Never, dear chap, never 
Hey Beth. I’ve explained my misgivings before, so don’t really want to start a debate on this thread. There’s been a few things about Monzo that have left me with a sour taste in my mouth recently, but the main objection I have is with the business model. I’m uncomfortable with how much of the online economy relies on advertising/referrals/offers/whatever you want to call it. I believe this model is bad for consumers and for the economy as a whole. Several industries have gone from a user-pays model to an advertiser-pays model, and I really don’t want banking to be added to the list. So as long as Monzo plan to make money from referral fees, I won’t be using them for anything other than getting cash from foreign ATMs.
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You’re not wrong in the UK it’s more commonly spelled spelt.
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Amazing, you’ve visisted the community on 191 days & spent 5 days reading posts, for a company that you apparently don’t want to help 
I guess it’s a good thing that they introduced the foreign ATM withdrawal fees 
They’ve made it clear that the marketplace will be the core of their business model from the very beginning…And if you believe that, that’s going to change, you’re even more optimistic than me 
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More commonly spelt spelt, perhaps?
Ah touché! 
I really thought about it but I thought to make it clear to everybody what I meant, I composed my sentence in the way I did. 
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Back on track with the thread.
I am very happy with the rate of development of Monzo. It is serving all of my needs apart from joint accounts and rare cash deposits. I don’t care about cashback and benefits because I know they are mostly negative sum and false economies,
I have plenty of dumb pipe incumbent banks who are willing to provide those services for free in the hope that they can cross-sell/rip me off down the line though, so it doesn’t really matter too much right now that Monzo has not reached that stage yet.
I don’t agree others are catching up btw. There is a difference between acceleration and velocity and Monzo is already flying at great speeds.
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I was just wondering if anybody else has been following what the telegraph has had to say about Fintech banks
I was pointed towards reading the telegraph as it is highlighted on the Monzo web site as an area where their is an article on Monzo
I was particular interested to read that it compares Monzo, Revolut, Starling and Atom bank
Unfortunately the telegraph highlights that Starling is perceived as the leader right now as it incorporates all the best bits from Revolut and Monzo
It comes back to the original point of this thread that competitors are catching on and developing in many ways a more rounded banking product
Monzo needs to accelerate a little and start delivering on its promises
Further more I’ve used the telegraph to highlight the facts regarding competitors as if I had stated it on my own it would have been perceived that I am somewhat biased towards Starling so please don’t shoot the messenger ?
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As a general rule, I’d agree but I thought Tom had some great ideas about making cashback work, at one of the more recent Open Office events.
I know that getting it set up almost requires a small business on it’s own so it could be a while before this is ready but I’m looking forward to trying this out, it sounds a lot like Tail -
I enjoy using Monzo, however I would not give up my legacy bank for my family joint account & savings. I use Monzo for my personal spending & have to say I am tempted by the more advanced Starling bank. I dont use my overdraft on my legacy account however the option with my personal account would be appreciated.
I shall probably stick with Monzo for the rest of the year however if it doesn’t catch up with the likes of Starling it may be time to move next year.
That is the problem with Fintech, its so easy to move to another you feel you can chop & change. I keep wishing to move from Natwest to First Direct however its such a hassle I end up staying for the sake of credit cards & savings accounts & mortgages.
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You’re spot on, Lee, the ease with which you can open an account online (even the legacy banks) then dump one or more through CASS, makes brand loyalty far less likely, at least for those who’ve turned their attention to the new wave of banks. The “bribes” that have become a norm have surely contributed as well.
Not surprising to find customers with a handful or more of current accounts, the majority of which will never see a penny of your money.
I know of a few who’ve closed an app bank account in favour of the other ie, Starling -> Monzo or vice versa.
For what it’s worth, I’d say stick with both and watch them grow. Monzo will surely be in a different place this time next year and Starling will have further matured. Great position to be in, methinks.
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My word of caution here is just remember that if you do decide to switch you may not be able to switch back for at least 12 months ( change of heart or mind)
Absolutely no problem with keeping multiple Fintech accounts open but remaining dormant
This gives the opportunity to move back if and when things develops into a better product
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Yep, well said. In fact Starling have a clearly stated position on this. Without looking, I don’t know if Monzo do.
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I know. I only dislike the use of spelt when there isn’t context.
Agreed. I think everyone should be open to receiving constructive criticism but not on the thread. That’s what private messages are intended for.
Back on topic, I don’t really feel that Monzo are falling behind (yet). Yes, Starling have the features but the really don’t portray transparency and nurture trust from their community and wider customer group like Monzo do. Legacy banks might add the “temporarily freeze your card” feature like Barclaycard have done but that’s just lipstick on a pig. There’s no way for those banks to easily add instant notifications, plus the upcoming rules for pots and API-initiated transactions will be a game changer for banking industry, dare I say, on a global scale.
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Monzo are aiming to help us be better with the money that we earn and already have. You may be used to a banking culture that pays you extra simply for being their customer while taking extortionate amounts of money from others in the likes of DD and cheque bounce fees and mind bogglingly complex overdrafts that is in their interest not to mention to you that you’ve gone into it.
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How do you know that?
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Correction: it’s more accurate to say that it’s less expensive for them to spend so much money maintaining the systems they currently have, some from the 1970’s running Fortran or even their own language, as opposed to doing a complete modernisation of their systems.
Because many legacy banks are financially struggling, or least just about coping, it’ll be an impossible task to modernise a legacy banking codebase and that’s what’ll need to happen in order for them to provide instant notifications.
I’m sure someone like @tristan might be able to explain the technicalities of it more accurately than I or perhaps correct if I’m wrong but this is just what I understand.
We won’t be introducing Credit Cards, I get why Section 75 is important to some people and I’ve had a couple of queries in the last few weeks. We want to help you control your money and provide you with knowledge on where the best products are. Not necessarily provide them from us.
I don’t think gaining money from referral fees is either unethical or not been transparently laid out. We are 100% clear about how much we get from each referral and it’s definitely not any small print.
My beautiful customer service??? I think our transparency and our ethics are massive things for us to be offering. We are clear that we are working for you, the customer, not the big fat money paychecks. I enjoyed @iansilversides list
What we are working on right now:
Moving accounts from prepaid to CA
CASS implementation
Spending evolving to Breakdown
Overdraft rollout including constantly revisiting our decision lending
Marketplace integration
International Payments - ie understanding and implementing them. It’s coming, we just want to do it right which is why it’s taking some time 
I think that’s 6 pretty decent things going on 
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