Making Monzo: Cheque Imaging

Agreed but I think Monzo’s idea is that if they add some sort friction (but still allow them to be paid in) they’ll help to “phase” out their use.

You’ve only got to look at some of the various threads on this forum to see how little cash is used for instance - its part of the banking world evolving.

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Making cheques more of a pain for people to pay in won’t stop or effect them being issued. If I receive a refund via cheque, the company issuing that cheque won’t care that it inconveniences me

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That’s definitely what they’re doing. Time will tell whether that is the right choice. Switching business banks seems more rare then current accounts, so I feel like there’s a lot more pressure on banks to not be seen to be pushing people down a road they’re not 100% ready to go down.

I don’t carry cash or cheques btw - I’m just playing devils advocate.

But then why was any banking advancement made? The argument could be made for the majority of developments. “If it doesn’t impact me why do it”.

Most definitely - IMHO I like the idea of a challenger “challenging” the norms of conventional banking - isn’t that why a lot of people like Monzo in the first place? You can’t have your cake and eat it.

No no I like the discussion - it is a really tough one as there are very clear arguments for both sides

This is a very poor decision from Monzo. Making depositing cheques should be a clear priority for Monzo, where depositing cash is convoluted.

I am now taking a much closer look at https://dozens.com/ who seem to have picked up where Monzo have apparently stalled in the world of digital banking.

Monzo, change you mind. This is disappointing.

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I think some companies issue them on purpose because it’s an inconvenience and they hope you won’t cash it

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I assume they’ve shelved it purely because of cost.

I don’t think many people are upset that they’ve cancelled a feature, I think it’s just a picture of the future of monzo. Monzo are now falling behind and unable to produce bug free tested and fully featured features. Where are we going?

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Businesses tend to do it to give them a couple of days extra to get the money in…

Or to give them 5 days where you aren’t asking for your money!

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I don’t think that argument fits here. Friction to phase out their use would be to make it more difficult to write cheques, not paying them in.

There are times when my choice is to either accept a cheque or don’t get that money at all. That’s not creating friction for the cheque being issued in the first place. Not supplying customers with a chequebook in the first place is certainly a way to phase them out which appears to be what a lot of banks do.

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Dozens isn’t anywhere near being ready as a real contender yet.

They’re setting the right course though.

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Yep you’re right. Friction would be it costs £5 to write a cheque. This is more partial obstruction.

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Yes I thought this but then the cost would just be passed on the person receiving the cheque.

£15 refund followed by a -£5 cheque fee

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There’s a reason there still around just as cash is. It’s useful. Monzo has zero ability to have the world phase out cheques, let’s be realistic.

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Exactly. It’s a saving for Monzo, not a crusade against cheques. Save on development, save on the ongoing processing cost as no one wants to deal with the faff of posting a cheque.

Challenging by offering a crappy experience!

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It does make me wonder who the target audience for monzo is? It’s not for a low of low wage earners, it’s not for high wage earners. Who’s it for? Londoners? But that’s another topic maybe.

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https://community.monzo.com/t/vote-if-monzo-should-reconsider-cheque-imaging/63301?u=greganddorne

It seems particularly perverse that an online fintech bank wouldn’t offer electronic clearance of cheques! Even if only 0.1% of customers currently pay in cheques that isn’t a) a reliable stat on how many would use pay in cheques if they didn’t have to post them (eg I paid in a cheque from a company last week to my legacy a/c branch as that was quicker than posting it to Monzo) and b) businesses are continuing to use cheques for the foreseeable future.

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But why can’t it happen at either end? If you’re disincentivized to cash in cheques, you’d likely be disincentivized to write out a cheque. I’m not saying that this WILL stop cheques being used but just because it is used doesn’t mean Monzo should develop for it.

In what situations? It just seems so archaic to me and I’ve never come across a situation where this ultimatum has come up (that isn’t to say it doesn’t or that you haven’t).

I clearly wasn’t suggesting that Monzo will single-handedly become the saviour of ousting cheques, it may however

to phase them out.

I’m not commenting on their usefulness or their lack of, we are moving towards a completely digital financial world (hence having a Bank like Monzo) so I can see the justification for not providing full support for paying in cheques and cash.

Some of the forum on this thread have claimed its fairly easy and cheap to implement - I’m not sure if that is true or if the profitability of developing this came into question - either way Monzo have a reason :man_shrugging:t2:

We’re not. Some areas of finance for the general population are moving primarily digital, but completely… it’s just not likely. Maybe in another 200 years