The other thing we have to be careful about is that, theoretically anyone who we conduct research sessions with could easily go to the press and say “Monzo are building this and this is what it looks like and I saw mockups of X and Y” and the media will report it as if it’s a fact - when the reality is that we’re just gathering feedback, some stuff may never be more than a mock-up, or indeed the feedback might well tell us that the idea is terrible and we’ll rip it all up and start from scratch. It’s obviously crucially important that we maintain the ability to do that.
In certain situations that are closely monitored and regulated this could be highly dangerous. Let’s say if it were to do with a lending product, and something we hadn’t actually built was reported in the press as if it was something committed to and ready to launch. In that scenario you can imagine the regulators not being too happy about that.
So the NDA isn’t about keeping secrets. Rather, it’s just so that you understand the weight of the situation.