Oh, I see. Yes, I’d live to see Monzo manoeuvre into a good profitable state. The fee should be for genuinely valuable features.
This is what plus is trying to be. What features are currently free that you think should be paid for?
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I do agree with your general premise. Maintaining large IT systems and employing staff isn’t free - and that cost does need to be borne somehow. In Switzerland around 20 years ago, all the banks started charging their retail customers, and although this was initially a bitter pill, it’s since become expected.
However, this would only work in an environment in which other banks also charge for banking. With interest rates at record lows, overdraft fees now subject to regulation, and an increasing number of customers likely to default on their loans, I suspect that many other banks will be looking for ways to increase their revenue, so we may in time see a move from different players to charge for accounts.
I suspect it would only take one bank to begin charging for all the others to follow. The challenge is that none of them want to be the one to jump first. The other challenge is that Big Tech might then come along and offer some of those services for free, to make customers even more reliant on their other services (Google) or devices (Apple).
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It’s a difficult one. I’m pretty-much happy with what I get from Monzo. I don’t need the extra “features” in Monzo Plus, I don’t need a loan and don’t need an overdraft - so going forward, for me, it is 100% free banking.
Which is nice, don’t get me wrong, but it seems slightly unfair - I get use of the app, all the updates, all the “free” functionality, a free card, all my direct debits paid regularly, standing orders, the ability to move money easily etc etc and it costs me nothing.
And may never will…
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But that’s the same for a lot of things.
Facebook is free. So is Instagram. Twitter. etc etc.
You’re just paying for it in a different way.
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Must admit, I struggle to see anything which I need or don’t already have in some other way.
I can’t help but think that profitability can only emerge through diversification and a real shift towards this being the primary account for the vast majority of users. The elusive “Total Monzo”.
I may be wrong, but Monzo’s success in building a strong young fanbase may have created its own problem. That fanbase demographic is far less likely to be bothered about a full banking service than having easy to access funds & a valuable forum resource for information gathering and sharing.
A dilemma…
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Monzo refuse to acknowledge the blockers to this though:
*cheque imaging
*more reliable cash deposits via the post office
*flawed system for increasing limits
*lack of bic number/sep
All 4 are reasons why alot of people are not “full monzo”.
In chasing that younger demographic markets thats cheaper to run theyve pushed out valid ways of increasing usability of the current account and ways to increase the average amount held per customer.
Too idealistic at times and stubborn to listen i personally feel
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Free yes - but biggest revenue generator for those companies is mafrketing and advertising. So advertisers will pay as they know there is a huge targetted user-base.
I’d hate to see adverts appearing in the Monzo app for double-glazing… 
I agree. But Monzo and Facebook make money in different ways.
Every time you use your card, they make money. Look at it like seeing an ad on FB is the same as using your card for Monzo.
But clearly they are not making enough…
All these posts are very interesting but perhaps OT for this thread.
Really? Why? I imagine that legacy banks prefer to release less frequent updates (monthly is common) as they focus more on quality control rather than releasing a MVP or beta product.
If they wanted to, I’m sure the big banks could release more often. In fact, I’d prefer it if Monzo did more testing/development of the app in Test flight etc and made changes before releasing to everyone.
And that’s why they offer children’s accounts and large interest free student overdrafts.
Is the technology worth that much? It might have been at one stage but banks have since invested millions in their own apps/systems and they could buy a smaller firm if they just wanted some technology (or licence it).
As for the current customer base, it seems many use the account minimally or just overseas and might go elsewhere - bearing in mind that many have accounts elsewhere as well
If Monzo are not careful, the main value they will have to others will just be the brand name unless it’s a new entrant. There will also be competition concerns of some of the big players wanted to take over Monzo intact.
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Yes
I see that this thread has become another to rain down on :mondo:, but I hope no one is doubting the excellent quality of their technology and its potential worth to others
There is a big difference between good (or okay) technology as a small firm and something that scales up and is reliable
Which is mostly still gloss and wrapper around the outside. Most of these banks only hold transactions from previous months as PDFs
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Yes. It has been built completely from the ground up*, with none of the cruft that is found in legacy systems. That’s tremendously valuable. It also has a 3D Secure implementation that has been praised by Mastercard as being the best out there (tried to find source where a Monzo staffer said this, but as you can imagine the search terms are perhaps a bit too common).
While legacy banks have invested in their own systems, these are hampered by having a tremendous amount of cruft and interoperability issues, and why there would be value to be had in buying Monzo.
As for buying a smaller firm, if the event under discussion comes to pass, Monzo will be the smaller firm in this equation. 
*I will acknowledge that in some cases, like the ‘must have a personal account to open a joint account’ case, it has ended up being a disadvantage. But such cases are rare, and no doubt easily fixed if the will to do so is there.
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I don’t pay for TV and no banks shouldn’t charge for general access to an account they make plenty enough money already
This article seems like propaganda with the aim to make the general public think that Monzo is selfishly hoarding money in financially stressful times. To wit:
[Monzo] hoovers up deposits and sits, Smaug-like, on the idle cash.
[this has] got Alphaville thinking about the ethics of how it conducts its business.
They are doing this with disinformation; specifically the myth that banks lend out deposits. They do not. You can read this directly from the Bank of England itself. And, yet, the FT article states:
At its core, banking is about channelling idle savings, in the form of deposits, to those who need capital
No FT journalist could be uninformed of this fact. It’s worrying that the FT is willing to stoop to this level. Is it for the benefit of one of the author’s friends or associates? Who’s to know.
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There is always a reason someone is not “full Monzo” - the other day it was how someones name was presented on bank transfers.
Your list seems to be things that you want, whereas there is a whole section of “needs” on this forum with much higher votes.
tl;dr - You can’t (and never will) please everyone 
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Spend less on candles.
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Unless your banks name is Monzo… lol.
Monzo don’t charge for general access to an account though.
Edit: ignore me. I missed the part where they make plenty enough money already.
Actually the only one of those that affects me is probably going to be the increasing limits one
- flawed system for increasing limits
I don’t think I have the confidence in monzo just from posts on the forum etc that when it comes to purchasing my new home within the next year I’ll use my other account for all things house related. Not sure how much monzo makes on things like that but im sure theyd make some sort of money from a high transfer of a deposit to a third party and the higher balance for few days etc. maybe im wrong.
If i think like that maybe others do too, would certainly add up.
- cheque imaging
- more reliable cash deposits via the post office
- lack of bic number/sep
All the others arent necessarily problems for me but are known blockers for others getting money into their account and be “full monzo”.
Prioritisation of things like this should be higher in my eyes than other items like dark mode which alot of people would like (myself included) but lets face it offer no monetary value to customers or monzo and are purely a vanity thing.