I am keen to see what others may have to share. I have been doing some “research” and finding that the UK customer base is happy with Monzo, and the fact that Monzo provide real human customer experience by phone,chat, email is legit my one and only reason besides the obvious of UI/UX being solid and easily navigated.
Are many Irish consumers thinking(already doing so) of moving to Monzo fully?
Phone support is absolutely useless, you cannot do a single thing on it except maybe block a card or report a device lost or stolen.
Fully switch ? Not sure. Honestly, the hybrid model is more realistic now.
For everyday banking (salary, direct debits, spending, savings) - a neobank can absolutely handle it and handle it better.
vs Revolut - I think Monzo wins on customer support ? No human in the loop is a dealbreaker for main account. Having a CBI license also matter for trust.
vs N26 - similar issue, chat only support oin basic tiers (plus IBAN descrimination can be friction point but i did not yet face it). Also seems like Monzo has an edge with commuinity driven product development - this forum. I was reading ideas list here - Feedback & Ideas - Monzo Community
vs AIB/BOI - have to literally pay monthly fees for an inferior experience. Hard to justify for everyday banking.
Traditional banks arent dead yet - Still need them for more complex banking use cases - cash deposits, mortgages, legal servcies. Until these gaps are closed, its just pragmatic to keep one foot in the old world?
Fully switch? Very improbable. In its current form, the Monzo Ireland app is very basic and personally, my banking needs are more complex than what it offers. I’m interested to keep a close eye on Monzo’s journey and see what comes along with paid plans as and when they get here, but if the UK plans are anything to go by, then still very unlikely.
I’m quite happy with the subscription plans that Revolut offer, and at the end of the day Revolut is so ubiquitous here at this point that why switch to a lesser-featured service that very few users are likely to take up (with all the hassle that moving entails when switching bank accounts in Ireland). Many folks have been through that already quite recently with the recent legacy bank exits. It’s good that Monzo offer instant payments between users which was lacking before Zippay, but for Monzo that requires people in your circle to also be on Monzo. Honestly though, I personally think Zippay will go the way of Paym in the UK.
That said, it runs circles around the bricks and mortar banks here, for a start by offering free banking. The app is slick, despite being basic and that’s more than can be said for the big 3. In terms of customer service, well that remains to be seen with Monzo but if really decent human customer support is important to folk - they’d do well to consider the credit union’s current account offerings which are renowned for their exceptional customer service and maintaining physical branches.
Maybe it will get some younger signups (are there many kids left still not on Revolut < 18? 
) and grow organically from there? So the test is probably going to be time.
I think I mentioned it before somewhere though, I still doubt that the Irish market itself is the prize for Monzo rather than the license itself and the similar banking / cultural landscape offering a springboard into the wider European market.
Would this have not been the same for say Revolut when they were in their infancy?
I think there’s a chance for Monzo to do amazing things, especially for those less open to AI or support of which 99% is based in Indian taking over which Revolut seem to be pivoting towards (although I do accept likely a lot of support based roles will eventually move to AI likely as it progresses that’s not something we can stop it’s inevitable in a way)
I think the argument for having a license in Ireland I’ve seen others mention is a strong one, where I believe in Europe Revolut operates from a Lithuanian license with local branches in certain countries Ireland being one. Certain cohorts may prefer working with a bank both with their presence and license in the same country.
Wouldn’t rule Monzo out of being able to eventually catch up with Revolut somewhat over the coming years they certainly do things better and worse than Revolut
Yes - but when Revolut were in their infancy they were the only option for instant payments to other people. The only other way to transfer funds between accounts was via IBAN and that wasn’t an instant process - it was over at least 1, maybe more banking day. I think you had an option for making ‘urgent’ payments if you paid a €25 fee . But those days are gone now and EU wide, banks must provide free, instant transfers.
I don’t - the Lithuanian one is fine. In the unlikely event of Revolut’s insolvency it’s still down to the Central Bank of Ireland to reimburse account holders within 7 days - same as if the license was local. It’s then down to the CBI to deal with Lithuania.
I don’t discount that possibility either and I’m watching closely too 
If Monzo got here even 3 years ago, the landscape for online banks could look very different indeed. But they didn’t get first mover advantage. And most people are unlikely to move from a service they are generally happy with.
Don’t think this is true, I believe the Central Bank of Ireland is only responsible for regulating Revolut for conduct of business and consumer protection rules but doesn’t actually provide the deposit guarantee, that is instead provided by the Lithuania DGS and in the case of insolvency Irish customers would be dealing directly with the Bank of Lithuania or whoever oversees their deposit protection scheme. Because I believe that was one of the main pushing points that pushed Monzo up, that they actually secured a license in Ireland meaning the Central Bank of Ireland had direct oversight of them and they were also responsible for deposits in the unlikely chance things went wrong.
Edit: found the document which seems to sugguest Lithuania
https://www.revolut.com/en-IE/legal/deposit-insurance-information/
The Monzo Ireland one which specifically mentions the Irish Deposit Guarantee Scheme
I do think you’re right here though Ireland isn’t their main play here it’s the wider European market which they’ll eventually expand into where their products may be stronger than competitors in that market
I guess this must be misleading then. But anyway, it’s drifting off topic and I for one, am not too concerned either way
If you can actually get through without the automated system hanging up
I didn’t try it yet myself. I did try the chat contact and got through to Human very fast and received pleasantly good support.
Monzo IE might not have the bot interface yet being new 
I am a little confused on Monzo currently myself with regards to how much functionality is missing. AFAIK - We already can Receive / Transfer / Send funds without blockages or issues. Limits and Fees are all pristine and clearly labeled by Monzo. Limits seem to be in line with the rest of Irish brick&mortar banks.
But what I love about Monzo so far is the UI/UX is tidy + clean + straight forward. I swear, I have revolut since its infancy in Ireland and there has never been a straight forward way to get to things. Every function, every button, every option, everything seems to be burried somewhere and takes frustratingly long to find when you just want to login, do what you need to do, and be finished. In Monzo its so comfortable and quick.
And with regards to the bill splitting and such, AFAIK Monzo has this in my app and I did not test it, but im pretty sure there is option to have people chip into the bill who dont own Monzo app… Anyway this is not a deal breaker for me.
I agree that time will tell how Monzo shapes up in Irish market but its beginning seems to be going well IMO.
You can add contacts and it’ll send them a link.
