I see your point and I agree more context should be provided.
I made a presumption others would read the posts surrounding it to get an understanding.
Either way both forums are just as guilty 
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Itâs really hard to get a feel of user reaction unless you read the forum a lot (and learn peoples personalities etc).
Itâs 10 times harder here, because of the amount of members we have, and the sheer number of threads/posts.
To be fair, the monzo forum is mentioned over there, but itâs not a case of âlook at this threadâ - Itâs more general. Itâs also not mentioned very much at all.
Like I said though - If people enjoy discussing fintech stuff, itâs worth signing up to their forum and chipping in with your opinion (based on your experience with Monzo).
It would be well received, and you might be able to share ideas.
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While I agree that card top-ups had to go, it is easy to decide to take away a feature which costs Starling money.
By comparison, it has taken quite long to give users an option to have replacement cards delivered abroad and ended with a massive fee for that service.
The decision about card top ups was made some time ago, in my opinion. It wasnât presented as an option to add money in new FAQ released 2 days ago which means it wasnât consulted with their community who only realised what was happening a couple of hours ago.
I fully agree with the decision but todayâs opinion request from Anne Boden and consecutive opinion poll were an exercise as far from transparency and democratic vote as it gets. Starling shouldâve just issued an announcement about terminating this feature and it wouldâve looked much better. They had a full right to do it as nobody on that forum invested their own money in the business.
After this week, their announcement about becoming profitable can be expected to arrive good several months earlier.
To Monzo now. Do what is right to run profitable business which will benefit all users in the long term. In the end, do you want to be the only current account in the UK the which can be topped up by card at no cost? Charge for it or get rid of it.
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Iâm actually all for this thread. I love that Anne has been interacting with the community and they helped her come to a decision.
I would imagine that not as many customers at Starling use the top up option as they have never been a pre-paid card so it may have been an easier decision to remove it (who knowsâŚ) but none the less, a good move for them.
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What a load of gullible sods they are over thereâŚ
Timeline of events from where Iâm standing:
- Starling remove topups for new users - they forget to tell anybody
- People notice + complain on the forum
- Anne pops up on forum, asks what Starling should do about existing users
- Forum says remove topups for them too
- Anne returns with an obviously predecided decision.
- Everybody hails the Starling/Community bond stronger than ever and forgets that they didnât tell anyone in the first place.
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All the lovely new Starlings that are using the card for a travel card will be so disappointed with this Sunday night ( 
) decision , did Starling notice a spike in their costs following Martin Lewis recommendation ??? - ATM withdrawals limits abroad decided by the ladies and gentlemen of the community after an evening of intensive, inclusive, open discussion next Sunday night ???
All complete conjecture of course
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Iâm pretty sure it was well advertised that top ups were being removed. I have never used it personally (yes Iâm a gullible sodâŚ) but can understand why people might miss it. If they have never had it however (new users) they canât miss it.
It wasnât.
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Iâm not sure how I knew about it then. Iâve used starling far longer then Monzo and it wasnât news to me
I donât believe it has been advertised at all but new customers had the ability taken away recently to top up.
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I must be psychic then I guess.
A few key corrections on that timeline.
It wasnât noticed on the Starling forum at all. It was pointed out here, in the Monzo forum first.
No one was massively annoyed by it being removed (apart from a few who really donât look like genuine customers).
There was certainly feedback that it should have been communicated better - I really donât know why it wasnât announced.
But even with that feedback, not many were particularly upset by it.
A lot of comments have alluded to the fact they think it was a pre determined decision anyway - Which I agree with.
Could Starling have done it better? Yes.
Are people going to pick holes in anything they do? Yes.
Has a decision been made for the good of the bank, and a clear policy moving forward that puts all customers on an even ground? Yes.
Aside from the theatrics of last night, I donât see the problem.
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I agree its a Starling decision , they took it , implemented it and then consulted upon it, giving the members on the community on Sunday night the final say - in that order
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Yep - the only affect the community had, was to give them an excuse to stop it for everyone - Something Iâm sure they were bloody delighted about on a Sunday evening!
It would have inevitably happened at some post in the near future (in my opinion).
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all the new travel card users will have to set up standing orders for their extended travels
I do wonder how much impact there has been from the recent MSE exposure.
Perhaps they are sorting out policy before they end up with the difficult decision Monzo faces.
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yes I agree, they saw the mess Monzo got themselves into for their popularity as a âtravel cardâ and are taking the steps to avoid that - sensible decisions - ATM fees next no doubt
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What I really donât get is why they wouldnât just charge fees for it? (applies both to Starling and Monzo)
It would stop them taking a loss, would stop âabusiveâ usage by those who can use bank transfer, while leaving the feature there for emergencies or for people that really canât do bank transfers and still want to use the account despite the fees.
I know there are always those who say that you canât âtop-upâ a legacy account but the same could be said for any challenger bank feature. 
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SooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooâŚ
Starlingnauts bring up the fees thing repeatedly that the Monzo community voted on over a week(?). Letâs not discuss the merits of the final result again.
Starling gets a rough idea on a Sunday evening and implements a major change⌠
Assuming the vote was as it was presented. On top of announcing absolutely insane overseas cards and statement fees earlier in the week.
This is just reaffirming my thoughts. Challenger Bank gloss, on a Legacy Bank mindset. I hope to be proven different, we need more real challenger banks. Competition is good. I want Monzo kept on their toes, I donât want them to get complacent because theyâre miles ahead. For them to maintain quality, they need someone snapping at their heels.
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If you can get me tomorrowâs euro millions numbers⌠that would be great 
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