Cash Deposits

If I’m not paying for it then that’s about all that matters. I know that’s not in the spirit of Monzo but it’s the capitalist reality that we sometimes forget.

Personally, I’m fine with a £1 charge to deposit cash into my account, especially if it means I can pop to a Post Office or PayPoint location (both of which are closer to me than the nearest branch of my legacy bank).

Cash is something I handle less and less — I only ever get it as gifts from relatives nowadays, and only withdraw it because I can’t pay for my haircut with my Monzo card. I made a cash deposit into my legacy bank (then to my Monzo account) at the beginning of the month and it was the first time I’d done it all year.

At the same time, I get that we expect these services to be free. But, in most cases, free bank accounts are subsidised by extortionate fees charged if a payment gets bounced, hefty unplanned overdraft fees, and eyewateringly high foreign ATM/purchase fees. Your free cash deposit is, in most cases, being financed by a holidaymaker who wants to take out £20 and is charged a few quid for the privilege, or a person who’s financially struggling (or, in some cases, isn’t managing their money properly) and is being lumped with a £6 a day fee for that.

I’d rather pay £1 for something I do very rarely and have a sustainable bank with fewer fees overall than have a bunch of free facilities subsidised by people who are potentially struggling.

13 Likes

I don’t know. I suppose it’s one of the possible outcomes - if a customer is only using you for a feature that loses you money, how do you address it?

(You’ll have probably seen what I said earlier about the banking system being broken. To fix it, you’d probably need some form of government intervention. Which would probably never happen - and be wildly unpopular because who doesn’t like ‘free’ (even if it’s not actually free) :man_shrugging:).

1 Like

The last time I paid in any cash was when I sold my car and they gave me cash :scream:

I also only draw out cash for my haircuts and also my wife’s fitness classes that also only take cash.

1 Like

Isn’t this whole thread about Monzo not paying for it?

1 Like

My point is that if I can get a £1 service from another provider for free knowing that it is being subsidised by the less financially savvy then I’m okay with that. Just the way of the world unfortunately.

1 Like

I see this argument being put forward a lot by some people on here. It’s hard to argue against it in a lot of ways, although it’s obviously far more complex than it appears.

What I don’t get, is that those same people talk about using other banks services in order to save Monzo money, or save themselves some money at the expense of someone else (based on their argument).

You can’t have it both ways.

If you are using the argument that “free banking” is praying on the poorest in society, you can’t then use other banks to make free cash deposits, other fintechs for your foreign ATM withdrawals and do everything you can to “take advantage” of other “free” services whilst using Monzo as your “ethical” day to day bank.

12 Likes

Oh cool, there’s 3 paypoints within 5 mins walking distance of me. Much better than the the two banks 30 mins walk away :+1::+1:

2 Likes

Absolutely this. The cold stark reality is that there is no such thing as free banking. Someone is paying for it, and if it’s not you it’s more likely than not people that can’t afford to. I’d much rather my bank be honest about the true cost of its services and make it a fee paying service than make others pay for what I want to use.

Personally I’m unlikely to pay in cash to my account purely because I very rarely receive any, but if I did I’d have no hesitation doing so. And the reality is that for everything else there is monzo.me or PayPal or bank transfer. I know others might need cash services more than me and I don’t want them to be charged extortionate costs when they can’t afford it either.

4 Likes

Thanks for the information Nick. Whilst I’m obviously happy that this feature is coming, the £1,000 deposit over six months isn’t workable for me, which is a shame!

I do have a question; what happens when you reach the limit? What error will you encounter at the store/on app?

1 Like

Denied transaction

That’s simplistic, to say the least.

I’ve actually started another thread about that very thing over here. My argument is ultimately that banking is broken, it is regressive in terms of fees hitting the poorest, but that it’s entirely rational to do exactly what you describe and use different banks for different things. Individually we can’t change the system - and it would penalise one bank or one person who tried to.

Is that discussion in a separate thread? I’ve missed it or your comment on this thread. Interested in your view :+1:

Edit: see the link is there now :grinning:

1 Like

Sorry, ninja edited the link in after posting fail!

1 Like

No it’s not.

You use bank accounts to your benefit - Which is absolutely fine.

You don’t (from what I’ve seen), use the argument that different products/services pray on the poor, and take a moral stance on various things (whilst simultaneously “playing the system”).

1 Like

OK, will the App tell you how much more you can deposit and when you can deposit more?

I think there was a screenshot further up that showed remain deposit allowed. I don’t recall if it’s been cleared if it’s a rolling 6 month period.

1 Like

Sorry, just read the thread! Should have done that first my apologises!

No worries. A lot to go through some of which I haven’t either

I see what you’re saying. :slight_smile:

I do think that banking is a bit broken though and that the poorest are subsiding the better off (that’s what I mean by it being regressive) and what I bang on about here. I don’t think that’s at odds with playing the system such as it is, though!

1 Like