Well, management have commented since that if starting again they might not have pursued the banking licence.
Monzo has done things differently. Part of that is making mistakes. Every company makes mistakes.
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Definitely true in the case of energy. Not switching can be very expensive.
It isn’t so easy to attribute not switching banks to laziness, though. The benefits are far less obvious to the normal punter.
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It’s also worth noting that this was, at the time, a seemingly well known part of their vision.
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Yep!
The fact is, if you’re gonna get a banking licence (and become an actual bank), then you do both your customers and your investors a disservice if you offer a poorer service, or paywall features that your peers offer for free.
This is an inescapable fact about Monzo - you can say whatever you like about their qualities as a financial hub - but as a bank, they’re inferior to pretty much all of their competitiion.
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I became aware of this vision around the time I joined (June 2016). It seemed to be a popular area of discussion and excitement on this forum.
From The FT, August 11, 2016
Mondo is the latest UK digital bank to gain a licence as the number of smartphone lenders gathers pace… The bank is working with other providers so that it can act as a hub giving access to a range of financial services.
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I may be wrong here, but possibly part of the reason why people still do not realise Monzo is actually a bank is down to their branding.
Think of any other bank and their marketing:
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Lloyds - “Lloyds Bank”
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Nat West - “Nat West Bank”
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Even Starling - “Starling Bank”
Monzo has always just been known as Monzo, and maybe without seeing the actual word Bank many people just don’t actually realise.
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Another possibility is that “Mondo” marketed itself as a prepaid card, and has never really shaken that image.
Trying to understand people’s perceptions is not something I would even try to do.
How many times have we all heard Revolut referred to as a “bank”?
You argue that NatWest Bank is actually National Westminster Bank and it’s been shortened and is known as NatWest.
And you’re correct.
Then you argue that Barclays is not Barclays Bank at all. And when shown that it is, you say it’s to do with marketing and is shortened to Barclays. (But my point remains. It is Barclays Bank)
You’re having your cake and eating it on this one. 
I’ve always known them as Barclays Bank. Indeed it was Barclays Bank and marketed as such for a long time. The ‘Barclays’ thing for marketing themselves is somewhat more recent. Perhaps you’re younger than I and don’t remember it being Barclays Bank?
All of which digresses from the discussion about Monzo and it’s ability to shake the prepaid card image and market themselves as a bank.
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Oh come on. Barclays has been a bank for over 300 years, NatWest for decades. They are the traditional (in Barclays’s case, international) banks which Monzo doesn’t resemble, so of course people recognise them as such without the word ‘bank’ appended.
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Isn’t it more that they’re just using their full registered name?