Monzo Plus: a fresh start with some fresh faces 👇

Can’t agree with this strongly enough. Your core customers have been attracted by your easy to access innovative budgeting tools. You have a large percentage of customers who might not have a lot of experience in budgeting and you’ve shown us the way. Please don’t forget this.

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You’re a genius!!

I found this thread about Carbon Offsetting in Monzo 🏭 quite interesting.

I would be willing to pay an amount each month for Monzo to analyse my spending to calculate my approximate carbon emissions and offset them using a trusted third party. e.g. Spend ÂŁ600 as British Airways, recognises its likely to be a long haul flight automatically offsets the amount / nudges me to make a contribution. Obviously depends how much these schemes cost and if it can be calculated to a reasonable accuracy - There is a challenge for someone!

Anyway, that is my take for an ‘add on’ for Monzo.

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From the outside, this looks like a bit of a mixup between strategic business questions and product work. The whole company is obviously navigating this massive change from being in “startup mode” through “scale mode” and now into value engineering at scale. There are huge underlying questions around how to adapt to that, maybe including “what is the value proposition of Monzo” and “how does that value proposition need to change with scale” and “how does that value proposition support a sustainable profitable business”. Seem like it’s asking a lot for a product team to answer these sorts of questions, let alone a product team that’s constrained to considering what exactly a premium account might consist of, or how much you can charge people for stuff that costs least to deliver.

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I think it’s important that Monzo remember that this forum reflects only the views of the active participants and not necessarily the wider Monzo customer base and that whatever they do wont please everyone. Alas no cap fits all.

Also making “core” features (budgeting, pots, blah, blah) only available to plus is a bad move IMO. As is arbitrary “swag”.

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My piece of feedback.

First, I didn’t even know that Monzo Plus is out of Beta and my fiancĂ©e didn’t even know it exists. So, do marketing better.

Second, why so much focus on travel? You’re a bank, I expect you to do banking really well. Do different and focus on what you do well - banking. If I want travel insurance, phone insurance or similar perks, I will buy them from the provider directly. Ask yourself: why travel related perks? You’re not offering offering washing machines or gym membership or PlayStations or clothes etc, so why travel? Because you’re a bank, not a travel agent.

I’d love to see a Monzo’s own cash ISA or a credit card or an increased limit for cash abroad.

As others have said:
-Leave the money management and support free and equal for all customers
-Only charge for nice-to-haves, such as personalised cards or swag
-Unbundle things. Bundles aren’t appealing in terms of value.
-Don’t make it a subscription. I dread the recent trend of everything being a subscription. They’re just bills in disguise. Instead, sell one-offs.

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This is similar to what so-sure do.

Is this Metal package being surveyed now? If it is, maybe Monzo aren’t starting with a completely clean slate :thinking:

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Has the value of my Monzo Plus T-shirt gone up or down in value - thoughts?

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But let’s also remember that they were told twice On the forum that their ideas (or execution) were poor, and they then failed twice. The forum is a pretty good litmus test IMO.

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To be honest all the features I wanted just seemed to disappear and it was travel or fan and I want neither so I’m glad you are trying again

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This idea sounds a great option!

Tbf I always found it odd that getting entered into a metal card draw was a perk. I doubt this is a “perk” that the majority of people care about.

What Monzo needs to do is look at the market and see how it can improve on what’s already out there. This is how Monzo has already established its competitive advantage.

Picking and choosing “perks” I still think is the way to go but it needs to be more bold.

Well done for a brave decision. Take the pain early in the product rather than later. To do so openly with your customers is impressive too.

Keep playing the long game Monzo


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Come on guys lets get pick and mix options to add to the monzo plus, GADGET INSURANCE PLEASE!!! early bird supporters who basically have got nothing should get a little reward, and this time try listening to the community on here, a lot of great suggestions seem to be ignored, its a shame on your new team you didnt add a community voice member

Here we go, wading into the 300 post throng (I got a third of the way through before I decided to jump to the bottom and throw my two cents around, honest)

I’m really liking the market place model mentioned numerous times above and I remember monzo taking about it a lot earlier on. Also agree with the sentiment that features that cost nothing (obviously developer time isn’t free, but they are perceived to be free) are going to be hard to charge for as other banks can easily copy and offer for free.

Along with marketplace perhaps there is still room for a premium account but it should have features aimed at the more well off (and that, crucially, actually cost monzo something to offer). IE it’s premium and costs money but provides things that people with money want/need. Example’s (some already mentioned):

  • financial advice
  • interest on regular balances
  • make savings pots work faster (although arguably this should be the case on all accounts. You can pay me a day early, but I have to wait til 4pm tomorrow to withdraw cash?!)
  • higher withdrawal limits abroad
  • international bank transfers + Forex on the cheap (a’la revolut)
  • virtual cards (if they actually cost anything)
  • tax return help
  • easy investment
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I would say only charge for the things with a marginal cost, like metal cards and insurance. If you write a software feature, there is no cost difference between whether you give it to everyone or just Plustomers, so you might as well give it out for free, and get more feedback. After all, you are selling financial services, not software.

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I think the new team is going down a dangerous path again.

I saw that @tomdavies asked how much people would be willing to pay. It seems like Monzo is going to throw anything together now and see how much they can get people to shell out for it.

It seems to be entirely the wrong approach. We already know that a metal card is probably going to be in the mix and that it costs a bit more, on a 12month min. sub and to recoup the costs of that card within the contract term the minimum is going to be around 1.50-2quid a month, it’s a starting point. I think the whole point of these subscriptions is that everyone pays the right amount and some use more some use less, not every customer needs to cover the entire cost of the subscription.

Monzo should be going around places for example Dragon Pass, Lounge Key to find a competitively priced lounge access product, the same for insurers etc. It shouldn’t be exactly the same cost as going to the provider directly it should be significantly cheaper.

Take a look at Nationwide for example, for their monthly account fee you’d be hard pressed to find all of the (equivalent) individual cover for less than the monthly cost they provide you because most don’t use all of the benefits so it brings the cost down for others.

Once Monzo have negotiated actual benefits that are of value, it should be offered at a price that makes it compelling to buy because it’s a great deal, not because they love Monzo. If it’s not a great deal, the negotiations have been poorly handled. Anything that’s the same or more expensive than what can be obtained outside of the Monzo-sphere is not going to be a great deal.

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Maybe work on the value and content which was badly lacking. I’ve been rather vocal in that via SM and am glad FINALLY Monzo has listened to feedback from users. It was a no go for me from day 1, poorly implemented imo. Maybe focus on good offering like the WHICH rated Nationwide Flex Plus which indeed is great added value for £13 a month. Good providers, great phone cover, decent travel insurance, full breakdown over inc at home, roadside/onward travel etc. Good interest rate on credit balance. (https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/09/monzo-plus-packaged-account-scrapped-after-four-months-can-you-get-a-refund/)

What do you want?