What a ridiculous argument. How many out of the user base are going on Holiday 12 times a year.
In real use cases a £2400 per year allowance is not the same as £200 a month
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Ok, so I have tried to read as much of this thread as I can but I’ll admit I did have to skip some of it so apologies if I am parroting anyone else’s posts.
My biggest issue with Option 3 is the flat 3% fee above the threshold - this seems pretty steep to me. There is no option in the poll to vote for an option 4, and it looks to me like this is boosting the option 3 votes from people who are actually after a different solution…
One of the really easy to sell features of Monzo is the lack of fees. I think that it makes Monzo a much less attractive proposition once little fees start creeping in here and there.
Yet I fully understand how these ATM fees can be crippling. But I think that the figures could well be misleading since the number of Monzo users has more than likely jumped up massively over the summer months with people looking for the best solution to save them some money on their holidays abroad. Who can blame them?
In the longer term I am sure that this usage will actually even out and prove to be less of an issue that it is currently seen as being.
My Option 4 would be the following:
£500 free annual allowance, then charge of 1% in Europe and 2% ROW thereafter
Yes Monzo would still be covering some of the costs, but far less than it is currently and I think that this would still allow Monzo to keep its ‘edge’ when compared to others.
Interested to know what people think!
Cheers,
Charlie
I think I speak for most people when I say that I really want Monzo to be the best service there is.
So Monzo I say this… it seems as if option 3 will win (I think in part because option 1 and 2 will take votes from each other) , if this does happen, PLEASE at least be as good as competitors like Revolut who offer 2% charges after their £200 buffer. If not matching this, at least find a way of making it a more competitive option like having a yearly buffer (which it seems nearly everyone would prefer, even if it’s less than £2400)
I really love using Monzo, and I really don’t want to have to use competitors as well, so please come back with a better option!
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The issue is that its not that simple ATM charges will vary from country to country operator to operator. Users will likely get annoyed it they withdraw £110 from on machine and get charged say £1.50, then go to another and get £3.45
It much better to have a clear upfront systems where the users know exactly what they are going to pay
i have voted option 1 as well as other wise i would use to withdraw my Halifax card when in Portugal. They charge me £1.50 per every withdraw, it doesn’t matter if i withdraw €10 or €200, off couse i always opted for the max withdraw amount possivel.
£/€200 per month withdraw it’s not enough for me when i am there as many places don’t take cards for payments.
I use Mozo because it does not seem to conflate class, cash and privilege with banking. I am a working class girl I work hard and earn modestly. I do not think this should preclude me from banking. The thing about being poor is that it is expensive. I like Monzo because it allows me as a working class person to access the SAME things as the upper parts of society. It is actually quite a radical proposal that you cannot buy yourself out of a sticky situation, in this case fees and that the poorer of us just have to suck it up. Nope no more banking hierarchy. No platinum banking. It is not fair. and It would make me leave.
So why did Monzo not introduce charges when they asked people to sign up ??? The point is its a false promise My disappointment is that I fell for the false promise and how do you know all they want to do is break even ?
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I went for option 1
Weighing up the options I think it’s the fairest of them all. I personally think many people will look at the £200 free and as unlikely to hit will choose.
I see no issue with the 1%/2% charge for cash withdrawals.
Trust them; or don’t.
Use their card; or don’t.
A summary so far of some suggested Option 4s (to save you reading 1000 posts)
Alternative rates
- Free up to £x, then 2% in Europe and 4% in RotW
- 0% in Europe and 2% in RotW
- Free allowance in Europe only
- Totally free
– Paid by Advertising
– Offset against lending revenue streams - Pass on the exact ATM charge(s)
– Tom: Yes, we could. It would be about 1% in Europe, 2% outside Europe.
– Optional: Have a map in the app that shows you fees charged - Tiered fees (£1 for £100, £2 for £200 etc) or per withdrawals a year
– Tom: The problem is helping them figure out what [the £ tier] is in the local currency - A flat rate at the end of each month if you make withdrawals abroad (tiered)
- A (small) monthly fee / premium account
- Active User / For every £x spent/saved in the UK = £y free withdrawals / Tiered rate
- Benefits from using a partnership/marketplace link (e.g. Switch Electricity)
Tweaks
- Increased allowance (and/or possibly annual/daily) +/ rollover for Option 3
– Tom: withdrawing £1500 costs £30 in fees - No Fees if you are using going abroad twice a year / for x days a year
- Applying restrictions to heaviest users
- Cancel the cards of those who solely use the card for the free international withdrawals
- Reward for not withdrawing cash abroad
- Tariffs (chose Option 1/2/3)
Other
- We lobby for some form of regulation around the fees in general
- Raise money from the company behind the main ATM network you currently see usage from
- Gamification / Points system / Loyalty scheme
- Leave Monzo / Use competitor
edits for clarity
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Would any of those option 4s work for Monzo? I doubt it, if they aim to keep things simple, transparent, inclusive, level playing field… as well as covering their costs.
