With, I guess, the final demise of zip-zap machines, we are starting to see non-embossed cards appearing. For me, a great step forward as the embossing does not loose it colour; the cards are slightly slimmer and so reduce the amount of wallet space and the card data, usually on the reverse is more discreet.
My Spanish Bank has been doing this for a while now with both Debit and Credit cards and I note that UK Banks have also started. It would be good to see the Hot Coral in thus streamlined way!!
I find that with the current Monzo card that the white printing over the embossed letters comes off very easily, especially after having it in and out of the wallet after a week or so.
On a couple of the cards Iāve had the MasterCard logo has also been slightly off which leaves a white outline on one side of it too. I know it doesnāt effect the use of the card any and as they are sending them out for free I can understnad that they want to keep the cost of manufacture as cost effective as possible but I also like to show off my card
Iād definitely love to see a more premium card from Monzo, even If you had to pay for it. Iād happily pay an upfront cost for something fancy like a metal card.
Even when I received my card the white print on the embossed card number/name was already half rubbed off haha. Hopefully the next iteration will improve on this . Although I do use Apple Pay for 99% of my transactions anyway!
Hey! Thanks for your input, interesting. Curiously a number of the comments are now outdated but, of course, just to address a couple, technology is moving at a rapid pace. On your comment about Spanish cards, I am not sure if you are aware but Visa Electron branding still is the main issue in Spain and these cards have always been for electronic use only. Indeed, for a period of time only worked with that medium. They were flat to ensure they were not processed by paper!
Likewise, a growing number of cards are now being issued with a small cut-out on one side. This is to determine the front or back of a card. Initially for those partially sighted but now, additionally for cards without embossing.
Moving forward, I still hope that like the growing list of UK, Manx and European Banks, already issuing these cards, Monzo will not be too far behind.
The electronic use only phrase has been kind of pointless for a few years now anyway when it comes to embossing. Merchants are liable if they use a manual imprinter anyway, so even if they get a card without embossing they can just write the card details down on the paper and it makes no difference.
No no no! I have an unembossed card and it looks cheap, almost fake. I canāt stand the things.
I hope the next iteration makes the Monzo card look more premium, not less. And to reiterate what @josh7 said - Iād also be happy to pay an upfront price for something like a metal card if that became an option.
The only way I can see this working is if Monzo charge for it - But itāll almost certainly be seen as āpettyā, despite a few people on the forum (me included), willing to pay something towards the card.
The Monzo embossing is terrible - The white paint comes off at the mere thought of using the card.
Un-embossed cards have a tendency to look like theyāve been designed and printed using Windows 95.
The first Starling card wasnāt great (the teal with white writing on the back), but it was better than the newest iteration with the black writing on the back!
Monzo āseemā (based on my opinion), to hold little value in the card/packaging/design - Outside of the Hot Coral colour.
I donāt think they dismiss it, but out of the million and one priorities they have - It just doesnāt feel high on the list of things to spend money on.
Thatās based on the fact that the white numbering has been an issue from day one, and the packaging you receive is all about cost saving (and one could argue itās more environmental friendly) - But there is defiantly no āpremiumā unboxing compared with all the other FinTechs (some of which are so over the top itās madnessā¦ Iām looking at you, Curve).
The best āembossingā Iāve seen is the laser etched numbers on the N26 Metal Card.
It gets rid of the embossed, always going to fade numbers on the front, and doesnāt succumb to the cheapness that most un-embossed cards suffer from.
So yeah, if Monzo can increase their card production cost by 4,000 percent, that would be just toasty!
I for one am a +1 for a non-embossed card. I think it look more modern and would get rid of the āwhite paint fadingā issue. I also like the idea of a vertical card which I know has also been discussed.
So in conclusion the community wants a non-embossed embossed card, made of metal but not metal, vertical but not vertical, with the numbers on the front/back/neither that is hot coral/not hot coral
. Although I do use Apple Pay for 99% of my transactions anyway!
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