Forbes researcher shows that most of Monzo’s features are already available in the US. How is monzo going to compete?
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Already posted in the media thread but what an awful article. Not because it’s anti Monzo but it’s just garbage
For instance it completely sidetracks Monzo’s “banking without hidden fees” into talk about monthly charges for accounts which are a completely different thing.
And don’t even start me on the last section where he say dismisses Monzo’s entire brand because someone on Twitter said something he disagreed with.
The article even acknowledges that Monzo has (only 3!) unique features and then goes on to say unique features are unimportant because another bank had 1 unique feature and isn’t huge
That reminds me of what legacy banks used to say about Monzo at its launch. One-sided article in my opinion.
If Monzo can recreate the community it has here in the US it will definitely be a success.
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The bit about paid for basic accounts made my head hurt.
Sure they don’t actually pay for the account - but they have to pay for the account by having all those extra things they probably don’t want. Who wants to add up the amount of transactions they do just to find out if they’ll not have to pay for an account?
Apologies, I didnt know this has already been posted somewhere else. Admin, please feel free to delete this thread.
A study by S&P Global Market Intelligence looked at 15 “advanced” mobile banking capabilities, i.e., features beyond the standard ones like branch/ATM locator and check balance.
- schedule branch appointment
The study was clearly designed with legacy banks in mind and what they have, rather than what they could have. There’s no need to schedule branch appointments if you don’t need branches. Seems silly to compare Monzo on those metrics, clearly designed for comparison between legacy banks.
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It is even more bizarre when the author mentioned that Monzo is unlikely to become the primary bank of US customers - and then compares it to established legacy banks that would be their primary bank. Surely it would be more pertinent to compare as against US fin-techs?
I think trying to quantify this down to “features” misses the entire point of what we are trying to do.
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Can anyone with more US experience explain what this “bill pay” thing is?
I saw mentions elsewhere that (BBVA) Simple, notional competion for Monzo in this sphere, had stopped doing it, but it is shown there for one of the “big” US banks (Wells Fargo IIRC)
only 40% of USA residents have a passport compared to 76% of the UK. I wonder how much of a draw the commission-free FX spending will be for US users compared to the other features
So I’ve lived in the US for the last 2 years so feel free to shoot me some questions!
Bill pay is where you can search for the company that provides you a service. For instance, when my utility company sends me a bill for the first time, you search for the company name (there’s 1,000’s in the directory), enter your account number and amount you want to pay and it saves it like a payee. Then the next time you get a bill, you just click the payee and enter the amount.
It’s a bit old school, but they do have auto pay (direct debit) as well. I guess it depends on the company.
Edit:
Banking in the US is unbelievably far from what we have in the U.K.
using a contactless card blows their mind like you’ve just performed the best magic trick ever. To the point I’ve been persuaded to buy another item from the shop so the till operators colleague can witness the magic 
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Sounds a bit like what I had for creating a new payee under my legacy HSBC UK account
You could select banks or electricity companies or whatever and it would fill in some of those details
That is not something Monzo does, but nor would I have called upon it 
Thanks for the deets
Any other insight on how the US is behind the UK would be good. Ive never been to the US
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Which of the current Monzo feature set do you think will resonate best in the US?
Sure!
Sending money to and from people with banks is very hit and miss. A few banks use Zelle which is similar to PAYM (enter and email or phone number, it saves them as a payee and you can send money straight over). The problem is not many at all know about it, don’t know whether it’s down to trust or lack of advertising the feature. I’m out here on a military posting so all the other U.K. guys have zelle as it’s one of the first things people questioned when they need to send money to each other. But other US guys we’ve got to know look like your talking a different language. Cash is king here.
You do tend to have to pay for checking accounts (current accounts) if you don’t have a minimum balance or direct deposit from your employer. Even for a basic account with no features like Monzo plus.
You have to pay to withdraw cash if you don’t use your banks atm.
I have 2 $10,000 limit American Express credit cards, neither of them have a PIN number!
But they do have pay a cheque by photo 
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Instant notifications. If someone makes a fraudulent transaction, you would know straight away, especially as some cards have no pin!
Freeze your card instantly for the same reason.
Savings pots. I’m pretty sure you get charged for savings accounts unless you have a minimum balance. I bank with a military credit union so all basic accounts are free. But others do charge.
Bank transfers. This would need to tie into zelle or have another way of sending to another banks account.
Competitive loans. Credit is very prevalent here.
Monzo points when it’s rolled out. Rewards on spending is also big here.
Viewing your credit cards inside the app. Other than the bank your with, this isn’t a thing.
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