Alternative Monzo tiers!

Monzo Chat
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I seem to have gone on a bit of a big one looking at Monzo tiers.

We started yesterday talking about whether a lower (£2?) tier would be useful in the Monzo in 2021: Wish List thread.

Then I got out the spreadsheet to see if a lower tier would be financially viable for Monzo (spoilers, if my assumptions hold, then probably).

Adding all of that together, I thought it’d be fun to think about what Monzo could do with their tiers. Behold, a suggestion!

Feature Free account #FullMonzo Extra Plus Premium
Physical card 1 hot coral (on demand) 1 hot coral 1 hot coral 2 non-metal (choice from range) 2 (one metal)
Connect additional physical cards to pots £5/card £5/card £5/card £5/card £5/card
Card replacement cost £5 free (twice a year) free (twice a year) free (twice a year) free (twice a year)
Connected Google or Apple Pay card 1 1 2 2 2
A UK current account :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Your money is protected by the FSCS :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Get paid early :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Salary Sorter :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Fee-free UK bank transfers :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Pots for separating money :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Award-winning support :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Instant notifications :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Apple Pay and Google Pay :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Spending categories :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Fee-free UK withdrawals £250 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Fee-free withdrawals abroad £200 £200 £200 £400 £600
Other accounts, in Monzo :x: Max 3 :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Offers :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Virtual cards :x: 1 2 5 10
Round-up to external accounts :x: :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Sweep contents of pots/main account to external accounts :x: :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Advanced roundups :x: :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Auto-export transaction :x: :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Web Interface Emergency Emergency :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Connect virtual cards to Google/Apple Pay :x: :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Connect virtual cards to Pots :x: :x: :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Eat-out discount card :x: :x: :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Interest on your balance and regular Pots :x: 0.05% 0.20% 1.00% 1.50%
Disposable / one-use virtual cards :x: :x: :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Credit card pots :x: :x: :x: :white_check_mark: :white_check_mark:
Free cash deposits at PayPoints across the UK :x: :x: :x: 1 5
Phone insurance :x: :x: :x: :x: :white_check_mark:
Worldwide travel insurance :x: :x: :x: :x: :white_check_mark:
Price Free Free or £1 per month £2.50 per month £5 per month £15 per month

Two new tiers here: #FullMonzo (better name needed) and Extra. Extra is the cheaper tier at £2.50, #FullMonzo tries to bring together the new fees that came in last year to make the product offering coherent. If you meet the criteria set out in the blog, then you are #fullmonzo and you get those features for free - the difference in this model is If you don’t then you can buy your way in for £1/month.

A few other changes:

  • I’ve suggested that #fullmonzo customers will get a limited version of stuff that’s currently in Plus: offers, one virtual card and three connected accounts. If they’re useful, then they will help customers to decide to upgrade.
  • Interest is back! I think psychologically it’s important for a main bank account, even if it’s peppercorn. Nothing for the basic account, 0.05% for #fullmonzo and 0.20% for Extra.
  • For cards, I’m suggesting a new revenue stream: users of any tier can purchase a physical card for a one-off cost and connect it to a pot. For Plus and Premium cardholders, they get one extra card free (so, instead of getting a new Holo card and the hot coral stopping working, you could use the coral one for a pot, for example). In my head, I also have a wider range of cards available, including wooden ones.
  • I’ve taken inspiration from Starling’s Connected Card, but made it digital (Google/Apple pay only). You’d be able to send it to someone to buy stuff for you out of a pot.
  • Extra, Plus and Premium customers can round-up or regularly sweep money from your account / pots to an account with another provider.
  • Extra, Plus and Premium get a full web interface. The others stay with the emergency one*.
  • Disposable / one-use virtual cards for Plus and Premium customers*
  • Credit card pots (move money to a pot when you spend on your credit card) also for Plus and Premium customers*.

Edit! Here’s a poll! :bar_chart:

If you’re not a paying customer at the moment, what tier would you go for?

  • Free account
  • #FullMonzo (for free - I qualify)
  • #FullMonzo (I’d pay £1)
  • Extra
  • Plus
  • Premium
  • I’d move away

0 voters

If you already have Plus or Premium, what would you do?

  • Stay on Premium
  • Stay on Plus
  • Downgrade to Extra
  • Downgrade to #FullMonzo
  • Downgrade to free account
  • I’d move away

0 voters

*Financially, there may well be an argument to put these in Extra, too. You’d want to make them Plus / Premium exclusive if you were making more per month from Plus and Premium than Extra, though.

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Joint account pricing?

I’d suggest it is the same as a Personal… :wink:

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I don’t think you should separate out the #fullmonzo tier. Some people will dip in and out of it depending on their income for that month. So they will have virtual card for one month, but not the next, and the same for other accounts in Monzo. Best just to have the £1 per month tier.

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I agree that there ought to be some certainty - maybe based on your rolling average income for the last 12 months instead? If you fall out of #fullmonzo you keep it for the first month after in case your circumstances change?

(The completist in me wants it to be a tier, but I can see how it’d be problematic).

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My single-account bias is shining through :see_no_evil:

I’m not too sure, but how about this for size:

  • If both account holders are on the same tier, than you get that tier for free in a joint account
  • If not, then the same prices for the joint account only (i.e. those functions don’t cascade to your personal account)

Joint account folk, does that seem fair?

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Someone has way too much time on their hands :rofl::joy:

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Lockdown Sunday

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So. Much. Time.

Quoted for truth.

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The second, not-cascading, option would be my preference. JA’s are a conundrum. The JA is a single, standalone bank account (it has a sort code and an account number) and therefore should be able to access the same features as Plus/Premium - for a single account-based cost.

But tricky features for individuals where accessible by two account holders are physical cards (holo/metal), travel/mobile insurance and credit scores. Everything else can be used/viewed by 2 people.

Needs more :thinking:

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Yay, the thing Britain needs right now is more tiers :wink:

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I’d pay a tenner for the current Premium and just keep hot coral

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Different levels of ‘free’ is wayyyy too confusing.

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I’d consider Extra if the account aggregation was better.

But at the moment I’d stick with a free tier.

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I’m with both monzo and revolut and revolut offer so much more for a cheaper price

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Revolut are not a bank though. Yet, I may go back to them once they are, I also had difficulty with them closing my own account on android, but the iOS app worked fine

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Yes that’s true they can be frustrating! So many times I get this merchant isn’t supported when trying to make payments online. If they didn’t have so many great benefits I wouldn’t even use them.

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4 posts were merged into an existing topic: Removed Posts - May 2021