True. But would as many people have signed up if the card was the same? I think we all know the answer to that.
(For the sake of argument, the Plus card costs the same as Coral. £4 has been quoted by Monzo before as the cost of card replacements)
Cost of Plus card - £4
Cost of Plus - £15
“Profit” - £11
But the way Monzo are doing it now
Cost of Plus card - £4
Cost of Plus - £15
Cost of replacement Coral card - £4
Profit - £7
I totally understand turning off virtual cards, open banking, categories, discounts etc etc. These are all done at the flick of a toggle. Nobody would expect to keep those.
But why cause more expense, more hassle and more waste by forcing someone to no longer be able to use the Plus card?
The only reason I can think of myself is to try to keep those who just want it for the card tied into the subscription to generate more money. Plenty of people would be happy to pay just to keep the card and those will probably be the most profitable too. These premium cards have a tendency to become fashion statements and status symbols.
To protect the brand. Sure there might be slightly less profit for mozno due to the cost of replacing the card but it’s probably worth it. They are still making a profit albiet a smaller margin but profit all the same.
I don’t agree with mozo forcing more waste though as it’s still the customer’s decision as I see it as the customer’s waste.
When someone goes out to a bar (Plus) they don’t get to keep the pint/wine/cocktail glass (Plus card) to use at home (regular monzo). For your drinks at home you back to using your regular glasswear (hot coral card).
The bar isn’t being unethical because you can’t keep using their glasses at home and thus more glasses have to be made.
To use your analogy, when you said you didn’t want another drink, the bar would spend money to stop you using the glass (that you’re drinking from) and make you pour it into a plastic one. But you still keep the glass on the table, you just can’t use it again.
Think of it as they are selling you the drink you are taking home, sure they make less money on the tins/bottles you are taking home. (Switching you back to the hotcoral card)
Sure it means the margins they have made from customer is less but the overall it was profitable.
To correct analogy is : that after you had your soft drink , the bar would come around the table , smash your glass and then replace it with a plastic one at their expense so you can use the free unlimited water refill option they have available .
I also get you point too, it’s a rule that costs money to enforce. If they ignored it he customer would probably appreciate it and monzo would have more profit.
However I also see how they want to protect the notion of if you want it you have to pay for it, ergo if you stop paying you can’t keep it regardless of whether its a physical item or a software perk.
For those that are concerned about waste, great news you don’t have to claim the card in the first place.
i think they’re missing a trick by taking away the Plus card - apart from the environmental reasons, it’s also a lot better for their brand - if more people see other’s using the Plus card then they might opt for that rather than the basic version if they sign up to Monzo.
I agree with this completely, beside any environmental impact, replacing the card is throwing money away for the sake it. The card costs roughly £4, Monzo gained £15 from the customer; profit.
That said, I genuinely don’t get the fuss over a bit of plastic. That it’s considered a perk is quite a stretch to me, and I find the need to remove this “perk” from those who cancel to be nonsensical. Surely people are not going to keep paying £5/month for what is essentially a “prettier” way to access their account?
I get some people clearly appreciate the card design and banks use this to differentiate premium products, but we’re not exactly talking about some design masterpiece that will gain you access to the higher echelons of society. On top of this, with the move to contactless and mobile payments, the card is less important now than ever.
Those saying other banks do it, that may be the case and I was disappointed when Nationwide did this. Not only is it wasteful but it also just seems petty and spiteful to spend money to actively punish you for cancelling. In contrast, Barclaycard didn’t do this and I continued to use the card until it expired without even noticing.
I took this value from @Revels who I believed mentioned it was something quoted by Monzo in the past. It does seem somewhat high, but the point is still the same.