I think option 3 is the best solution, I joined Monzo because of the modern idea of free withdrawals. over £200 is not necessary when the majority of places take card or contactless.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop Monzo :)!
Tacza
I know that this is a problem for Monzo as at today, but I strongly suspect that the answer will have to be revisited in the near future, once we know what Brexit looks like. It could well be that Monzo has to treat ALL ATM withdrawals outside the UK as being in “exotic” high-cost locations. In the meantime I voted for Option 2 (the shared pain option) so that at least you don’t have to think too much about it when making a cash withdrawal.
Some would (pass on the charge), some might (tiered costs), some probably not (lobbying the world for lower fees).
I have deliberately not excluded ideas just because I don’t think they will work, any I’ve missed are just because of the 1k posts to skim.
My suggestion to monzo was that there should be a premium account option which gets benefits such as free cash withdrawal abroad. The £1.50 would cover the £16/person that monzo claim it costs them. Fee could be £2 if for premium account holders only. Sadly it’s the only benefit no other banks offer so monzo need to find a better way to keep ahead of the game.
I like the idea of a £200 free allowance, but an addition would be that if you don’t use your allowance in a month, it rolls over to the next month.
Unfortunately, any such regulation would be likely an EU thing. If the UK does end up leaving the EU, we are unlikely to continue benefiting from such regulation. I fully expect that the same thing will happen with roaming data and mobile phone charges.
Hi All,
Thought I should make a community account in order to vote and supply a potential idea.
First of all I’d like to say I love that this has been passed on to the community to help decide as I think it will make a huge impact in the future of the business. I myself voted for Option 1 to have 1% in Europe and 2% rest of the world but only because other wasn’t an “other” option.
Before proceeding I’d like to confess that I am in fact one of those members that uses the card while going abroad but not in the UK. Please don’t shoot be for it but I do like rinsing the Amex new members reward to rake in airmiles.
Secondly I’d like to highlight what Revolut currently charges below:
Revolut
Free up to £200/ €200/ Fr200/ 800zl (or currency equivalent) per month. A 2% fee applies thereafter
So from what the community has currently voted we would in fact be worse off than using Revolut so if going down this route I would urge that it is at least matched.
Now enough about problems and let’s look at solutions.
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The current solution of £200 could be enhanced by making it £400 over 60 days. Let’s face it most people won’t be abroad every month so allowing people to worry less about going over the 200 limit and being charged (just a thought)
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I unfortunately don’t have enough knowledge of the Monzo business to know the main source of the revenue stream but as it’s a Bank I assume it is from people keeping money in “the bank”. Therefore why not offer a solution where if people start paying in their salaries into their Monzo card (set what minimum threshold you feel is fair £1k+ maybe) they may start using it as their main card. If that’s the case I’d also recommend an option to change card colour to premium associated colours like gold or black. By paying in the minimum every month (and not being allowed to transfer money straight out after) you can then increase this threshold to lets say £500. Again still not unlimited because that leaves it open for people to abuse the system.
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This option might be going against initial principles but have you guys looked into providing a “Premium” account? The services you can provide on this can range significantly but simple things like £10-20 per month which may include Phone/portable devices, travel insurance, breakdown cover, discount at certain chains… Again this wouldn’t be a new idea in terms of banking but it would keep an additional revenue stream coming in (assuming profit will be made from providing a partner solution). Then again increase premium holders to £500 per month or even more depending on cost/pricing. For reference I keep my blue amex (no yearly charge) simply because I have American Express my essentials on it. That insures all the portable items in my household. So for £16.99 all mobile phones, computers, sunglasses, headphones, watches, etc are covered up to £1,500 for everyone I live with (cost can be shared
).
Sorry if a bit long winded but thought I should give my two pence on this. I completely agree that the cost can’t continue to be absorbed by Monzo but by highlighting the revolut rate I hope we can do one better on them while continuing to grow and expand the business.
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Agree but with a maximum of one month roll over.
Me, so i answered the poll for me.