Some people just get overly emotional and what comes across as angry
It’s on purpose. I mean you wouldn’t expect a friendly response if you go to your neighbor and throw garbage in their mailbox or start spamming their phone? 
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I told the Police…that was not me 
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For what it’s worth, for this marketing message I received;
A transaction feed item AND a push notification AND an email.
Just change AND to OR for those who opt in to marketing.
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I agree. It is the number of times we were notified about the offer. I mentioned earlier in the post that I had referred several people, when the notification appeared in the payments tab. About a week later I get an email, a push notification and a item on my feed. I did feel it was too much at the time.
I am certainly not going to get upset about it, but like many other users, I think Monzo need this feedback when they are doing these offers.
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I just hope they learn from this as it didn’t annoy me the first time but the second time it will. Also just out of curiosity does this sort of unsolicited marketing break GDPR?
They claim the messages were only send to people who opted into marketing communications and I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on that. The emails themselves have an unsubscribe link.
I think it’s still GDPR compliant although it’s definitely sketchy - there is no clear way to know whether you’re opted in nor to opt out without first getting spammed at least once.
This counter argument is a tricky one, because when you compare pretty much anything to the issues faced around the globe, our issues are meaningless and lack the importance of world problems.
I’ve never seen a customer base so ferocious when it comes to a business, I don’t even think the Apple fans hold a flame to the Monzo supporters.
Generally, everything is said with the intention of making Monzo better, and I’d be surprised if anyone enjoyed receiving constant notification on various services which was effectively asking you to do the leg work for Monzo, with nothing in return.
Now, as a recent investor, I obviously want Monzo to succeed, but not at the detriment of my personal experience with the bank - Which ultimately, is the reason I’ve recommended them to people previously, long before I’d invested my own money.
It’s also very difficult to get the point across without sounding moany (sometimes excessively so), because if it was a case of, “Those pesky notifications are a touch annoying”, you probably wouldn’t get a reaction from Monzo, as it wouldn’t even register.
Hopefully they’ve taken note of the feedback here, and will adjust accordingly 
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100% agree with you here. I have no doubt it works, that’s not my issue. It’s just blooming annoying.
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The only other app to have been so desperately needy recently was John Lewis, that other bastion of ‘ethical’ business.
Push notification after push notification simply informing me it was Black Friday. Now that app can’t send any notifications. Unfortunately this approach defeats the whole point of Monzo.
In order of preference, I’d say it’s:
- Red flag on the task bar – absolutely no way. This should be reserved for banking stuff.
- Push notification – again, no way. No app gets the right to take my attention for marketing.
- Feed item – if you must. And make it once–only deleted. But I’d rather not, and too many and you’re on thin ice.
- New bar atop Payee management – link it in with the existing Golden Tickets architecture.
- Email – fine. It’ll be something I see when I’m reviewing Monzo’s communications.
The offer isn’t even that relevant to me. My friends, who might be interested in a Monzo (I’ve used 27 Golden Tickets) would just laugh at a tenner as an ‘incentive’. We’re in the ‘£200 from HSBC for their freemium account’ bracket. I’m not saying don’t spend a tenner per signup in the wisest possible way, just that I’ve not once considered using it as a starting point for a referral.
John Lewis had seemingly no way to stop the spam, and for a business like Monzo, which is all–app, that’s unforgivable. There need to be clear, granular toggles in the app preferences.
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If anything it feels slightly needy.
People join a bank because it’s good, not because they’ll a tenner. Although it be both reasons, the first out-weighs the second by a long way and the second calls into questions the first in my opinion…
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Tbh I joined First Direct for the £125 quid.
I got nothing for joining Monzo but some relief I was leaving FD.
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I wonder if the old guard or ‘forum power users’ are more likely to be annoyed/deeply offended by this than newer users?
The older lot have already signed up everyone they know for £0 in the past so it might be a lot more annoying to get the £10 reminder through every channel than someone who has signed up more recently and has lots of friends who they could spread the word to and help them earn a few quid before Christmas.
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Agreed. Very annoying and you should be able to turn it off. I’ve shared monzo with a few friends but don’t want to become some sort of pyramid scheme evangelist.
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I don’t agree with the basis for a cash incentive, I get Monzo are in growth mode but there is a lot of competition for customers in banking and always will be so where does it stop? Cash feels lazy. One of the reasons why I left my bank was they were giving £100 to new customers when they could have actually been investing it in innovation - I know it doesn’t quite work like that but that’s how it felt. Spend the money on building a bank that retains clients. If nothing else it sends out a better message.
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Exactly.
What makes me glad I missed out on the latest crowdfunding round is that the crowdfunding money is just being thrown out the window instead of being used to actually build something great or fix the many issues they now have, for example with regards to the “quality” of the iOS app.
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This is still part of the testing that they announced months ago to see if it makes a difference. A large part of crowdfunding was for growth but Monzo needs the increased customers to make money. The teams responsible for growth and fixing the current iOS issues are different
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In the latest interview Tom revealed that the average customer costs Monzo £10 to run their account per year (iirc) yet Monzo are now generating around £12 or £13 over the year from an average customer.
Even with only £10 as a joining bonus it’s going to take a long time to recoup that money.
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Back in the old days there was this thing you could do if you were a business and you needed to make money… I can’t remember the details but I think it had to do something with giving people something they like in exchange for their money.
If they’re that desperate for money how about just you know, asking? A 1£/month account fee (voided if your balance is low or account is inactive) would be fine with most people, and even if only 50% of their customers decide to stay that’s still like 600k/month of revenue.
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To be fair, ‘growth’ was a key target this year and next. Crowdfunders would (should) have been aware. And £10 to get someone using the app might be a steal, when compared against other types of marketing.
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It might be a steal in the grand scheme of things but it doesn’t change the fact it’s going to take ages to recoup that cost and that still depends on the person even staying after taking their 10£ bonus.
I think Monzo is more vulnerable to this than the legacy banks thanks to how easy it is to open an account and claim the bonus. Legacy banks aren’t affected as much because the signup process involves so much effort most people wouldn’t bother unless they actually want the account.
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