Have you warned in app chat that you haven’t sent a large contribution to the Monzo biscuit fund?
2 Likes
Yeah, I’ve dropped a message in the chat to let them know to expect it.
It’s got my name on the cheque, which is a bonus, but I very much doubt I’m the only Monzo customer with my name. I’ll be asking for ID every time I see a flash of coral from now on, to make sure any namesakes haven’t had it credited to them!
2 Likes
It’s far too easy to end up doing this by accident!
I wonder if Monzo would also accept you putting a slip of paper in with your account details on? I bet they would (like a homemade paying-in slip).
Maybe it’s just me, but if I got into the habit of doing that I think I’d be less likely to forget?!
1 Like
I suppose it would be preferable for Monzo on the back of the cheque, then they are always together.
I’m not sure what the process is, does the person opening the post just type the details straight into a computer, or do the cheques get sent around some big warehouse by robots, like the baked beans/biscuits on ‘Inside The Factory’?
Although since I’ve had my account this is the first cheque I’ve sent in, so I doubt I’d get into a habit of doing anything!
1 Like
I’m not sure how it works either but if it has to be on the back of the cheque, perhaps the envelope-opener at Monzo would just get a pen and write it on?
Regarding the actual clearing, NatWest do it on Monzo’s behalf but the process for this isn’t something which is made public as far as I know. I suspect it involves some kind of batching up of the day’s cheques so they can all be processed at once. NatWest would then send the money on to Monzo after the cheques clear, and Monzo adds it to each customer’s account. I don’t know how they might keep track of it, but it may be as simple as a computerised system taking account of the cheque numbers?
I’m sure there would be a reconciliation at the end of the process to sort out any cheques which hadn’t been credited right as well.
1 Like
Seems awfully complicated. I can see why they are not actively promoting cheque usage!
If only there was a way to pay in cheques without them ever having to leave your home.
3 Likes
There is some discussion about the process over on the cheque imaging thread.
I don’t want to drag the thread off topic too much, but basically it would be even more complicated to implement cheque imaging as a result of relying on a third party.
Monzo could either choose to join ICS (the Image Clearing System) themselves and bring the process fully in-house, which is what Starling have chosen to do, or they could continue using NatWest but this would need work to integrate their in-app scanning with NatWest’s backend clearing services which wouldn’t be easy.
1 Like
To be fair, I doubt there’s going to be too much chat about N26 going forward, so I wouldn’t worry about it!
I think I’ll just try and avoid cheques!
True, but I was thinking more along the lines of (potentially) sparking more discussion about cheque imaging which really ought to be in the proper place of the relevant thread so it can easily be found by others.
1 Like
N26 has lost more money than Monzo.
3 Likes
I wonder how much of that £26m launching and aborting UK expansion was spent on buying google searches for 'Monzo" and how much waa spent on tube ads? Maybe half/half 
Seriously though, this is more evidence that neo banks are struggling everywhere… not good for anyone who wants a thriving fintech scene.
I don’t see how they expect to turn a profit this year on the back of an 8 figure loss. They are hiring hundreds of staff as well and their growth velocity has slowed despite being available in dozens of countries - does not look likely.
There is a lot of bluster and sales puff when promoting fintechs, but saying you will be profitable this year just sounds like a bare faced lie. I’d be delighted if they prove this wrong but i would not fancy the odds.
Not sure I agree with this. Starling seems to be doing alright. Their product is somewhat limited from a consumer point of view but I see value in their B2B offering. I do think there needs to be a fundamental shift which hasn’t occurred in Europe yet. If you look at Asian fintechs they’ve built out independent payment networks which bring massive improvements to both sides of the payment.
Alipay and Tencent’s payments platforms in China are a great example, they started with the payments infrastructure and then expanded to traditional banking, financing etc. Earlier in the journey but across SEA countries Grab is doing the same thing and adoption is huge because of the benefits.
2 Likes
I’d go back to N26, with just a few small changes. More pots, and not timestamping their instant notifications with CET, as two examples.
4 Likes
Ever track down the origins of the surprise check?
1 Like
Damn, N26 getting interesting. Why the eff did it have to quit the UK?!
(Hoping it buys Co-operative/TSB/Atom and re-enters the UK market.)
2 Likes
I really doubt that they would even consider this.
If they come back, I would imagine it will probably be as a stand-alone bank again (like last time). This allows them to import their own product from day 1 and not have to deal with the fallout of buying an existing bank, which might not give them very good press or a decent customer base.
Unless, of course, one of those banks is being sold off cheap.
2 Likes
I think we covered this in the Tandem thread, but what they’d be doing is basically be buying the banking licence. Quicker than applying from scratch and possibly cheaper too (if it’s a distress sale).
Someone like TSB might be a bit too big (unless it was, say a joint deal with Virgin who took the branches and customers and N26 got the licence).
4 Likes
Yes, we sort of did.
What I meant was that you could buy Harrods Bank (as Tandem did) and fly under the radar in shutting it down, as it had relatively few customers and wasn’t a mainstream concern.
This wouldn’t be so easy to do with the likes of TSB, and there would be a heavy reputational hit to your new venture from the inevitable bad press and “save our TSB” campaigns that would result. It even happened with the Co-op Bank when they were bailed out by hedge funds, plenty of customers weren’t happy and took their grievances to the press.
Also, you have to do something with the existing customers. Closing their accounts just results in more bad press, but trying to migrate them often results in a nightmare administrative headache. Just look at how much Jaja are struggling to move over customers of Bank of Ireland UK’s credit cards.
3 Likes
Absolutely! I’m quite attracted by the idea of a split bid for TSB, but N26 is probably better off picking up Tandem on the cheap, I think.
I’ve also created a new topic just for merger and acquisition talk (mostly because I find it fascinating!):
https://community.monzo.com/t/possible-uk-banking-merger-and-acquisitions/116656/2
3 Likes