I also think one international replacement free per lifetime/decade would be nice.
Obviously I’m thinking about myself but it would keep it fair I think, although the stats might not back this up if it turns out there isn’t really an abuse of the system just lots of people going abroad.
£30 is reasonable - check out DHLs rates for envelopes here: https://parcel.dhl.co.uk/dhl-service-point/size-and-price-guide/
I think someone has also posted Parcelforce rates above which are similar.
Monzo aren’t posting enough volume to get a wholesale discount so makes sense to me.
By the way, I also think one free international replacement is a good idea
If you go to Parcel Force’s site, you can see prices of £45 + VAT for Europe, and about £60 or so for Worldwide - for 3 day delivery.
I’ve just had a look at DHL, who I have a business account with, charge about £50 for a next day service.
… so £30 is not unreasonable or driving profit really.
Why would I go to DHL or Parcel Forces site? Listing two of the most expensive carriers is not particularly useful. As a single data point, collection from the UK on Monday and delivery to Spain on Wednesday can be had for about £20. One off, not wholesale. This is why I said banding would be better - a Mainland Europe and Rest of World. And of course one free replacement would be nice.
So, all that said, aren’t we are missing out some key information here? Would it be correct that Monzo themselves do NOT send a replacement card to anyone - it is actually the card printing companies? Maybe it is them who have a fixed fee (of over £30) hence Monzo not making any profit on it?
Surely the fairest way to do this is to pass on the exact cost based on the person’s chosen delivery location. Does the courier have an API which could be integrated to pull this through into the app when entering an international address?
Also if monzo are going to charge I think they should offer the next day service as an optional more expensive option.
Yeah I Imagine that Monzo do subcontract this service to someone else.
Still doesn’t seem like £30 is an outrageous charge either way.
What makes you think legacy banks won’t sent your card overseas by courier as well? Of course, legacy banks also supply emergency cash without the 5% fee that Monzo charge
While I don’t disagree with the concept of Monzo charging and would almost say that Monzo should just refuse to ship cards overseas in the first place… if they are paying the listed prices at DHL or another courier they are doing something very wrong and urgently need some decent commercial staff (who could probably also help with the economics of Monzo Plus)
These rates may be non negotiable depending on how they’ve worked things out with the card manufacturers as they not monzo probably pay the couriers directly.
If this is the case they should bear this is mind when they negotiate contract renewals and new vendors.
This is unlikely to be the case imho.
Why do you think that?
Just having been involved in commercial agreements in the past (not for cards) but what generally happens is that the manufacturer will simply pass the cards onto whoever their contact says they should - whether that’s someone like Royal Mail or a courier like DHL but that firm would have their own contract directly with Monzo governing those arrangements.
The card manufacturer won’t be interested in their distribution once they are produced/leave their environment
Our card production companies handle the shipping and dispatch of the cards. They hold the contracts with the shipping companies, not us.
Then you must surely be making a healthy profit off that - it can’t cost that much.
I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to make a profit, it’s just that it was said you’re not. Clear and transparent etc.
While Hugh said that the card production company handles the shipping and dispatch, he doesn’t say that they don’t pass the costs on to Monzo. That quote from Richard makes it pretty clear that Monzo are paying in some way or other, so I highly doubt a ‘healthy profit’ comes in to it anywhere.
I presume he means that if the card company holds the contract, then they benefit from bulk order prices and will see lower prices than what we’ve seen.
I’ve seen some of the work that the team have done on this and it is a fair price. It accurately reflects our costs, and it’s something that, IMO, is reasonable and fair.
While our card manufacturers organise get courier, we still pay the costs. They don’t do it for free.
As an aside, I’ve just spent 5/10 minutes trying to figure out what other banks charge for their international card deliveries. I’ve had no luck - so no idea how it compares!
Unless you know the specific commercial agreements between card the manufactures and Monzo, and between the card manufactures and courier companies, your statement is based on nothing.
If the card manufacture has a flat fee of £40 to send a replacement card abroad then Monzo are now losing £10 a time (previously £40 a time).
It’s free, though not via express mail. It’s not an option.