I would totally pay for plus (and possibly also a reasonable “per use” supplement) for financial advice. It would be great to be able to receive financial advice from a trusted brand, who already have full visibility of my spending, credit rating, relevant personal info and any financial products I have (assuming they are either provided by Monzo or plugged into open banking). Of course, when Monzo start offering more and more financial products, such as mortgages, this advice may no longer be considered independent, but for me the convenience and trust is great enough to overcome this.
What do you think, would you pay? And if so, how much?
In theory I don’t think this is workable. You are already introducing an element of bias by pay for this additional feature, and beyond your immediate use of your finances, any good IFA will ask about plans, about your job, about your living conditions, and much more. Equally on credit ratings, they’d need to know previous addresses and financial agreements.
If you are looking for a way to shortcut the financial questions, then for me I’d rather Monzo beefed up their offering to become a one-stop shop for all finances (Open banking or otherwise) so there is only one place to go to get all your history/statements. That’s quite an undertaking mind you.
I like the thinking though and maybe this is one area Monzo can ‘crack’ and make work?
That’s an interesting perspective. I have never had financial advice and I think it’s one of the factors that helps keep poor people poor and rich people rich. I was wondering if having it in-app and part of a plus package might actually have the opposite effect and make it more accessible to middle-income earners who might not have otherwise considered it, for things like consolidating debt (including mortgages), planning for retirement etc.