1k is just a stab in the dark, a different number could be used. funnily
enough i am also a student that uses monzo mainly. I agree that a
transaction counter is also a nice idea. But at the end of the day if it
was a spend limit it would still be more beneficial to the user than a
system that doesn’t offer more free withdrawals abroad (regardless of
individual expenditure).
I think option 3 is great. I try to only take cash out if I need to and try to use the card to make purchases and only use cash when cards are not accepted. When I go with friends that use cash then I take the cash and pay with the card so that Monzo does not pay the ATM fee…
Option 4 rather than a monthly amount why not offer a limited number of ATM transactions, e.g.a max of 3. This would cater for those who would find the £200 too little but prevent overuse. If abroad for more than a couple of weeks option 3 and £200 just isn’t sufficient.
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I completely agree. I think there’s a lot of value in simple, transparent fees, just from a customer perspective. When I travel I don’t want to think about allowances - I don’t want to plan up front what I’m going to spend, just to know whether it’s worth using my monzo card.
It seems like that’s a calculation I’d make every time if there’s an allowance, because the actual amount feels completely arbitrary and likely to change a lot depending on actual customer usage of monzo. Whereas 1%/2% is more directly linked to the ATM costs and I can trust that it will stay roughly the same unless there are changes to the underlying costs.
i dont think this incentivises spending. most of us have to spend a few thousand a year to live. this may aswell count in our favour - would you really spend more money just to get free cash withdrawals? i dont think so.
I would go for option 1. But I’m absolutely astonished at all these ( presumably ) wealthy people going on holiday lots of times a year and moaning about paying a few quid in fees
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I’m for keeping it plain and simple. Foreign ATM providers charge 1 or 2%. Passing on this (and only this) means Monzo remains “free” and it’s clear where the blame lies. After all, the are ATMs here in the UK that charge us for the “convenience” of using them. Introducing foreign withdrawal allowances draws Monzo into the mess pool.
Let’s build a bank and concentrate on that. Not on a foreign exchange service.
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atm withdrawal fees need to die all over, its crazy they still exist.
Hey guys, love the fact this is being asked, love the Monzo vibe.
I think any of the % options are fair, as long as its in your customers best interests and you keep it transparent its great.
I would suggest an alternative option blending a “Monzo Premium” or “Globetrotter” account with your allowance suggestion (Option 3). Essentially an account for people who intend to travel lots can accept a % fee on their account, safe in the knowledge that they will get the best fees when they do go travelling.
Keep it simple basically, no need for loyalty bonus etc as it all gets hard to track I imagine.
So who pays to maintain and stock the ATM?
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1% 2% is nothing in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t incentivise you to take out large amounts like other bank charges do, carrying around these sums abroad. Its clean and easy to remember/calculate and when u compare this fee to all other banks (approx. 3-5% charge) these costs are minimal. 1% on a €20 withdrawal is 0.20c
I cant help thinking Option 3 will just annoy people when u realise £200 isnt that much and take up monzo man hours responding to angry feedback when these limits have been surpassed. Ultimately forcing monzo to put up costs.
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But what is someone goes away 3 times and withdraws £500 each time. That’s around £30ish in fees to monzo of which your not contributing anything.
The idea around this isn’t “find a way to still make it free for me”
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this thread us not about ATM withdrawal fees that cardholders may face but the unseen behind the scenes charges banks face when their cardholders make a withdrawal
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This is super interesting - I just travelled for 6 weeks through 7 European countries and used Monzo the entire time (apart from some areas in Germany where they only accept EC cards) due to its great tracking functionality.
I had no idea how much cost I created for Monzo, but I think if I would have been aware I might have used it differently.
It might worth to add the cost information when you provide the country summary - you spend the equivalent of xx pizza and we saved you a withdraw cost of xx. (might be a good retention move)
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I also like this idea in principal. I have two concerns about it though:
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this benefits higher spenders who spend more in the UK (and likely withdraw more abroad too), which favours the wealthy
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one of their three evaluating factors was SIMPLICITY and I don’t think a tiered or proportional system is necessarily simple for customers to understand. (The notification message suggested by some would potentially solve this though!)
Option 3 seems fair to me. However, I would prefer an annual rather than a monthly limit! (1000£ per year?)
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Hello, Kindly take it easy on me it my first post but I feel moved to make a suggestion. First, I became a member of Monzo purely for the ability to use the card when and where ever I travel. The exchange rate as little as I know about it seem fair. I however still have the Monzo card and top it up from time to time. I do understand that no business can operate at a lost and the idea of not being charge for using ATMs during my travels was a big decision factor .
May I suggest that Monzo keep the ATM withdrawal free but give members the opportunity to pay a one off fee of £20 both present and new customers to maintain the service and a limit of £500 per month (this will cater for families travelling) , if further withdraws have to be made within that month then a percentage charge applies.
Be gentle.
The difference between the losses incurred on £200 per month limit and those on a £2400 per annum model isn’t going to be the deciding factor as to whether Monzo sinks or swims…. I’d think the only potential difference would be racked up by those who only use ever the card for ATM withdrawals. I guess this would be partially offset by the increase in retained customers. Maybe they could link foreign ATM charges with domestic use…
Given the experience many have had over the last months with Monzo, I’d think limiting any additional reasons to not use the card would be A Good Thing.
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ofcourse, but the banks should be swallowing these anyway. i appreciate monzo is early doors so its problematic but for big banks that make big buck i feel they should take the hit not the customer. im sure this will eventually be the case anyway.
After reading the blog post relating to overseas ATM usage, first of all, I just wanted to say how wonderful it is to see Monzo’s transparency on the subject. Thank you for explaining the issue and for letting us be part of choosing the solution.
Out of the 3 options provided, I personally think that the final one is the best and fairest. My reason for this being that when travelling, it’s much easier to pay with card anyway. This is something that as stated, will remain how it is currently, with the MasterCard exchange being passed on. With option 3 you have a fallback of £200 to fall back on for those those instances where card payments just aren’t possible, without any charges being incurred at all.
To illustrate the minimal impact, I recently spent 2 weeks travelling through 4 central European countries and withdrew less than £50 in that time. Everything else was electronic spending.
In short I feel that option 3 would still allow overseas ATM use to be a free benefit for most people, but will pass on the fees for those heavy users that exploit the current offering. Enentially it’s just fair usage.
If implemented though, in true Monzo fashion, it would great to see this limit in app, together with the total amount withdrawn overseas in any one month, and amount remaining that can be withdrawn prior to fees being incurred. This would maintain the levels of awareness when travelling and thus not lead to any nasty surprises.
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