I agree - and believe me I try to do my part. But to affect this change on a higher scale at this point requires far more remit than I have or am able to effectively push for 
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I hope this doesn’t come across as too apologetic, but I think this is a case of transparency changes as we grow.
I think it’s great that we’ve been able to share a public roadmap again for Monzo USA and Monzo Business. And it’s definitely easier for those teams to do that because they’re smaller, and executing really quickly.
Looking back at what we said we’d build in 2019, it’s clear that a lot of that didn’t happen, or is just happening now. And that’s not because of any specific failings, but because we changed plans on things. Projects come and go, often very quickly, which makes maintaining a consistent external roadmap more difficult. And it’s not much use to anyway for things to be parked under ‘coming soon’ indefinitely, or mysteriously vanishing.
This was fun for me too! But I don’t think we would do it today, frankly. We’re taking extra time to launch things with a high degree of polish. The next two big things being Business Banking and the paid accounts.
And that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. It’s what we’ve said in our blog posts, it’s what Tom’s been saying in the Press, and it was part of the focus for our Future of Monzo event.
So imo, that’s just what transparency looks like when you scale. When you have 4m customers to think about, when you have 1500 employees, and extra Press scrutiny.
Feel free to disagree, or let me know if I’m way off track.
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This is what I was trying to articulate but with better words.
I do disagree. I don’t think there is any intrinsic reason why Monzo cant continue to be transparent. It was a huge differentiator between other banks but its slipping away and making them feel just like one of the others.
Things change, we understand that, we aren’t looking for solid release dates, just to be kept in the loop so we know what’s coming and when the things have changed.
You can take time to launch things with more polish while still keeping people in the loop about what is to come.
Its a huge shame, and frankly makes me re-consider my investment in Monzo.
Edit: It also feels like the community that was so important when Monzo was starting up has been neglected and pushed to the side. Like transparency was a tool used when it was helpful to build a brand and being pushed aside when its no longer helping.
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But that is not transparent - it is translucent. Something is either transparent, or it is not (with the exception of commercially sensitive information of course).
Making a business decision to not be transparent is fine. But if you do, don’t pretend to be transparent.
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Thanks for responding to this. On the points above, I think the fact that you changed plans is great, but did anyone post anything here? And yes, it is difficult, but not impossible (as I’ve said, this used to be part of my job!).
And yes extra press scrutiny is probably a big factor.
Like you say, maybe this is just part of the evolution, so let me reposit.
Reduce the transparency on new features, completely. That way the delay isn’t felt as much, and it keeps things easier to manage. You can keep doing the great posts about technical infrastructure stuff etc (and everything else that makes it to the blog) but maybe it’s time to publicly confirm what the purpose of this forum is, now that things have changed? Maybe that’s what’s missing - why do I come here if it’s not for ‘early views’ etc??
I realise this all comes across as negative criticism but hopefully can be taken from the view of a happy Monzo customer, who is just a bit lost in what’s coming next because a few things have been teased too often in the past.
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That’s what I’ve been wondering a lot recently. I loved coming on here and feeling like my opinion mattered. The discussion around new features, getting sneak peaks and even being involved in testing things like the points system.
I can’t remember the last time I was excited to be involved in a discussion where I felt part of the team and I certainly don’t feel as though any feedback given on here is considered or even read anymore 
It’s a shame as I still hear people from Monzo quoting the above, however it certainly doesn’t feel like it. I think people are realising this too and that’s why the whole atmosphere and tone on here has changed a lot too. It’s starting to get more and more hostile as topics are dropped and then we’re left to fill in the gaps ourselves. As a result topics become circular and people start arguing over each others guesses as to what may or may not be happening because it’s very rare that any staff return.
If staff haven’t got the time or can’t see the value in the community, then what are we all doing here?
I’ve even noticed that certain the Coral Crew members have very low involvement with some not even logging in for almost a year. They’re supposed to be “the most active members of our community through the Community Leaders programme” yet I haven’t heard of some names. Do they know something we don’t? Have they given up too?
I’ve contributed a lot of time and effort on here and I’d like to think most of it has been helpful. If the forum is just going to be another fintech chat is it time label it as this so I can call it a day?
Anyway rant over. There was a comment the last time this was brought up that changes are afoot so I hope that they start to transpire soon. I love all that Monzo do but I hope they’re not getting too big to forget about the most important people who help and support them.
The end. (sorry) 
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Agree with almost everything you say
Yeah id love to know whats the number of monzo customers that have come through referrals/golden tickets 
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Almost all of it? 
Haha, I’m just kidding 
It was just the thoughts that were bouncing around in my head thrown out into a comment from someone who spends an unhealthy amount of time on here.
Not wanting to upset anyone or anything, it’s just some constructive criticism with the hope that it gives @simonb some ammunition to convince the powers to be that they have something special here that a lot of companies would be envious of. I hope the community doesn’t all get taken for granted and left to waste 
That would be an interesting fact! I remember a topic of people showing screenshots of their referrals, a lot were in the thousands
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I for one couldn’t care less, features will come and go or even get postponed, so long as I can still bank as normal like I’ve done since joining monzo then that’s all I and the majority of them 4 million users need.
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Notion has a super simple roadmap that seems to strike a good balance.
Unless I’m missing something that’s not a roadmap that’s just a release history
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How strange. They literally removed the roadmap this morning. Normally they have ~6 priorities that they are working on and it’s updated monthly with what is delivered.
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Sounds like they contracted a case of the moronzo virus
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I can understand why they’d want to stay under the radar after Plusgate, but ultimately I agree. 
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Yeah this is where my head is at the moment too. It’s fast becoming ‘just another forum’. Which is fine. Things change, companies evolve, so maybe the ‘break things fast’ thinking needs to be applied here.
Cut ties with this forum and be done with it?
Or perhaps there is still enough desire to have something given all the thoughtful comments on this thread?
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I agree with more transparency needed. I come here to learn, to nose, to see what Monzo are up to and contribute about new features. I then look forward to and get excited about the new features rolling out. I feel like the last couple points don’t happen much anymore and when they do, they’re delayed or cancelled. It’s gets a bit frustrating with the not knowing.
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It’s nice to know what’s going on but who doesn’t love a surprise? Monzo are very generous supporting a community (Starling, yes, I’m looking at you…) but it should be used to advise and for feedback. They are in an arms race, why tip off your competitors on what you’re doing next? My guess is that any cool new features will be reserved for now to drop as part of the Plus drive - just needs a bit of patience.
They have to get profitable, perhaps a bit more secrecy and surprising new features will help them get there. What suits a small startup doesn’t necessarily scale, just wait until they start charging for things…
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This thread - or at least the opening post - seems to be about transparency with regard to future plans. Personally, I’m not bothered about this. If Monzo feels it’s better to keep future plans close to their chests, I have no problem with that.
For me, the more important aspect of transparancy is transparancy with regard to existing products as well as explaining rationale behind changes to features/products. I think Monzo are good at making their charging practices clear and up front and good at explaining rationale behind changes to the product.
Where I think they are lacking is in the provision/availability to customers of full terms & conditions documents for various products in advance of making a decision to use that product. The prime example is the third party savings accounts. You can’t access the T&Cs in advance of going through the account opening procedure. This is incredibly opaque. I would go so far as to say Monzo is the worst among the main banks for making full T&Cs of savings accounts accessible.
That’s a very specific example!
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