Turning off debit card top-ups for new users

[j06 (Jamie)]

@nickh

Well… yeah - But then why does this thread exist?

Haha indeed. It seems to me to partly exist for people to (actually) argue that they want to pay to transfer their own money around the banking system (see the post above yours)

[Jackcrwhitney (Jack)]

@nickh

But I think they would come under pressure for not treating customers equally etc etc.

It would be just as equal as now, some customers have the feature, some don’t

[jwd2017 (Jack)]

This might be a dumb question (I don’t know the intricate details of how it works) but is it feasible for Monzo to become an acquirer in their own right so they could process cards themselves in the longer-term future rather than paying a third-party (Stripe at the mo)?

I know it would be a huge amount of work for anyone but considering they already have a banking licence and modern infrastructure is it a big stretch? With a potential saving of £5,000,000 is it an option?

[Jackcrwhitney (Jack)]

The only issue with this is it’s not helping to encourage people to go Full Monzo. It’s just assisting them to carry on using the service as a “pre paid card”.

It would be Monzo’s dream for all users to be #FullMonzo

[nickh]

@cookywook

We’re confident that this change won’t negatively affect the user experience. Our experiments showed that new users don’t use Monzo less as a result, and can start getting the most out of Monzo right away.

As @cookywook said in his opening piece, it effectively comes down to a mindset (old users still doing it they way they always have).

Out of curiosity @cookywook, can you validate @alexs’s point about the above?

Have Monzo ruled out charging a fee for Debit Card top ups… and… is it even possible to charge for that, but not for bank transfers as per @anon61087081’s point?

[CraigR]

My suggestion would be to stop remembering top-up card details, and instead ask users to enter their card details every time. Adds a bit of friction that might make it a teeny bit more faff than sending money via bank transfer

[jwd2017 (Jack)]

Yeah totally agree, I’ve not used top-ups since I joined the CA preview and I’d recommend anyone to go #FullMonzo.

Since we’re throwing solutions out there though, is gaining acquirer status not going to remove the bulk of the cost without going for the bait-and-switch pitfall? Also opening a new channel of revenue later on?

Like I said though, I don’t have any idea in reality how much work it would entail

I know people should really be using bank transfers at this stage but it’s obvious not everyone can/will for various reasons (most of which I disagree with lol) but I’d hate to see Monzo’s rep go down the pan with any backlash to a turnaround… In an ideal world those customers would go #FullMonzo and there’d be no issue but it’s clearly taking some time for people to get on board…

[danbeddows (Dan)]

My suggestion would be to increase the minimum amount you can top-up.

It’s currently £10, and that’s really convenient. I think immediately increasing the minimum to something like £50/£100 and then maybe even increasing it again in the future if the data says it works.

This will create a little friction and I imagine users are more likely to use bank transfers for fine grain control.

[nickh]

That’s not a bad idea - I guess in some ways it’s similar to @Rat_au_van’s idea of adding more friction into it.

The only downside would be if people ended up sticking with it, it would still cost Monzo (but it would cost them more each time) - Same amount in the end, but bigger chunks each time it happens.

Edit: By “downside”, I mean it’s no different to now - It’s not “worse”, and if it did mean people did it less, than it’s a small win for Monzo.

@cookywook

Quite a bit, in fact - as the fees are calculated as a percentage of the top-up amount. So the more you top-up, the more expensive it is for us!

[Anarchist (Press ‘Help’ search ‘Contact us’ or email help@monzo.com or call 0800 802 1281)]

Maybe I’m misremembering something, but didn’t Monzo, when they made everyone upgrade to the current account, PROMISE that those upgrading customers would be able to use it in EXACTLY the same way as before?

[alexs (Alex Sherwood)]

@Anarchist

Maybe I’m misremembering something

Yes you are, that wouldn’t have made sense because a few other things have changed now that the current accounts have launched

[awjdean]

@j06

How do you complete a top–up from the Monzo app if you don’t have access to your phone?

You might not have activated mobile banking.

@j06

course I’m not arguing writing and scanning yourself a cheque as a viable alternative to top–ups, but was merely pointing out the ludicrousness of charging for one method whilst the other ‘outdated’ method is free.

I thought this might be the case so I was showing how your “ludicrous” suggestion didn’t even make logical sense.

@j06

anyone who continued to insist on doing anything which costs them money, when the same could be achieved for free for no extra effort (couple of taps, really) is, in my humble opinion, a moron.

Moron they might be, but maybe they care more about the ease than the cash.

[Anarchist (Press ‘Help’ search ‘Contact us’ or email help@monzo.com or call 0800 802 1281)]

@alexs

Yes you are,

No I’m not.

I checked my emails; here’s an excerpt from my invitation to upgrade;

If you’re thinking “I really like my card as it is”, don’t fear. You can upgrade and then continue to use your Monzo account in exactly the same way.

[j06 (Jamie)]

But, oh look, here’s that promise from December 2017.

Can I really upgrade and still use Monzo the same way?

I just received an email from Monzo asking me to upgrade to a Monzo current account this is included: If you’re thinking “I really like my card as it is”, don’t fear. You can upgrade and then continue to use your Monzo account in exactly the same way. There are no hidden fees and no overdraft if you don’t want it, so nothing needs to change at all. The message here seems to go in a different direction than these threads and blog post: Topping-up current account Reducing the cost of debit c…

And it addresses top–ups from the start. And there’s me in post #3 saying what I still believe today. And there’s you @Anarchist in post #4 explaining what upgrading means.

And there’s @Naji in post #5 stating in black and white:

@Naji

Now that top ups have been reintroduced on the current account, you can use the current account exactly as you would have your pre paid account if you’d like.

(Emphasis mine)

I would say you remembered correctly.

[alexs (Alex Sherwood)]

That’s a little bit more specific I think Tom’s addressed that comment with his point about ‘bait & switch’.

[danbeddows (Dan)]

Although, directly under the part of @Naji’s quote you chose, he says:

@Naji

There are currently no fees for topping up, although the discussion around introducing top-up fees is ongoing, and we’ll be sure to keep the community updated once a conclusive decision has been made

[anon61087081]

@nickh

I genuinely don’t know how much of what @Chimpofdoom said is true (no offence).

No problem, not 100% sure myself. All I know is, companies are not allowed to charge for card transactions including Apple Pay/google pay

[j06 (Jamie)]

Yes. Bad selective quoting (unintentional).

Like I said, I think top–ups are foolish, but Monzo did make a great deal out of the “use your new current account in exactly the same way” line.

Maybe Monzo selectively quoted the ‘exactly’ promise and omitted “but only until we change it in less than a year”

[alexs (Alex Sherwood)]

@anon61087081

All I know is, companies are not allowed to charge for card transactions including Apple Pay/google pay

That’s a good point, Monzo are set up as a merchant in order to accept these payments (no source ) so I expect that rule applies to them too.

[gallifreyangirl]

I don’t think you can win either way if you charge or don’t for top ups. I think it’s been good turned off for new members.