Iām writing copy at the moment for some new feed items where we can tell new users about Mondo features they havenāt used, eg. search, receipt scanning etc. and would love to get thoughts on a few questions:
How do you feel about āunlockingā features within your (Mondo) bank account? Some of you may have had some in the past.
If you are getting features enabled after a certain period of time/certain actions, how should we describe that to you? Is it unlocking/enabling/something else?
I donāt personally like it being referred to as āunlockingā, but I do appreciate and think itās a good idea to draw attention to features which have become useful because a certain amount of data now exists.
Unlocking also feels like something I might have to pay for. Levelling up seems good but could be annoying for someone that needs the features straight off.
I donāt think it would benefit myself personally to āunlockā any features as it were, as much as i did like Foursquare back in the day I think those days may have passedā¦
I would actually like to see how many reports/corrections Iāve submitted as it kind of makes me think I am the first Mondonaut to hit that store and then maybe after that how many of us actually go there before/after me (that branch)?
Yeah, for sure. How should we explain when new features become available because youāve used your card enough ā eg. a balance graph is no use until youāve had at least a couple of transactions spread over a few days?
This is something Iāve been curious about. It would be cool to know if I was the first Mondonaut to visit the store! Or how many others have been beforeā¦
I donāt really know how I feel about this. Itās an interesting idea. Itād be exciting to make a transaction and then be told Iāve unlocked something new. Thatād be cool. But what if I need the feature but Iāve not unlocked it yet? Iām on the fence with that one. Itās cool, but could have its problems.
Something Iād be more interested in (and would make banking a little more fun) would be something like achievements. Like a couple have said above me, being the first Mondonaut to spend at a certain store and being told of that would be cool. A dedicated page on the app showing what achievements youāve unlocked, and what ones you havenāt.
Examples could include;
Top up amounts (achievements for reaching Ā£500 topped up, Ā£1000 etc, over the lifetime of your account not just one top up)
Achievements for spending overseas (unlocking achievements for making a purchase in USA, Spain, France etc)
I see no problem with unlocking features. It helps with learning new features if theyāre introduced over time. So far Iāve think youāve gotten the balance correct. Thereās no point having the pulse or search until youāve got some data to use it with. It makes perfect sense to introduce those features the way you currently do.
I can understand how people feel uncomfortable with calling it unlocking though. Enabling is a good alternative but I donāt think itās that different in usage.
As long as you carry on with your current approach and only keep features locked until the point theyāre useful then I canāt see an issue.
Just to clarify, by āunlockingā did you mean a feature that is already there but has just been discovered/used for the first time? I received feed items for āSearchā and āPulseā some time ago.
Or also new features that are added but which have not yet been used? (Like a prompt)
Also, are these ever for certain users only ie. privileges?
Probably a combo ā features that arenāt useful if you donāt have enough transactions for example, that we can then enable and tell you about. Some, like search, will probably always be there but once itās useful, we might tell you about it. Does that make sense?
I think unlocking is a really stupid way to go about it. I make a first impression based on what I see. And if I donāt see enough then Iām not buying. Comprende?
How about just putting a button for walkthrough / features which we can click to get an explanation on whatās what. And if we donāt have enough information for it to be useful. I donāt really care. Put it there, let me know that itās there even if itās blank, then put a notification saying what data requirements are needed.
One example was the daily use line graph. It came after I did about 6-7 transactions over a course of a few weeks? I really donāt need to wait that long for that. I have excel charts with less data points than that. In short it makes me feel like you think Iām an idiot.
Have to agree with DaveTMG and others here, unlocking (whatever it is called) is like setting up a game with your bank account - terribly irresponsible. Itās one thing to access new data based on (for example) the number of transactions youāve had (data, patterns etc) but to open a new feature by using your card in a different city/country/place doesnāt seem like something responsible with money.
Iād think of this in the same light as credit cards that make a donation every time you spend, it might make you feel slightly less bad about spending but youāre still spending to get that ānew levelā.
There is already a certain level of unlocking after a few weeks (when you get the spending graph) but I wouldnāt want to be trying to unlock a feature that I knew you could provide me with - that would just make me annoyed in the first place. On the flip side, if I have to āunlockā it with you, what happens is Atom or Starling offer this already unlockedā¦ new customers might be wooed by themā¦ just a thought
With all due respect, Mondo should represent an easier, simpler way to do banking. To me that does not go hand-in-hand with obfuscating your ability to analyse your spending. I can understand wanting to get enough data points to generate a useful graph before āunlockingā it for users, but gamifying my bank experience feels a tad unprofessional to me and might encourage irresponsible behavior as others have mentioned. I would prefer it if you clearly explained the feature list somewhere in the app, and made it clear which ones I currently have access to, and why I donāt have access to the others yet (eg: āPlease wait while we gather enough data points to generate your balance graphā).
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:mondo:
