What do your friends say when you try to convince them to get Monzo?

Hello again! :wave:

It’s time for another community question!

Conversation_Starter_Social

We recently asked you: https://community.monzo.com/t/what-would-you-say-to-someone-who-was-thinking-about-going-fullmonzo/45073

But today we’d like to ask you something slightly different. When you tell people that don’t even have Monzo about it yet, what do they say?

We’re interested in why they might be unsure about it, and what you say to convince them!

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Why do your friends say when you try to convince them to get Monzo?

Huh?

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Fixed, thanks Danny.

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Generally they are intrigued, because I tend to bombard them with all of the reasons why they should use it. There are still concerns around app-based banking for a lot of people, because it is relatively new. Obviously not everyone has heard of you (sorry!) so for some people this is an issue. Especially when money is concerned. For those friends I have that are less tech-savvy, it still feels a bit newfangled using an app for stuff. Once you actually demonstrate to people how the app works, and how simple it all is, they are normally convinced.

I spoke to a couple of people in my office about it who are struggling with finances at the moment and want to switch somewhere that will pay them to switch. Not saying that that should be a requirement for a bank, but just that if people aren’t flush with cash they may opt to move somewhere that gives them some sort of bonus in the first instance. That is definitely, aside from the customer service, why I moved to First Direct 18 months ago.

That aside, I have convinced two people to sign up fairly easily because of the features you offer.

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I just have a zombie second current account that bounces between banks to get the switch bonuses. :no_mouth:

Most people I’ve failed to convince to at least try Monzo seem to think it’s a huge effort or that it’s some monumentally official step. I dont think they realise that it takes a few mins. I guess there’s the unknowness and therefore unwillingness to trust their money with a company that hasn’t really established itself in the zeitgeist just yet. Stick an ad on TV would immediately add legitimacy for a bunch of people.

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I did that sort of thing to begin with, but it does get kinda exhausting after a while! (whilst trying to move money between savings accounts etc too)

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“I don’t need another account”. Then my partner got one so it was easy to transfer money back and forth and split bills. Then her friend got one for the same reason! - Net effect, gotta love it!

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The biggest worry people seem to have is the reliance on an app to manage their money.
A lot of people I know change phones regularly, break them or whatever and the fact its tied into that app is a point of concern for them.

I had a situation last year before I had #fullswitch 'ed and it meant my phone was broken for around 6 weeks before the replacement arrived, if that happened now I’d be in a bit of a sticky place with all the stuff I need to do on my Monzo account (make payments and move money between pots etc) so it’s still a bit of a concern for me.

My wife won’t switch as she likes the convenience of being able to go in a branch and talk to someone. I however have never received better service from a bank than I have through the Monzo app but asking some people to put all that faith in a single application is quite an ask in my experience.

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Usually one of three things:

  • how much is the intro bung? :frowning:
  • I’m a techy and already Monzoed up :mondo:
  • yeah well maybe for spending but it’s not a proper bank, is it? :thinking:

The first one’s the biggest problem - folk have been conditioned to expect £100 to switch and won’t usually think about it if not. The trick seems to be getting them to experience Monzo, then they tend to love it.

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This is spot on. I usually find that when they see how it works, that tends to help persuade them.

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Random thought: could the Monzo app run in demo mode before you apply for an account? That way folk could see how great it is without having to sign up?

(Probably loads of issues with this and basically thinking aloud, but an interesting one to consider…?)

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I was actually thinking the same thing recently when looking at Starling and not being able to actually play with it before I decided to sign up. I think it is a really good idea!

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Generally, most of them are interested. When I show-off the app to them they think it’s brilliant! Most of them take out a Current Account but they don’t have complete trust yet, I think it’s mainly because Monzo is still (effectively) a new bank.

All of them most certainly want to trust Monzo; most of them follow a similar trend of using their legacy bank account as their main bank account by getting their salary paid in and their bills are taken out from there. They then send over their disposal income to Monzo and use that as their day-to-day bank account - all of them are really impressed! Some have taken the plunge and switched over to Monzo. Others are still trailing it for themselves, but it’ll only be a matter of time.

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Had this conversation with a bunch of people on a Discord server I am on recently, and at least three people signed up (you’re welcome!).

First of all a lot were even aware it was an actual bank, some recognised the name, but they weren’t entirely sure what it was. So the first thing was that they were surprised that you could get wages paid in, overdrafts, ect ect.

After that the main thing I was asked was what makes it different from a regular old bank, so that’s when I talk about the app and it’s features that make it so useful. I mainly talk on how it makes budgeting easy, and makes all your incoming and outgoings clear to see, and really convenient.

Some still are worried about signing up to a new bank account and what that means. Some thought it would be a pain to switch because they didn’t know about CASS. I got the feeling some where worried about how multiple bank accounts would look on their credit scores. Most were just a little hesitant, there’s clearly a feeling out there that banking services is very different that other utilities, and not something you ‘shop around’ for.

Lack of products :grimacing:
One in particular likes the option to have a credit card/loan as they feel existing accounts go towards helping being accepted etc

This was one of my biggest concerns, especially with wanting to apply for a mortgage in the not-so-distant future.

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I don’t think it does, but to be honest I don’t have a definitive answer. I just assumed I wouldn’t be hung out to dry for having two bank accounts.

I have just convinced a friend to sign up to Monzo.

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My other half uses it for disposable income spending. I’ve tried a few times to encourage her to fully switch as she is getting a lot of her money under control and I think that Monzo would help her do this even more.

However, she’s got a Halifax Ultimate Reward Current account which covers breakdown, phone/travel insurance and one or two more things. This is what’s stopping her.

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