Labs Feedback: Bill Splitting šŸ“

Making Monzo Monzo Labs
22

Makes sense, Iā€™d be worried about their future and sustainability if they didnā€™t! Would like to continue using Monzo in years to come :upside_down_face:

You tend to get the most out of products/services when more people you know use them - eg. Social Media / Apple etc.

You can still achieve similar things with friends using different banks, but the experience better if they use the same.

I could share photos with my friends via email instead of Instagram if I want, or Skype someone instead of FaceTime.

But if people see a better way to use something, they might choose to use it. The more features that enhance the benefit of joining Monzo the better :rocket:

2 Likes
23

I suppose itā€™s how you were using it to begin with that makes this a positive or a negative difference. I now will have to think whoā€™s on Monzo and split through the new bill splitting then go to payments and set up new payment links. Whereas before it was split by an amount and select the WhatsApp contacts/group to send to.

5 Likes
24

Those arenā€™t nice things about those platforms thoughā€¦

Lock-in is unhealthy.

7 Likes
25

I suppose itā€™s subjective. I donā€™t feel locked in with those, I just prefer using them where possible because itā€™s easier.

The point Iā€™m trying to make is that as long nothing prevents you interacting with friends who might be with other banks, I canā€™t see anything negative about having a better way of doing things for those using the same bank?

Edit: to add to that this is v1 - they may well integrate Monzo.me as suggested in the future - streamlining this when splitting with non-Monzo users

3 Likes
26

Absolutely, as with any change!

Iā€™m lucky with this one, because this fits my main use case and improves my experience.

Hopefully some of those who will now need to do something different to get the same result, might find benefits of doing so in the long run?

1 Like
27

But it doesnā€™t affect the people who use other banks. It affects us trying to split a bill. Yes itā€™s great when people are on Monzo. But my friends or family members who donā€™t use Monzo couldnā€™t care less if the new bill splitting feature makes my experience worse!!

5 Likes
28

I broadly agree. :ok_hand:

In this case though the original bill splitting feature has been removed. So while itā€™s a bonus for those with Monzo friends, itā€™s also a loss for those that donā€™t.

5 Likes
29

Hopefully in a future iteration you can pull a Monzo.me link straight from that screen as well - as suggesting the Q&A

If no-one you split with uses Monzo, I agree, itā€™s probably a pain to go to the payments screen and type in the amount (albeit only extra couple of taps).

But even if only a few of the people you do split with have Monzo, I think the gained functionality of tracking, and varying the amount outweighs it.
Bearing in mind how limited the existing feature was, and the (hopeful) futureproofing for further iterations. And that you can still request, just from another place.

I do agree though, for some people itā€™s a huge improvement (bill splitting was unusable for me as it was) and for some itā€™s not.

1 Like
30

Thanks for your comments! Itā€™s valuable to know that the lack of non-monzo users is an issue for several people. Monzo.me hasnā€™t gone away, so you can still replicate the old functionality by going to Payments -> Request, although I appreciate itā€™s a little less convenient. I hope thatā€™s offset a bit by what should be a significantly better experience for splitting with monzo users.

Adding non-monzo users to the new bill splitting UI is definitely something on our radar, but it adds a level of complexity we didnā€™t want to get into for v1. Additionally, we just havenā€™t seen much real-world use of monzo.me in general. All this meant we decided to focus on making bill splitting work really well for those on Monzo.

10 Likes
31

Is this not something that was expected? Outside of the Monzo office, Monzo users arenā€™t exactly ubiquitous.

Iā€™m delighted to have much improved bill splitting, itā€™s just kinda amazing that itā€™s hobbled in this way.

7 Likes
32

Itā€™s in labs! Those who donā€™t want to test it can turn it off as above and wait for a future iteration?

1 Like
33

True. :relieved: And it clearly is a huge improvement for Monzo-using groups.

I get the impression it will come out of labs still being Monzo-only, but nevertheless I guess I only used the Monzo.me splitting every other month anyway. Just sad to see a little feature go away with no benefit (for me, selfishly!).

Edit: I think I just resent knowing next to no other Monzo users. :stuck_out_tongue:

5 Likes
34

Itā€™s still there - just in a different place :slight_smile:

1 Like
35

Well, the automatic splitting isnā€™t. Going to have to break out the old mental division :laughing:

3 Likes
36

Ā£1.17

37

What about after it comes out of labs in a couple of weeks?

If youā€™re going to tell someone to switch off a feature in labs and wait for a future iteration when they provide negative feedback(in the feedback thread) then doesnā€™t that defeat the purpose of this thread in the first place?

3 Likes
38

Just re-iterating that itā€™s in labs and at an MVP stage, so not going to fit all use cases perfectly.

It may well come out of labs with no further improvement to this, but thatā€™s a separate debate.

Personally would get used to doing it via the payment > request screen now. May even grow to like it, certainly provides more flexibility.

39

Not an issue more an inconvenience and means I wont be able to fully use this feature as intended:

to make money work for everyone and make splitting bills easier.

Lovely work, and the interface now has fixed alot of issues that currently are there in the monzo.me way of requesting money for a group purchase.

On this point as I mentioned above I think thats why you havent seen much utilisation of monzo.me because it was just too rigid in its current form, this new bill splitting feature is much more flexible and will get plenty of use from myself and my housemates. I hope in the future it will allow a way to include non monzo users as well in order to offer us monzonauts the perfect solution to the bill splitting and tracking problem :slight_smile:

3 Likes
40

Looks cool to be able to request money fully in app, looking forward to using it on Android

41

Looks really slick. I like the examples of future uses! This will tie in well with shaded pots :ok_hand:t3:

Making it slick for non monzo users would also be good as others have outlined.
I understand the point is to try and get them onto Monzo though :slight_smile:

Once I try it out Iā€™ll report back.

1 Like