an initial credit check – this is a 'soft' search - which won't affect your creditworthiness. From this, it’ll decide whether it’ll accept you for the account, and how much it could offer you as an overdraft. If (and only if) you say ‘yes’ to the overdraft, Starling will then record a 'hard' credit application on your credit report, which could have a minor impact on your credit score.

Is my money protected? Yes, Starling has full FSCS protection, so your money saved with it is safe up to £85,000.

How do I deposit cash and cheques? To deposit cash, you can do so at any NatWest branch using the following details: Account number: 48588725 Sort code: 600001. It'll appear in your Starling account within 2 working days. If you want to deposit a cheque, you can mail it to 'Starling Operations Team, PO Box 74352, London, EC2P 2QU'. Ensure you include your last name and Starling account number.

How do I contact the bank? If you have any problems or questions, you can contact Starling via the in-app messaging service. Alternatively, you can email: help@starlingbank.com.

• Arranged overdraft cost: 15% EAR variable (waived if less than 10p in any month)
• Unarranged overdraft cost: 15% EAR variable (waived if less than 10p in any month). Max £2/mth.

What else can the app do? As well as providing spending notifications and insights, the app lets you freeze and unfreeze your debit card at the touch of a button, report it lost or stolen or get a PIN reminder in-app.

You can also set up 'pots', which let you assign money in your account to goals such as saving for a rainy day, or a specific purchase – you can move money back into your current account whenever you want, but be aware that any money you have in a pot won't be included in your main account balance.

Monzo also has a feature called 'Bill Tracker' which alerts you if a regular direct debit leaving your account is higher or lower than usual – helpful if, for example, you've been moved onto a higher energy tariff or racked up a big phone bill without realising.

Are there limits on using the card? You can withdraw up to £400/day from ATMs, up to a maximum of £5,500/mth.

What exchange rate will I get overseas? The debit card is a Mastercard, so you'll get the Mastercard rate, which you can check here.

Will Monzo credit-check me? Yes, if you apply for an overdraft. If you don't apply for an overdraft, it'll just run an ID check on you, which will appear as a 'soft' check on your credit report and won't affect your creditworthiness.

Is my money protected? Yes, Monzo has full FSCS protection, so up to £85,000 is safe when saved with it.

How do I deposit cash and cheques? To deposit a cheque, you must write your account number on the back and send it to 'Freepost Monzo.' You can't pay cash into a Monzo account.

How do I contact the bank? If you have any problems or questions, you can contact Monzo via the in-app messaging service. Alternatively, you can email: help@monzo.com or call 0800 802 1281.

• Arranged overdraft cost: £20 buffer then 50p/day
• Unarranged overdraft cost: £20 buffer then 50p/day (max £15.50/mth)

How does it work? You give Chip 'read-only' access to your current account. It analyses your income and spending, then every four to seven days calculates what you can afford to save, and uses a direct debit to move that to a separate 'savings' account, without you noticing. The money normally amounts to about £10-£25 five times monthly; the max is £100 (so £500/mth).

You can also manually move a max £100/day up to six times a month, tell it to save more or less and pause automatic saving.

What if it makes me overdrawn? It'll cover your fees and pay £10 compensation – though you can choose to allow it to take you overdrawn (for example if you had a 0% overdraft).

Is my money safe in Chip savings? Chip isn't a bank. It stores your money in an 'e-wallet' provided by 'e-money provider' Prepaid Financial Services (PFS), which is FCA-regulated. Your money is held in a ring-fenced Barclays account. Under e-money regs, if Chip or PFS went bust your money remains in Barclays together with any interest already paid to you, though you may end up paying insolvency fees (likely small).

In the unlikely event Barclays went bust, your money ISN'T protected by the usual £85,000 FSCS savings safety guarantee, so you'd lose it.

This app currently has no way of making money – the interest comes from its marketing fund. Its aim is to build a customer base then offer users other services it profits from in future, such as overdrafts and credit cards. Of course it may change its savings offering in future too. We've done all the checks we can, but you need to accept there are always unknowns with a new concept such as this, so you might want to consider how much you keep in there.

How does it work? To sign up to Plum, you need to connect it to your Facebook Messenger. Then you link it to your current account, giving it read-only access so it can see your transactions.

It uses its algorithm to analyse your spending and build a 'unique saver profile' for you, and then – through a direct debit – siphons off a few pounds every three to four days into your Plum savings account. You can tell it to save more or less, or pause automatic saving, and you can also move money into your Plum account manually.

You keep money saved in your Plum account or you can invest it in a choice of 6 tracker funds managed by Vanguard - this comes with a £1 monthly fee, plus 0.15% annual management fee, plus underlying fund fees.

Which providers does Plum work with? Plum currently works with NatWest, RBS, Santander, HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays, First Direct, Halifax, Citibank, Nationwide, TSB, Bank of Scotland, Co-op Bank, Metro Bank, Clydesdale Bank, Think Money, Yorkshire Bank, M&S Bank, Tesco Bank, Ulster Bank, Citibank, Smile Bank, Danske Bank, First Trust Bank, Bank of Ireland and Post Office Bank.

Is my money protected? Plum deposits your money into a 'wallet' operated by MangoPay, an EU-regulated financial institution. Any money saved with Plum is held in a Barclays instant-access savings account. This means that if Plum were to go bust, you'd be able to recover your money from Barclays.

However, if Barclays were to go under, your money may not be FSCS-protected, so you could lose your cash – you need to decide if you're happy to take the risk.

It's also important to note the risks involved if you decide to go down the investing route with Plum: returns aren't guaranteed and you could lose your cash. For more on this, see our Investment for beginners guide.

Is my money protected? Moneybox has FSCS protection, so up to £50,000 is safe when saved with it. It's important to know that FSCS investment protection applies if you lose money due to Moneybox going bust, not if the underlying investment goes bust.

In other words, if the funds Moneybox invests in for you perform poorly, you've no protection as that's the nature of investing.