Are you saying that topping up by card will always stay as an free option for that reason? As long as Monzo exists?
We knew it costs Monzo money. Now we know it prevents people from using Monzo as their primary account 
No, but it is a reason to pause and think how best to handle breaking a promise.
Thereās clear reasons why it is now detrimental, but that doesnāt immediately negate the fact people were told it would stay.
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The argument against this isā¦
As time goes on, the 150,000 people who are currently use it, will be a mere drop in the ocean of millions of customers (making very little dent in Monzoās profits).
So if Monzo didnāt change a thing, and kept it as it is, they can keep their promise that nothing would change, and not be accused of the ābait and switchā which happened with ATM fees.
FWIWā¦ I still think they should get rid of it.
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Itās a question of integrity - monzo stated that prepaid users could use the current account in the same way. I really think this should be honoured.
I donāt expect legacy banks to operate with integrity, but I do expect monzo to.
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monzo would presumably be Ok with limiting debit card top ups to say Ā£25 a month then and still keep their promise to be able to use CA in exactly the same way as āsomeā CA users that were on prepaid ???
If people are only topping up with Ā£25 - I guess they are fine.
For anyone else, it still falls into the āI canāt use my card like I could beforeā category.
Itās a no win situation it seems.
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it is a stick to beat a relatively small, new , learning business with 
my spending limits have changed from pre paid non verified user , verified user , CA user etc etc etc , things change
edit - I agree with the promise to be able to use the prepaid in exactly the same way as your current account was given and on reflection should be adhered to
- the only logical answer that keeps the āpromiseā is then to keep top ups available to all and charge for the cost of using them
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This thread is just going round and round in circles now. Monzo should just grow some balls and either turn them off for all users, or charge for them.
This is not a question of Monzo honouring promises, or Monzoās integrity in comparison to other banks. Turning off these top-ups isnāt like PPI miss-selling now is it? They allowed users to use a feature a certain way, and given their explosive growth were probably surprised at the cost (just like with foreign ATM fees). Monzo arenāt obligated to honour this āyou can use it exactly the same as your prepaidā for eternity. Strategies change. Products change. The point is about Monzoās sustainability for all users.
Customers will get over it and adapt to the free alternatives. Monzo just need to strap on a pair and make them do it ā theyāve already said turning it off for new users doesnāt affect retention, and theyāve also said that having top-up discourages people using Monzo as their main account ā which is what makes this whole thing so baffling.
Just turn them off or charge for them and be done with it and letās end this tedious thread.
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for more than one like
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I donāt find discussing a bankās economic and ethical decision making tedious. I think itās astonishingly refreshing.
And, whilst Iām team āhonour the promiseā, I appreciate your argument. But the muted button is just below if you find ongoing discussion a bore.
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the promise would be honoured with all users being able to use ātop upsā and being charged the cost to Monzo for the service - win win for all a cancellable message from monzo in app - " by the way there is a free alternative if they choose to use it , but its their choice "
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I agree with that, but itās been less than a year. I donāt know how long is long enough, but Iād say a year is too short. 
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My point is that weāve had over 400 posts, over almost a month, saying almost exactly the same things.
Monzo needs to take a position.
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They have - turned off for new users, kept for old.
This thread is just people whinging about that decision!
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Monzo has made a decisionā¦ look what @simonb has said for now this isnt an issue for Monzo. They are happy with things as is it is, people on this thread that are more worked up on this than Monzo is.
Shouldnt that tell you something!?
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@simonb hasnāt explicitly confirmed that Monzo are no longer worried about the top-cost issue - which is what Tom originally laid out at the beginning of this thread.
If Monzo have taken the position that they arenāt bothered anymore, or are willing to stomach the cost. Then explicitly state that and close the thread - otherwise what are we talking about?
They have indicated they want to do more and have actively asked the community to provide suggestions. Some suggestions have been made. So I wouldnāt characterize it as simply a whingeing thread.
Just to add an element to the discussion which I donāt think has been coveredā¦!
There is a significant ongoing cost to offering topups, beyond the fees we pay to Stripe. Not only does the codebase have to be maintained, but card payments can be really unreliable and customers often get in touch because they have issues with this (I would get the figures but I canāt find the dashboard right now!). Given that an increasingly small proportion of our customers actually use this feature it makes less sense to continue refactoring our codebase to support this.
Another cost is the fraud associated with people using stolen debit cards to top-up accounts. Without going into too much detail, there is a significant people cost involved in dealing with these accounts as well as any losses relating to the actual money.
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Out of curiosityā¦ and slightly off topic.
If iām correct Stripe also provide the back end to Monzo.me? Could this be taken in house to eliminate/minimize the cost? Or alternatives be provided?
I guess the same question could be related to debit card top-upsā¦ if Monzo really didnāt want to get rid of itā¦
Edit: Obviously thereās development time to factor inā¦ but in the long term might be a way to cut costs while retaining features etc etc
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Yup.
This would essentially require building a merchant acquirer - I think itās been covered above but I donāt really think the cost/benefit analysis would work out 
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