It wasn’t Monzo deciding this per say. It was the conclusion from market research where they gave people the option of building their own package and asked for their feedback.
Most found it overly complex, wasn’t sure if they were getting good value, what the cost differences were and so on.
I’m not sure how, but that’s what they said 
This is a good idea from the perspective of the customer, but it breaks the cross subsidisation model of packaged accounts.
Selling travel insurance to a million people, half of whom won’t travel is cheaper per person than providing insurance to half a million people all of whom will travel.
The idea being that if, say, three services are provided, and 90% of customers only benefit from two of them, the service providers can reduce the prices overall so that everyone benefits.
If customers are allowed to pick and choose, they’ll often be better off using a comparison website or trawling the internet for discount or referral codes.
It was over a year ago so my recollection could be faulty but the way I recall it was that they decided it was too difficult to build (different products with different T&C etc) and give the user experience they wanted. They then carried out an exercise to justify introducing bundles (including the infamous “5 person controversy”)- which then had to amended as they weren’t popular.
What I was thinking of is (Monzo Plus – you asked us to make it simpler, so we’ve created bundles - #237 by benjiportwin) and related posts of which there were many over a very long period…
We launched Plus with full customisation, so you could pick features individually. We learnt this was a mistake because it added too much complexity.
When we ran user testing to gather feedback on Monzo Plus, many users found it confusing and overwhelming. Our team had to step in to clarify what was going on at several stages, meaning that the product and its design weren’t clear enough.
They launched Plus first and then decided it wasn’t what they wanted to do
My memory is hazy too. I’ll have a quick search to see what I can find 
Edit: Found it 
As Mr Trump would say, “Fake News.”
I’m not a big fan of Monzo, and I’m always happy to criticise them and advise people to bank elsewhere when it seems appropriate. However, the 5 person controversy came about because someone involved at Monzo said that 5 customers were invited in to test the user experience (ie how the navigation between the options worked, or not, and whether improvements were needed), not to consumer test whether or not the options were appropriate.
Some forum members then jumped on this to say that it was always bound to be a crock of poo because the focus group only consisted of 5 invited customers.
As you say, it was an eon ago. It might have very little relevance these days.
Edit: @Ordog beat me to it 
Relevant quote:
we invited five customers who were Monzo Plus waitlist customers to walk through the version 1 flow to observe their behaviours and tell us what their expectations were.
Anyone remember Swag? I’m still bitter about that.
I think there was a lot ‘wrong’ with the 2 different flavours of Plus - but with the power of Hindsight I think:
V1 - was too “Minimum Viable Product” - and they never iterated on any of the things they said they could/would. The early adoption thing didn’t work because people we’re encouraged to sign up on a future belief of a product that wouldn’t get developed.
V2 - Lots was given as the guise of “consumer simplicity” - but I recall a lot of the customers saying “But this doesn’t make things simpler / I still don’t want this”, and again it had a problematic roll out. Lots of asking users what they want, and bring a half baked idea forward.
I think both versions 2 biggest letdowns were: 1) The products we’re not super well ‘polished’ - as in the User Experience was just, meh, and 2) they put a very low effort into actually marketing the product / telling users it exists.
If you look at Plus v3 now, not only is the product more polished, they’ve also got a more cohesive strategy about advertising it.
I think it helps that Plus is cheap, accessible, and easy to cancel if you don’t like it - and the features of Plus are enough of a “oh that sounds useful, I’ll try it for three months” - then they sucker you in with a metal card like some fool. Or maybe that’s just me 
Haha 
By swag I believe they meant that you’d get some stickers in with your new card but if I remember correctly not everyone did? Swag does not equal a couple of stickers in my book so it should have been elaborated on really.
In the end I did fairly well with it all after moaning 
There was also chat about T Shirts and pins as well I think? And “Other exclusive swag that would come throughout the year!”.
Oh, and Exclusive Plus Events too
I remember there being a handful of events. A couple in London and one in Manchester? Unless I’m thinking of different events? One of which they sold out immediately to non-members due to a mistake?
I got x2 t-shirts, a pin and was drowning in stickers. I’ll try to find the pin tonight and will send it someone if they like.
This looks pretty great value. Do you have it, and if so, any experience of making claims on the phone or gadget?
I have a plus T-shirt (somewhere) and some stickers, and a pin as well I think 
Did have to chase up with Monzo to get it though back in the Plus days 
Monzo,
I really like the idea of the Premium Accounts, however like many other people I would like it if Breakdown Cover was included alongside the Phone, Worldwide Travel Insurance, and Discounted Airport Lounge stays.
I had a similar package with my previous bank (Barclays), which cost me slightly more £17.50, but this did include top level Breakdown Cover for Me and not just my vehicle.
There are many banks out there at the moment who offer package accounts which include Breakdown cover, travel Insurance and Phone Insurance for £15, so surely you can do the same.
A lot of people drive or have bicycles, so perhaps you can offer breakdown cover for the people who have cars abs wish to use that cover or bicycle cover for those who don’t drive/have a car and would prefer to have their bicycle insured.
Just a suggestion, but I really hope you add breakdown cover, because that is the only thing that is stopping me from upgrading to the premium account.
I imagine there are more tiers to come that should hopefully include this 
That aside, is breakdown cover worthwhile these days? The last time I broke down I got recovered for a one-time fee which was less than I would have paid for the full year should I have been a member. So if you don’t breakdown more than twice in a year you’re in profit.
Not sure if it has changed now? 
A smartphone, google, and a quick phone call are probably all you need to get you out of most situations but there’s something to be said for the peace of mind that comes with breakdown cover. The nightmare is a breakdown at night, in bad weather, miles from home (though I suspect cars parked outside homes failing to start are far more common).
I keep thinking that I should give it up completely but can’t quite bring myself to.
That’s when I broke down last. The same phone call has to be made to the AA/RAC etc however they just take your card details over the phone and I paid ~£70 because I wasn’t a member. This was several years ago which is why I wondered if it was still the same. I imagine you can get it for much less from a local firm too.
I totally get the peace of mind thing and especially if you have an older car. But mine being less than 3 year old my chances of breaking down are significantly reduced. Touch wood 
Indeed.
I do all my banking with Monzo and have a Nationwide Flex account (@£13/month) for the benefits.
If Monzo Premium were better value I would happily move move from Flex.
There are a couple of things Monzo would need to do for me to jump.
Come on Monzo, you are very much a leader in money management. If you try just a bit harder you could be a leader in premium bank accounts.
There’s a breakdown policy that’s designed for this.
I think it’s only available through Compare the Market, it’s £22pa, but there’s a £40 excess. So if you never break down, you have peace of mind, and only pay more if you decide to call them out.
I opted for something like this when I renewed… I think it’s through green flag, but I got it through a price comparison website.
Ahh that sounds pretty good! Might have a look into it
I have a Halifax Ultimate Reward Current account. At the moment it would be extremely difficult for me to justify switching from Halifax to Monzo Premium due to the lack of breakdown cover. It would be great if this was offered as either an optional extra, or even as an option you could switch in for one of the other features.
I’m a big Monzo fan, and this is the only thing holding me back from going full Monzo at this point. I understand what people are saying about other banks potentially running their premium accounts as loss leaders. If you factor in the amount of potential extra money that could be flowing into Monzo accounts as a result of others going full Monzo, it could be worthwhile.