Don’t know if Mondo have any plans to give out bonus/benefits to users any time soon? I don’t know how many of you care about benefits, but I’m sure out there people are looking forward to these benefits.
Such as Lloyds Clubs, TSB contactless 5% cashback, Halifax 5 pounds every month, other cashback rewards, etc. And most of them comes will a quite high % interest rate on first few k that is in the current acc (and even a switching will grab 100+ GBP in most banks)
Just wanna see what will Mondo do? because although I (and I guess all of us here) want a smart bank, benefits is still one major criteria to keep users choice.
A major benefit I’m already getting (and I really hope continues when Mondo is a real bank™) is no charge on international usage and withdrawals. I pay my rent in cash in New Taiwanese Dollars , so I was paying some pretty hefty fees. Also I can use my card casually for smaller purchases without worrying about flat fees per transaction.
This is the sorry state of the competition. tl;dr, mostly 2-3% “foreign transaction fee” + a flat fee of £1-2 per transaction, and in many cases the non-sterling fee and withdrawal fee are combined for withdrawals abroad.
I’ve just got back from Spain and wish I’d had my card before I went. £1.25 for each transaction abroad I was charged. Got my card the day I returned - typical!
No bonuses or benefits please, just be excellent and I’ll stick with you.
I would MUCH rather have the confidence to go anywhere with the card and be charged fair/no fees than have to deal with the hassle of rewards. Take any money that would be used for these benefits and spend it on things that make the service better and nicer to use.
I see lots here are interested in Mondo overseas spending feature. But doesn’t some credit cards go even lower? Since Mondo have the 1% add (if I’m correct?), but at least in my mind, there are 2 other credit cards at 0% (mastercard).
Just wanna know, it is because you couldn’t get hands on those cards or just because you love Mondo so much?
Thanks for clarifying @JamesBell about the 0% fee.
I have had the Halifax Clarity Card for several years (and specifically got it to avoid the high fees abroad) and yet I much prefer Mondo for use in these situations. Why?:
Mondo gives the exchange rate information immediately (and then later updates it at settlement) - unlike the ‘clarity’ I have no idea until the actual statement
I can withdraw cash without a fee (cant do that on the credit card as its a cash advance)
Instant alerting unlike the clarity and balance combined with my current account so i can see what im spending, not worry about it once i pay my credit card bill
Travel spending is one of the areas where Mondo is the leading proposition on the market I think - unlike other areas where the product is still ‘beta’ - this is an area where it is the best available (and the travel summary screens which you can see via sneak peak suggest its going to get even better)
Edit - its probably worth saying as well - even though I consider this to be a strong positive point about mondo, I dont think the ‘no travel fees’ would be sufficient for people to switch to mondo/sign up for it - as you pointed out, there are already ‘zero’ fee cards on the market so if it were an issue people would already have got those
@JamesBell thanks for answering the question especially clarifying the 0%. Think I will be using it soon then although I have aqua card with me. But clearly, a real time notification on the exchange rate is interested by users.
This. In many countries you still can’t use a card for most everyday transactions, so 0% withdrawals are a lot more valuable than 0% transactions. I pay my rent in cash, so that’s an immediate saving of £12 per month just from not paying withdrawal fees. You’d need £5000 sitting in a Santander account to earn that much interest.
Also while there’s nothing wrong at all with credit cards, not everyone wants one
Interestingly if carrying on the ‘what would cause/block a user to switch to mondo’ discussion I have heard some interesting objections to switching to a new bank (or from one bank to any other). One of the main ones was “but I have been with that bank for a long time, they know me and so I am more likely to get a… (mortgage/loan/credit card) etc”
In reality I have found that to be more often not the case - e.g. with ‘full product’ offering banks their products are siloed (e.g. current account, credit card, mortgages etc in different systems). I’ve seen when applying for a credit card (even from logged in online banking) you still have to re-enter your name/address etc like they dont even know you! In actual case I think the banks actually encourage disloyalty, not loyalty (e.g. introductory offers, switching bonuses etc)
Still I’ve heard a few people mention that they see having a current account with an ‘established’ bank as being something which helps financial institutions trust them. (disclaimer: obviously this is not customer testing - just anecdotal objections ive heard from discussing with family/friends - would be interested to hear what other people’s views are/whether they have also heard this view!
This is certainly true. When I was talking to my mum about Mondo she was dead against it - you need a proper bank Andrew that know you and that “you can go into”. My brothers were a bit more understanding but still thought along the line that a proper bank will help get credit cards etc down the line.
My brothers concerns were based around interest and risk!
Its interesting isn’t it - one of the traditional perceived strengths (completeness of experience/service/relationship) they actually undermine quite a lot with their products and yet everyone still sees it as a strength.
I can see Mondo eventually getting a proposition to counter the objections above e.g.:
Interest - if they go ‘bank as a marketplace’ then they could introduce you to the real best savings product for you (be that best in terms of highest interest, ease of access etc) rather than your traditional bank offering their own product (which may or may not be the best on the market)
‘Financial trust in you’ - I have seen Mondo talking about an identity service to make it easier for mortgage providers to get trust in your spending/income etc - that would be superior to the current process of screenshotting and printing out online banking!
Risk - Your deposits in Mondo would be protected as per other financial institutions (though I would guess the view is actually that your savings/other investments would actually be with other institutions offering savings/investment products)
I am with one of the big 4 banks and receive an interest rate on my current account plus further rewards which earns me and my family about £150 per annum. Financial gain is the driving force behind my decision to who I choose to bank with so unless Monzo can offer interest on a current account or rewards I would find it hard to totally leave who I am with. I love the fact that Monzo offer no fees on using the card overseas and it is a good selling point but this alone would not be enough of a reason to completely switch
Thanks Ben, I understand rewards are a big incentive for many people when deciding who to bank with- it all adds up! Whilst we won’t offer interest on Monzo current accounts, we will be looking at other perks we can offer. Once we begin to develop the marketplace framework, there will be some great opportunities to pass on some value, either via retailer funded loyalty schemes or deals offered to Monzo users only when they connect to a service through the app. The marketplace banking model will offer visibility on more competitive rates from other service providers, which could help our users make some worthwhile savings too!
Thanks for confirming some details on the current account. It’s a shame about not having any interest but I like the idea of the market place. I look forward to seeing the details when it is completed. The no fees on international transactions and cash withdrawals is certainly a good and unique offering.
Good luck with the creation of the current account.
because although I (and I guess all of us here) want a smart bank, benefits is still one major criteria to keep users choice.
, so I was paying some pretty hefty fees. Also I can use my card casually for smaller purchases without worrying about flat fees per transaction.
although I have aqua card with me. But clearly, a real time notification on the exchange rate is interested by users.