While, as I said before, I can see how the upgrade card could be annoying, I do think Monzo’s ads are less intrusive than say, Revolut (who seem to send me a notification every other day) or Barclays (who have sent me numerous emails and letters about getting a credit card).
Overall, I find Monzo’s upgrade ads pretty unintrusive:
The upgrade card is probably the most intrusive but I don’t really mind it now since I just never swipe in that direction.
The ‘UPGRADE ACCOUNT’ button under the name in the profile screen is small and unintrusive in my opinion. However, I can also see why people might find this annoying.
The `Do more with Monzo’ is at the bottom of the profile screen and so if out of the way.
I don’t remember receiving any upgrade notifications since I toggled off “Personalised marketing” in the Privacy & Security settings.
I think I’ve received three emails ever about upgrading (from a quick count) and I have ‘News and updates’ toggled on.
The ‘Invite friends’ in the payments tab doesn’t take up much space and is at the bottom under Frequent and Recent.
The ‘Invite’ in non-Monzo payees doesn’t take up much space. However, I do agree with @Chapuys’s point that the logic behind showing it could be improved. Perhaps the ‘Invite’ bar could be removed if all the accounts in a Payee are marked as “business accounts”?
I think that’s all of the places where Monzo have upgrade ads?
If so, I think they’re pretty unintrusive. The only ones which I think could be considered intrusive are numbers 1 and 2 (although 7 needs to be fixed and 8 would be a nice touch).
I’ve found some of the pushing slightly intrusive, particularly when I was already on Monzo Plus yet had a constant button telling me about Monzo Premium.
Having said that, I recently upgraded to Premium so maybe it had the desired effect?
I’m surprised they haven’t expanded their credit offerings, it feels like a one trick pony relying on paid accounts predominantly. Maybe offering integration with Freetrade and inviting non-users to join where Monzo make a small fee when a new customer signs up. The portfolios could be integrated into a section alongside existing open banking accounts.
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Anarchist
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A bit of machine-learning to identify accounts like that would be useful, aye. Then they can put a little flag on the record to make the invite box not appear, so no-one has to think, say, “That’s a bit daft, I can’t invite Freetrade to Monzo.”
Certainly, it’s my view that the user shouldn’t have to e responsible for dismissing any invite options in cases like this.
I’m actually mind blown by the amount of people who seem to use the swiping through cards a their primary source of navigation through their account and pots.
I pretty much always pull down quickly to get the list view so I go didn’t have plus already I do t expect it would bother me that much having the Plus Card to the left
I agree, but an argument could be made for putting it in the “Do more with Monzo” section if Monzo wanted to be less obtrusive.
I agree, and I would say this is usefully placed.
This is like ‘Sent with iPhone’ nonsense. I hate, hate, hate it.
I think its fine. Its placed at the bottom of the screen after all your own accounts are listed so doesn’t get in the way. Its cleaner than Monzo’s profile page
I think it would make sense to have an ‘App customisation’ section in settings that includes the ability to change your default reference from “sent from Monzo” or to remove it altogether.
This section could also include stuff like:
App defaulting to showing joint account, personal account or a business account upon opening.
I don’t seem to see much of this - is this because I don’t pay my salary into Monzo and they are concentrating on people who it is the main account for?
The Nationwide one isn’t anywhere near as bad as you are making it seem. It is literally just a list of their other product categories underneath your accounts. If you had quite a few accounts, you wouldn’t even be able to see it.
I don’t have the advert at the top. It might be because I already have the start to save account but it does look like you can close it anyway (but I am aware it could appear but I don’t know as I don’t have it). The ones at the bottom aren’t intrusive at all.
Those promotions can be dismissed by tapping the close button and then they’re gone. They’re like the occasional dismissible ads or notifications that appear in the Monzo feed. I like them as they alert me to something I might not have been previously aware of and I can easily get rid of them. I’d much rather this than an email or something in the post. I also think it’s entirely different to something which is permanently present.
On a slight tangent, those homescreen messages aren’t only used for marketing. They also sometimes display educational information about recent phishing practices. I think they’re really good and something Monzo should consider introducing.
None of my apps advertises to me very intrusively. Nationwide is explained above. Santander is just a link to their other products and Virgin Money has nothing so far.
Quite a few people are missing the point here. I don’t think anyone is insisting that the ads are removed for everyone. What one person finds intrusive, another will be fine with. The option to turn off all in-app advertising would be good UX.
I think the key difference is that other banks advertise other banking products, things you’d expect your bank to try and sell. A loan, a credit card, etc.
Monzo, on the other hand, sell software features and “coolness”. I don’t want my bank to be a subscription service it like a calendar or weather app. I want my bank to sell me actually useful features whilst keeping the basic banking offering the same for everyone.
I don’t want to feel like a second class citizen because I don’t want to pay £5-£15 a month for the latest shinies and then feel like I’m using a demo product.
I’d rather see banners advertising Monzo overdrafts than the corner of the latest “cool” card peeking out over the corner. It’s a bank, and I never give a second thought to Barclays advertising an ISA or whatever. But Monzo pushing a lifestyle is hard for me to swallow. Sure, there are features that are useful to some, but when the adverts say “ooooh shiiiiiny” then that’s selling a lifestyle and I say no thank you
How would Monzo then promote their products to existing customers? Since once you have an account there’s no real reason to visit Monzo’s website, the only way I could think is if you opt out of in-app advertising you would then be blocked from opting out of email advertising.
I can’t see any bank removing all promotion of their own products to existing customers.
If a comparison is being made to other banks (other aspects of the linked post), most or all have products which enhance the basic current account in some way and will be out of reach to many. HSBC Premier, Barclays Premier, Lloyds Platinum, Nationwide FlexDirect are a few that come to mind.
On the type of product, personally I don’t see an issue with selling software ad-ons (perhaps because part of the reason I was attracted to Monzo in the first place is because they were trying a different approach to traditional banks). There would have been a time when a bank selling insurance was unusual, until it wasn’t.
I don’t think premier banking is a fair comparison. That’s for high net worth individuals and offers a significant difference beyond everyday banking.
A fairer comparison would be the Barclays travel pack, which isn’t shoved in your face at every turn and isn’t positioned as the newest lifestyle addition that you need otherwise you’ll be frowned upon when you pay for your avocado toast with the basic card
