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I know there's a bit of scepticism about Monzo in particular, but here's the deal from my perspective as a customer and crowdfunder: it's a straightforward bank

I know there's a bit of scepticism about Monzo in particular, but here's the deal from my perspective as a customer and crowdfunder: it's a straightforward banking service, and has a great app (which is where I do basically all banking anyway). That's basically it. Fee-free foreign transactions are a nice positive too, though I'm not that bothered. Some of the larger banks have begun introducing features to compete – stuff like being able to freeze and re-order cards. So that's good. At the point it was introduced though, the experience was notably better than any other option. For me as a customer, the main goal of a retail bank is to store my cash, make it accessible, keep it secure, and notify me about transactions – basically, keep out of the way as much as possible. It's good at that, better than any other bank I've used, and I think that simplicity is underrated.

samwhiteUK 7y ago
Bingo. The fact that I can see all my transactions, automatically categorised, in an app that is much prettier, full-featured and simple than the crap that Halifax put out, is brilliant. Combine that with a simple setup process, never having to interact with humans or call centres, and add tha bility to automatically save, interact with IFTTT etc and you have a very compelling package and I hope they continue to do well
- cameronbrown 7y ago
  > never having to interact with humans or call centres Many people would argue this is a tech company's biggest flaw.
  - Balero 7y ago
    Never having to?? I can understand "never being able to" being a flaw. But if I can get my stuff done without talking to someone then that is brilliant. I don't have to go out of my way to go somewhere, I don't have to bother with a bad phone reception, I don't have to wait in a line for it to be my turn. I just do the things I need to do when it is convenient for me. If I want to open a savings "pot" (Monzo version of a savings account). Then I can do it on the bus on the way to work. I don't have to take time off to go to a branch, or prove I am me on a phone call etc. I just use the app, and it's all done.
    - cameronbrown 7y ago
      All I'm saying is they're less likely to invest in good customer service infrastructure if it never 'needs' to be used. There's always the possibility that something unaccounted will go wrong.
  - titanomachy 7y ago
    I don't mind interacting with people, but basically every company with which I'm a customer has made this a painful and inconvenient experience. The exception being physical things like buying groceries or getting a massage. All interactions with ISPs, banks, etc. involve spending tons of time on hold and then talking to multiple clueless undertrained call-centre staff.
  - andy_ppp 7y ago
    Monzo actually has chat integrated and you can go back and see all the instant messages between you and them. Much easier to ask a chat message about a transaction and receive an answer with a push notification when everyone is read to discuss (i.e. at 4am you might well have to wait til the next day but no big deal). I have to say the best thing about Monzo is their customer service, it's really fantastic compared to other banks. I have other problems with them though - I won't use them with their 50p per day overdraft charge, even if you only go slightly into it; this persecutes poor people - it's much fairer to charge a flat percentage.
gamblor956 7y ago
It's weird to see the hype for Monzo, since other than a somewhat-nicer UI and data exportability, all of its features have been done before in the US. Some of the features have been around for more than a decade stateside... It seems everything old is new again. At least with a normal CC I have access to a bank branch so I can talk to a real person if I need to.
hittaruki 7y ago
Monzo has a proper API[1] that you can use to get transaction and other info without going through some third company like plaid.com. Obviously better long term solution would be for all banks to agree on a standard API and easy access to it. But given that is not going to happen, this seems like a welcome improvement. [1]:https://docs.monzo.com/#authentication https://docs.monzo.com/#authentication

samwhiteUK 7y ago

Bingo. The fact that I can see all my transactions, automatically categorised, in an app that is much prettier, full-featured and simple than the crap that Halifax put out, is brilliant. Combine that with a simple setup process, never having to interact with humans or call centres, and add tha bility to automatically save, interact with IFTTT etc and you have a very compelling package and I hope they continue to do well

cameronbrown 7y ago
> never having to interact with humans or call centres Many people would argue this is a tech company's biggest flaw.
- Balero 7y ago
  Never having to?? I can understand "never being able to" being a flaw. But if I can get my stuff done without talking to someone then that is brilliant. I don't have to go out of my way to go somewhere, I don't have to bother with a bad phone reception, I don't have to wait in a line for it to be my turn. I just do the things I need to do when it is convenient for me. If I want to open a savings "pot" (Monzo version of a savings account). Then I can do it on the bus on the way to work. I don't have to take time off to go to a branch, or prove I am me on a phone call etc. I just use the app, and it's all done.
  - cameronbrown 7y ago
    All I'm saying is they're less likely to invest in good customer service infrastructure if it never 'needs' to be used. There's always the possibility that something unaccounted will go wrong.
- titanomachy 7y ago
  I don't mind interacting with people, but basically every company with which I'm a customer has made this a painful and inconvenient experience. The exception being physical things like buying groceries or getting a massage. All interactions with ISPs, banks, etc. involve spending tons of time on hold and then talking to multiple clueless undertrained call-centre staff.
- andy_ppp 7y ago
  Monzo actually has chat integrated and you can go back and see all the instant messages between you and them. Much easier to ask a chat message about a transaction and receive an answer with a push notification when everyone is read to discuss (i.e. at 4am you might well have to wait til the next day but no big deal). I have to say the best thing about Monzo is their customer service, it's really fantastic compared to other banks. I have other problems with them though - I won't use them with their 50p per day overdraft charge, even if you only go slightly into it; this persecutes poor people - it's much fairer to charge a flat percentage.

gamblor956 7y ago

It's weird to see the hype for Monzo, since other than a somewhat-nicer UI and data exportability, all of its features have been done before in the US. Some of the features have been around for more than a decade stateside... It seems everything old is new again. At least with a normal CC I have access to a bank branch so I can talk to a real person if I need to.

hittaruki 7y ago

Monzo has a proper API[1] that you can use to get transaction and other info without going through some third company like plaid.com. Obviously better long term solution would be for all banks to agree on a standard API and easy access to it. But given that is not going to happen, this seems like a welcome improvement. [1]:https://docs.monzo.com/#authentication https://docs.monzo.com/#authentication