Pre-paid travel cards are rarely good from a value perspective, there are fees to load, to withdraw cash, to buy the card in the first place etc.
I joined Monzo to use abroad and although I do use it in the UK too, I have better options through cash back cards like Amex that give me 1.5% cash back.
I travel at least once a month on work (Hong Kong, Australia, USA, Germany and Ireland recently) and have never needed cash - my work MasterCard is always accepted. Monzo is used for any personal spend while travelling. On two holidays, I have withdrawn cash and only £200 in HKD and £100 in USD to use for bus fares, small shops and markets.
Previously I used my Halifax Clarity abroad and I still do when the transaction is large (over £200) as the guarantees in a credit card are better than prepaid debit.
What Monzo does offer is clarity in transactions. I’ve twice had my card skimmed abroad and being able to see what’s going through is the correct value instantly is a huge bonus. The downside is the handling of USA restaurants - I’m expecting a big refund soon given the double charging process that’s hidden elsewhere.
For me, a £200 free allowance is ideal. I don’t see Monzo as a foreign exchange service for cash but as a banking service. My wife also has Monzo and uses it regularly in the UK so when it comes to holidays, £400 cash in a month is more than enough. For work travel, I don’t think I’d use an ATM as I don’t like having foreign currency left over.
As others have commented, some countries are far more cash based and won’t accept Monzo. Perhaps a higher limit could be offered in these areas for those of us who also use the card in the UK (and thus generate income for you)?
I’d also like to see a credit card offered for larger transactions in the future.
P.s this thread is very hard to see and took 10 tries reloading. The actual poll isn’t visible to me either. Reading from iPhone
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I’m happy to pay a bit more - I’m so lucky to even be able to travel, totally recognise that - but I think just for ‘mental ease’, I’d rather pay the flat fee up-front (e.g. £10/pcm I’m travelling) than stress about calculating percentages, if that makes sense? But totally agree with you - hopefully card will take off everywhere! As much as I say it’s harder to use outside USA/Europe, in Indonesia virtually everywhere was chip and pin and where I could use the card in Myanmar, it was chip and pin as an option
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£1000 is €1082.80 vs €1112.66 or -£29.86 difference for Travelex (Based on the website today)
With a fee of £10 - £24 vs £30, still want to use Travelex?
If my maths is wrong, please correct it
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Yes. I just had an email from Monzo but the email links to a page saying unable to access.
It is also disappointing if Monzo’s only course of action on ATM fees is to refer us to the same tired poll we had in the recent thread on ATM fees and not consider some option for free ATM withdrawals across Europe and not just the UK.
No poll on ‘X number of withdrawals free per month’ just the ‘outside UK we will charge you’…doesn’t show much thought on the part of Monzo. It is almost they have made their decision and going thru the farce of a consultation just to rubber stamp it.
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Nah, fees would put me off
I think it is a bet that most people won’t be out of the country 12 months a year and thus will never use the entire yearly amount!
Here’s an idea, if it’s users that are just using the card abroad and not in the UK that are the biggest cost, then set up a flexible limit that allows you to take more out abroad when you spend more in the UK. For example everyone starts at a limit of £200 worth of withdrawals and as they use the card in the UK that limit goes up, then as you use the card abroad the limit comes down again to £200. Those that only use the card abroad will have a limit of £200 and people that use the card in the UK will earn an increased limit that they’ll have to re-earn after each trip abroad. If you use over your limit you’re charged at the percentage rates.
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As Monzo begins introducing savings and current accounts, I’d opt for a system that rewards the most active users. For example, if I have Monzo current account, savings account, credit card (hopefully in time!) and any other services you’re considering introducing, then the free monthly allowance should vary depending on your use.
For anything above that, why don’t you just pass through the ATM costs? It would be great to have more insight into who charges what - because you can encourage users to choose the cheapest ATM provider. Even if you could have some tool to check this before you withdraw would be great. We all know that those shady cash points in convenience stores are the more expensive! For example, if I make a withdrawal at a Bank of America and it costs you 2%, whereas a Citi Bank costs 1.5%, I’ll go back to Citi.
Alternatively, a membership option with a monthly fee and other benefits is a good idea. As a fallback, charging 1% for ATM withdrawals in Europe and 2% for the Rest of the World seems like the fairest option above a free allowance.
As with some comments above, notifications of “overuse” and “limits” are important.
Just make sure you research and position Monzo competitively. Nationwide are one provider that offer free cash withdrawals worldwide with a current account and a credit card that offers free foreign purchases with no limits. One of the key to Monzo’s success has been because it’s considered a great travel card - but why would I use Monzo if I can get the benefits elsewhere? I can forego the Monzo app and all of its features if I’m saving a small amount of money.
Also consider looking at Revolut and Curve. Revolut has a Premium Membership and Curve allows you to pass through charges to a current account.
I’m one of the Monzo users who uses it heavily abroad, but is guilty of not using it in the UK. The main reason for this is because it’s not a current account - yet - and I’m not a fan of having to top up every time - especially where other pre-paid cards like Curve make this process a lot easier.
I can’t wait to go “all in” on Monzo with my banking. You’re just not there yet. If you time this wrong, I’d be inclined to use my Monzo less rather than more.
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A version of this would be, 3% and then active users (transactions and/or cash flow per month) get -0.5% loyalty after 12months down to 1%
'Thanks for being a continued member of the monzo community, we’ve lowered your foreign atm fee" type message
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That is a fair point, though a monthly allowance heavily favours those that are regularly taking money out abroad and therefore causing the issue we all now face.
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I’m just gonna paste what I said on Twitter:
Cheers!
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weird … can only scroll back as far as post 2 in this thread and can not view post 1 
Maybe a card fee of £75-£200 for unlimited ATM withdrawals could be an option for some users
Option 3 is best for me. I’m not hugely happy regardless because international usage is the biggest draw to Monzo for me.
Your comparison for EU bank usage isn’t fair either, as Metro Bank charge no fees at all for EU cash withdrawals or card usage. They should be included.
Option 3 is the best way to minimise the damage though as I’d rarely withdraw over £200 of cash currency in a given month.
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How is this sustainable. If everyone informs Monzo, they still cover the cost, despite knowing in advance.
How about giving allowance to those who regularly use Monzo in the UK (up to you to define ‘regularly’), then passing the fees onto customers beyond that allowance (without penalising those who don’t use in the UK, just leaving them without free allowance). ‘Passing fees’ would mean 1% in EU, 2% RoW - although I would pass the actual fee without defining it in advance (e.g. if an ATM charges Monzo 0.8%, 0.8% would be passed onto a customer, if 1.2%, then 1.2%).
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Love the gamification factor.
It should be possible by upgrading to “Premium account”. I haven’t found it in Monzo app though.
I voted option 3 but that risks the heavy users leaving and not paying the 3% fee which doesn’t solve the issue you are trying to solve. Like others have said a yearly limit makes more sense £1000/£500 but again risks not solving the issue