@Feathers, I completely agree with you on almost everything - and particularly the part about this being a non-essential item, so not impacting those customers who choose not to have it.
The part I disagree with is the reputational impact. In my opinion, if Monzo did charge an amount for the card that seemed excessive to most, they’d undoubtedly attract criticism for trying to milk their brand for all they could, and trying to make suckers out of some of their customers. The media would jump on board. That in turn would risk devaluing a brand they’ve so painstakingly built up - which would be a shame.
Can someone point me to where it was stated what the cost of producing a metal card was?
I’ve seen things like “it’s expensive to produce” being banded around, but if the baseline is a plastic Monzo card costing pennies… £5 per card becomes “expensive”.
We’ve also seen Monzo admit that they want high profit drivers initially when it comes to Monzo Plus - Things that cost very little to Monzo, but customers are willing to pay for (which right now, is the entire of Plus).
Lastly, I’ve seen 3 prices being used by Monzo - £70, £80 and £90.
We can assume Monzo wouldn’t price this at a loss, so even in the most extreme of cases where they produce the most limited run ever, and it costs them £70 per card (although, lets be real… It really won’t cost that), they are still advertising a price point which nets them at least £20 per card profit…
I’m sorry, but all of the evidence points to this being one of those “high profit drivers” that Monzo have been open about… With precisely zero evidence suggesting otherwise.
So, without countering evidence, I fail to see how someone’s “opinion” can be wrong on this.
I think this is a struggle for the entire Plus concept, not just the metal cards but I get the point. That is perhaps where some of the ‘smarts’ in selecting the baseline break-even card number comes in.
Of course, that assumes that such a balance exists. I guess it may be the case that the projected numbers don’t support a low enough price for brand protection purposes. What then?
I recall reading a thread once (maybe this one: Monzo Plus: Card Quality) where someone replied who worked for a card manufacturer. Was reallly hoping they’d see this thread and chime in with their knowledge but can’t find who it was.
I agree with most of what you said (I think £20 is too low, perhaps £30 mark for the metal card).
And I know you meant no offence, but I found your cocaine joke unsettling, and I’m amazed that some people find it funny.
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate your being honest with me. I am occasionally accused of having a childish sense of humour - but people who know me well are generally confident that I mean no harm. Humour is subjective, as a couple of people pointed out.
I did actually find it quite funny when I thought of it, and believed some others might too - though as it turned out, not everyone. I was trying to figure out what possible uses a metal card might have, and other than a windscreen ice scraper, that’s all I could think of.
Worth pointing out that I’m a very loyal Monzo customer, investor and fan - and have been since I first signed up over three and a half years ago. Part of that loyalty, as I see it, is calling out when I see something that feels wrong or that I don’t understand, and i was using humour to emphasise my confusion at the possible £90 fee for a metal card.
With this point, it’s clearly something a lot of customers want. Of course some don’t.
I don’t buy the reputational argument though. Metal cards is where all the fin techs are going; N26, Revolut. It’s clear customers who follow these industries want this and are willing to pay a luxury fee for such an item.
You either want it and will pay for it.
Or you don’t and move on. If enough people do this, the price will change.
If you really want one you’ll pay for it, similar with Revolut, but they subsides the Metal account with a bit of VC cash, Monzo don’t want to spend capital on it, and put the cost on the buyer for metal and plus.
The prices aren’t that far apart even if this was top end at £90 on top of plus, which I doubt it will be.
I won’t be going plus or getting a metal card thought Monzo was suppose to be the financial hub to make sensible decisions about your money. Both of these offerings are far from that.
Not will I be getting the card, but it doesn’t change that Monzo provides the core experience of being able to manage your money even you pay not a penny extra
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Cerberus
(There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.)
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I think what bothers me the most is the sense of entitlement from people, if it’s to expensive don’t get it. I don’t think the amex metal card is particularly good value but I don’t feel the need to moan about it to the company.
I get this most days as a freelancer with people trying to get everything for nothing
To put things into perspective, the Curve metal card membership costs £15 a month, with a £50 cancellation fee, or £50 card replacement fee. So we’d pay them a minimum of £65 for one of their metal cards. Given that you’re expected to have this membership for a year, this will far exceed £90
Monzo is supposed to be a fresh bank with new ways of doing things. They’re agile and can respond to feedback and roll out new features to make managing money easier and more intuitive. They’re not weighed down with legacy banking systems. These are all positives.
None of that conflicts with offering cool products people want (like Metal) or features that add value for some people. You don’t have to buy into that, and the core Monzo experience and benefits remain.
I’m the first to criticise Monzo (joint account feature parity, anyone?) but come on… launching a cool new card that is desirable isn’t the beginning of the end!
On that note… when can I get my Metal card on my joint account…
