'RULES' tab (creating rules, like in e-mail clients)

Feedback & Ideas
1

Because different people manage their accounts in many different ways, there will always be issues and compromises when attempting to accommodate the system to their exact needs or, as often is the case doing it the other way around.

I’d like to propose creating a tab called ‘rules’ where everyone can set specific, customisable sets of rules by which their incoming and outgoing money can be conveniently automated beyond direct debits and standing orders. The idea is a direct mirroring of email client rules behaviour as well as that of smart folders/searches in os x. It’s a simple yet extremely powerful and useful tool.

Example of the problem

For reasons of personal arrangements and convenience, I pay my rent to my landlord by manual bank transfer on the first of each month. I do not want a direct debit or standing order.

So, I transfer to my Monzo account a sum each month that is tailor made to cover my rent, bills and monthly living, with targets set etc that I strive to adhere to.

As soon as I pay my rent on the 1st of each month, the summary ‘pie’ goes into red since by this I’ve spent on the very first day the majority of my total monthly budget.

To avoid that, I set the payment of my rent and my council tax and bills to be excluded from my monthly budget summary.

The issue

I have to remember to do this each month, manually adding a tag, a category and excluding it from the summary. In the current system, automatic exclusion from the summary is only available for direct debits.

The proposed solution

I’d like to see a ‘Rules’ tab, perhaps instead of the current ‘help’ tab which could easily be integrated in a less strategically critical location, i.e. as a discrete button inside the Account tab etc.

The ‘Rules’ tab would hold and show at a glance every and each rule set by the user, modifiable at any moment in a simple and easy to use way.

An example of (an overcomplicated) rule would be:

WHEN / OUTGOING PAYMENT IS / EXACTLY / £700 / TO / JOHN APPLESEED / IN PERIOD / 1ST-5TH / EACH MONTH

THEN / ADD TAG: rent / AND / ADD CATEGORY: BILLS / AND / EXCLUDE FROM SUMMARY

As a result, once the rule is created, every time I send my rent to my landlord during the first 5 days of the month, it’s automatically tagged, assigned to a category and excluded from my monthy spending summary.

Creating such rules is a very simple process, readily available and understandable to any casual user.

I strongly believe that having a flexible system of rules like this would allow everyone a great degree of flexibility and freedom in automating their financial lives to their specific situations, the same way we do with our email acounts and searches.

The mechanics are very simple, the possibilities are practically endless.

best,
Michal

4 Likes
2

Hi Michal,

Really well written proposal with some really cool things to think about!

I wonder whether this is something IFTTT + Monzo may be heading towards, or even the new Apple workflow functionality coming with iOS 12.

Its not quite there at the moment, but I think this level of automation is something IFTTT, Monzo and Apple are all working towards - the thing that seems to be slowing progress is the hoops everyone has to go through to integrate fully (especially with Apple)

2 Likes
3

I would personally love to see this too

4

Thanks.

I sincerely would like to see Monzo go in this direction as I root for it strongly and want to see it work without limitations in my own everyday life.

I also sincerely hope for either integration with Expensify, lack of which stops me from switching to Monzo completely, or at the very least, bringing Expensify functionality of adding receipts, creating expenses and monitoring my spendings ‘from-to’ via an advanced visual pie chart (separate to the current one which is great in its own way).

Once those things happen, I’m getting fully on board :slight_smile:

5

I have something similar with IFTTT but it would be good to take it in-app for people who are unfamiliar with it or aren’t comfortable with using another app to create such rules! Maybe some common rules can be added and shared between users similar to the tab on “upcoming features” in the app.

2 Likes
6

Exactly. Most people, myself included will much prefer to avoid having yet another external app, which in itself will bring its own complications and limitations, to do things which should quite easily be implemented to the app itself. But yes, an app-specific IFTTT functionality is what I’d like to see in principle; it seems to me like the next logical step in managing your money and budgets.

7

You might want to remove the personal info at the bottom of your post :+1:

This is a public forum.

8

Damn, thanks! Replied via email and forgot to remove my standard email ‘footer’.

2 Likes
9

ps. at the same time, upon a consideration I’d say where other apps may be just fine with it, I wouldn’t want integration with any external handles and apps like IFTTT in the case of something as sensitive as my personal money management; I’d definitely opt for having ‘Rules’ tailor-made and in-app for Monzo instead.

10

Absolutely LOVE this suggestion. Automation all the way!