Competitor update

So Starling are 2nd not 3rd :slight_smile:

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I think Starling are picking a very weird argument to try and win on here. It’s one I don’t think they even need to win. You can fight over the definition of a bank or an “Open API” but none of that really matters. If their API is good, they should compete on the technical and availability level (honestly, that should be achievable considering Monzo’s fairly basic API).

In my opinion, nobody gets any credit for having a banking API until I can sign myself up for an account (without needing to be personally invited) and start messing around in a playground with tokens and full documentation. I’ve grown tired of “Open APIs” that actually require special manual approval or being selected to attend a once-off hackathon in London to access.

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That’s true but that wasn’t my point here.

In my opinion, their marketing is consistently misleading (leaving out caveats or taking advantage of semantics - as they have today) - Megan wasn’t able to explain the claim in her replies, although she tried - & I think it’s important that a bank is straightforward & trustworthy.

I get that they’re trying to create hype & this is marketing but if they (or Monzo) fall short of those standards, it’s worth calling them out…until you get blocked :wink:

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Monese have just introduced an automated bot to answer questions outside their usual customer service hours

Monzo needs to have bot then too, it seems to be new industry standard. :smirk:

I worked with one IRC bot in the past, perl bot that basically saved logs from channel and was guessing response based on previous conversations and order of sentences. Bot was really good on Star Wars dialogues. Little bit of work and Monzo can finally be on par with competitors. :triumph:

I’m not so sure…for the reasons mentioned here -

I think they are RUBBISH and would rather wait until the next day for a human response.

It changes the customer experience from a top class experience to second rate…now were a firm’s customer service poor it may appear an improvement…but that is not the case with Monzo (or Monese)

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@alexs & @anon44204028 That was purely sarcastic, I hope that was clear? I added ‘smirk’ emoji! :sweat_smile: Though, if Monzo support would throw few Star Wars quotes, that might give them few bonus points with certain crowd.

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I figured that was probably what you were requesting there :laughing:

Although if you ask, the team will probably have some for you.

Had it been StarTrek I may have spotted that

Live long and prosper

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New 2017 PWC/BBA blog post:

New banks shed “challenger” label and sharpen focus on distinctive offerings
http://pwc.blogs.com/press_room/2017/03/new-banks-shed-challenger-label-and-focus-on-distinctive-offerings.html

and report:

Who are you calling a ‘challenger’? How competition is improving customer choice and driving innovation in the UK banking market

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how does Atom bank compare - a challenger bank funded by an existing Bank - does that just make it a branch of BBVA ?

http://www.bankingtech.com/717711/atom-bank-goes-atomic-with-100m-funding-plan/

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Based on what we know at this point, I think it’s generous to call it a challenger bank. It looks a lot like a legacy bank but with no branches & a (currently still terrible - with mostly 1 star reviews) mobile app.

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worth a quick look at the link to list of “challenger banks” at the bottom of the article

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From Danny’s article…

Pretty impressive fundraising, in this context -

Taking just Android downloads, the Google Play Store lists only between 10,000 and 50,000 installs.

Also, a shot at Starling?

Emphasis mine.

We are very pleased with the response we have had from investors,” said Anthony Thomson, the founder and chairman of Atom who previously founded another disruptive player in UK banking, Metro Bank. “Our customers benefit from the backing of highly reputable investors

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Quite a harsh view I’d say. I recently opened a savings account with them due to the hike in interest rates they gave and I have to say opening an account in a few minutes was pretty impressive compared to what I’ve had to do with Barclays. As for my monzo app… well it doesn’t seem to have changed in the last few months really so has the innovation stopped or are we seeing the slowdown due to now moving out of being just a pre-paid card? I think the competition have caught up… from what I see in my monzo app it’s all being done by others… loot, monese etc

We all love monzo (why else be on here) but the part you highlighted from the bloomberg article for me resonates just as much as a dig against monzo as it does starling. However we see their app performing (badly) they seem to have the credibility to be bringing in the money, which for a start up matters huge.

I’m hoping we get some big updates on the android side soon!

I’m sure Atom provide some great products for certain use cases, I was pointing out that they’re a very different type of provider compared with Monzo.

It’s fair to say that the updates to the iOS app have slowed (though the Android app’s obviously haven’t) & it seems like Monzo’s time has been spent launching a bank - from what I’ve heard, that takes quite a lot of work! I’m looking forward to seeing which features they’ve built for the current accounts though.

I could point out the features that they don’t have but it doesn’t really matter at this point. Monzo gaining the full banking license will be a game changer :slight_smile:

As far as I know, Monzo’s backers all have a good reputation?

Judging by what’s on the roadmap, it looks like they’re on the way :tada:

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I can vouch for the fact that atom bank mobile app is truly dreadful. Facial recognition and voice id are tempremental at best. If the conditions are 100% okay then no issues, but in low light the facial recognition just fails to work. Just go with Touch ID and stop all the fancy stuff that doesn’t work? I deleted the app and will just load it on again when I need it.

The monzo app is light years ahead. If I were atom, I’d be cancelling any more money being flushed away and go for something more classier and something that works first time, every time in any condition!!

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As you say, I’d be surprised if they’re not rebuilding the apps on a new platform at this point & taking a more conventional approach going forwards.

I guess now’s the time to take risks & make mistakes (as long as they’re not fatal!), while everyone doesn’t have a significant number of users.