Love the ☪️ on Monzo notifications

Being gay is not a choice of mine. It’s different to religion.

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Just to note, a Christmas tree isn’t inherently a Christian/religious article. It originated as a Pagan symbol, however is completely devoid of religious significance.

High street banks putting crosses in their stores would be equivalent to the Islamic crescent. Ultimately you will not see this and, if you did, people would rightly complain.

I don’t disagree, but support for Pride and other things is a choice that many make and others do not.

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Feeling like exclusively Islamic symbols appearing in your notifications when you buy a pen in Smiths is inappropriate and undesirable makes you a bigot, apparently.

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I wondered how long it would be before the immature hysterics started. This was a perfectly respectable discussion until you made that comment.

I for one never made any specific comment about the content but about the wider general idea of these. But to suggest that you are a bigot because you don’t want to see these is offensive and you have completely lost all respect for your argument.

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I can isolate the choice to ‘celebrate Pride’ as a company from the “choice” to be gay, certainly.

Though I still think Pride is different, but I can see what you are meaning to get at.

Ohhh I’m so slow, I couldn’t figure out what this was last night but of course it makes sense!

I think it’s lovely and I really can’t see why anyone would get worked up about it. But I loved the pumpkins at Halloween and I recall some people weren’t keen on those either so :woman_shrugging:

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I thought I did see a :menorah: for Hanukkah last year :thinking: I might be mistaken.

I certainly remember seeing a :rainbow_flag: on notifications when London pride was on (only the London one though, typical Monzo :roll_eyes:). Pride is important, as it’s the basis of a lot of hate against people, and Monzo showing support (much like other brands) is at least nice, although we could talk about brands using pride for profit, but that’s a discussion for another time.

I’d personally draw the line at specifically religious stuff as there’s many religions to consider and you’d struggle to cater for everyone (as should be evident by this thread, and I would include Christmas in this fwiw). However, Monzo’s attempts are certainly more inclusive than other banks and companies who largely ignore non-Christian holidays and festivals, and representation is important (Christian holidays are severely over-represented).

At the end of the day though, it’s up to Monzo and I don’t really care, just don’t start putting gun and knife emojis in anywhere.

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I respect every religion. However they have to be treated equally, so if for Eid we have a corresponding symbol we should have one for Jewish/Sikh/Christian etc
Just my opinion

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I’m really glad I spotted this thread. I’d have been left wondering why Monzo had littered my notifications with the Premier Inn logo otherwise. :joy:

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Hi everyone, thanks for all your feedback on this.

As you know, we like to surprise everyone with notifications on specific dates throughout the year, like the :four_leaf_clover: on St Patrick’s Day. This year, we’ve added the :star_and_crescent: icon for our users and employees celebrating Eid. We’re proud to do this as a way to celebrate the diversity of everyone who uses Monzo.

(And if we’re going to have a :ghost: pop up for April Fools, it seems fair to also represent a religious holiday celebrated by millions of folks!)

Don’t worry, we’ll make sure that everyone gets fairly represented with this easter egg. Let us know if you have any fun ideas for other days too :slight_smile:

And Eid Mubarak to anyone celebrating this week! :star_and_crescent:

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I’m sure Monzo will pull out a “Religious Events Emoji Masterplan” any moment now… /s

I don’t inherently see a problem with Monzo adding some small touches to match the current events. Should they add an opt-out option in settings for those who like it plain and simple? Probably.
Will these small emojis ruin anybody’s day? Not likely…

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Monzo… brought to you by Premier Inn… :wink:

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I think people just need to calm down a bit. It’s a light hearted gesture and should be treated as such. Monzo add emojis from time to time, who cares.

On St Patrick’s day they added a 4 leafed clover, it’s a bit of fun.

I see these things as a way of including the community that might relate to the symbol at that time, and certainly not meant as a way to offend everyone else.

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Happy Premier Inn day!

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I think I like when a bank or any other organisation is being socially inclusive. IMO, this shows Monzo is aware of what’s going on outside their walls (East London Mosque is only down the road from Monzo HQ).

I want Monzo to be a different, inclusive and modern company, not just a boring old bank.

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Then hopefully they will include all religions and other communities at appropriate times during the year.

Personally, I think they can be inclusive and modern without introducing emoji into the app and notifications.

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I find it baffling that people are moaning about this. I’m atheist as they come and don’t see an issue. It’s a little icon I see for a split second. Don’t care.

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This is correct, though these days Christmas is more of a shopping holiday for people than religious. Probably the more appropriate would be a cross on Easter, I don’t think I’ve seen a bank with a cross in their window to be honest. I’ve seen islamic banks though, so I suppose in a ‘free’ country there’d be no reason not to have a christian bank?

I suppose the only question is where do you decide to draw the line and decide that a religion isn’t worth having this little Easter egg for?

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The issue is, where do you draw the line? In a predominantly Christian country, expect to see Xmas decorations around December, just as you will see each country celebrate their dominant faiths. However, don’t confuse the corporate take on Easter and Xmas as signs of Christianity. A bunny and a fat dude in a red suit next to a pine tree are not Christian symbols.

However, if an organisation wants to be global, it’s either all or nothing. Google made it clear that it would celebrate people and international events while avoiding everything religious, which is a great idea as religion is ultimately polarizing; you’re either “right” or “wrong”.

IMO religion should be kept out of it if Monzo aspires to be a global bank, otherwise are all faiths and religions going to be considered? It’d be a different damn icon every day :joy:

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The usual tsunami of half-baked opinions and strong feelings. OVER AN EMOJI.

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