Android App UX / Onboarding: New Payee Setup / Management of Existing Payees

Feedback & Ideas
1

First-time poster to the Monzo forums, so be easy on me! :slight_smile:

It’s the day before my Current Account switchover is due to complete, so I’m in the process of recreating my Payees in Monzo (using the Android smartphone app), before the Current Account with my previous bank, closes once and for all.

I have to say, setting up a new Payee is proving to be somewhat challenging - and that’s coming from someone who is a Senior Mobile UX Architect for a global Fashion Retailer!

In the ‘Payments’ area of the app, my first thoughts were to tap the icon featured in the top-right hand corner, represented by a user and the supporting plus. In my mind, that says, “Add New Payee”. Oddly, after filling out the information, I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t being asked for any bank account details for the payee in question. Turns out, I was inadvertently adding a new contact to my phonebook, every time I filled the information out - not setting up a new payee.

Through persistence, and trial and error, I eventually discovered the way to set up a new payee, was by interacting with the “Bank Transfer” CTA. By no means obvious that this was where I needed to go. The “Or schedule payments & standing orders” text, threw me off guard. Even then, there are significant areas for improvement. The “Recipient Name” input field, gives no indication as to whether you need to supply the full name the payee’s bank account is registered under, or a nickname, for ease of reference.

Anyway, after going through the rigmarole of the above, I was hugely disappointed to find that I couldn’t set up a new payee, without having to make a deposit there and then. My primary reason for setting up all my new payees in one fell swoop was because I was about to lose all of their bank account details, from my “old” Current Account, and bank. I didn’t want or need to make a deposit. Nevertheless, I deposited 1p, with each payee setup. I’ll now have to contact each to tell them to ignore the odd deposit amount before they question why I’ve sent them a penny!

Worse still, it turns out that after all that, there isn’t a dedicated area in the ‘Payments’ section of the app, where I can simply view a list of all my payees and their bank account details. I appreciate there is a ‘Recents’ area, but how many payees will that list, before it starts to overwrite itself? Not at all clear.

My experience with Monzo and the Monzo app, over the course of my tenure with them (~6 months) has so far been excellent, which is why I have decided to move to Monzo as my only Current Account provider. But, app onboarding, and the setup and management of new payments, in particular, needs to undergo some serious usability testing, in my books. I’m sure others have struggled with this, and been less persistent than I have.

10 Likes
2

Couldn’t agree more with the payees needing a overhaul and your deductions.

3 Likes
3

Here here! I’m not sure if this thread will get merged with another, but this is my biggest issue with Monzo (really, my only issue with Monzo).

Can someone from Monzo confirm what the new “Payee Management” tick box will be on your “big list”?

Is it simply “saved references” - Or is there more to it?

2 Likes
4

This functionality in particular is bizarre! I have pressed that plus button a number of times, forgetting that it doesn’t do what it would intuitively seem to do.

2 Likes
5

Welcome to the forum :wave:

It definitely needs work. The Big list will sort out payee references in the next few weeks and setting them up without having to send money is on the agenda. Hopefully it will tackle a lot of the issues you faced

6 Likes
6

It’s the same on iOS. I agree it’s really bad UX, hopefully this will be fixed in the Big List.

1 Like
7

Yep, it’s one of the more bizarre parts of the app that needs some lovin’. Ideally I’d like to see some of these implemented:

  • all the basics
  • better integration with my phone contacts. It should pull photos for all payees or you should be able to match them, or add a photo in app. This would probably work better with payM integration
  • bank icons based on the sort code would be great. I often have people tell me to pay into their ‘Barclays’ account or whatever, like I should know offhand what that is. The ability to label accounts would be great too.
  • multiple accounts under one contact. Just keeps things tidy.
  • payment history for each payee when selecting their name
  • the option to transfer existing payees through the CASS process

I’d probably get rid of the side scroller for friends on Monzo and replace it with recent payees. Then have a typical address book layout style list for all saved payees. Payees with Monzo accounts can just be highlighted with M logo on their portrait.

4 Likes
8

This is a great idea.

I’d also really like last names back on the slider thing. There should definitely be first and last names when you search for a contact - it’s really annoying when that you have to select each person to see if it’s the right one when you have multiple contacts with the same first name.

1 Like
9

Check out how Starling do payees. Most elegant solution of any bank app. The little animations also help with the UI and UX.

2 Likes
10

Agreed, the only thing I’d change is the need for the password each time.

I’d rather it were nothing, or if it had to be something, a PIN number.

1 Like
11

Some great suggestions here. Thanks for sharing everybody.

The absence of any form of detailed Payee transaction history in the ‘Payments’ area is an odd omission too. In the ‘Recents’ area, at the very least, I’d expect to see the amount I last sent to each Payee, as a form of a summary/reminder.

My window cleaner and wheelie bin cleaner, still insist on posting a piece of paper through the door, advising how much I owe them. By the time I get home from work that piece of paper has often magically “disappeared” - or rather more likely, the missus has “inadvertently” binned it!

Rather than attempt to hunt for it (or fish it back out the bin), it’s easier to look at how much I paid them each, last time. Due to the sporadic nature of when they choose to do their cleaning, I can’t set up a DD or Standing Order, as it’s never a regular occurrence each month. Some months pass, and the window cleaner hasn’t shown.

Sounds minor, but it’s often the seemingly insignificant design features like this that often have the most significant impact.