Monzo to switch off debit card top-ups
UK challenger bank Monzo has decided to switch off debit card top-ups for everyone from 2 October 2018.
“Happy to see it go”
What this means for its users is that they won’t be able to add money to their account with another debit card from in the app anymore. Instead users can make a bank transfer, set up a recurring payment, or have salary paid in or use its Monzo.me service instead. The latter allows people to pay using a name only.
Some analysts called this a popular feature, but views from the Monzo community were generally reasonable. It seems toys were not thrown from prams and chairs were not kicked across rooms.
Comments ranged from “Happy to see it go, it’s not needed on a fully-fledged bank” to “I used the top up facility for the first few months but it really isn’t a deal breaker”. Quite a few users asked for an improved Monzo.me.
The challenger shut down this service around nine months ago, but had to reopen it due to consumer demands and despite its costs. At the time, too many consumers used cards as a secondary one, so it was essential. It seems now things have changed.
Monzo explains: “We originally included debit card top-ups in the app because we began life as a prepaid card, and couldn’t offer bank transfers. Every time someone adds money by topping up, we pay a small fee to a third-party company who process the payments. In the last year these fees cost us about £4 million. Now we’re a fully-fledged bank, there are other ways to put money into your account, that don’t cost nearly as much.”
Since March 2018, new Monzo customers haven’t had the option to add money by debit cards, so this will only affect older users.
In other news, Monzo has been having a lively year.
It is on the hunt for a chief risk officer (CRO) and a head of PR.
Last month, the UK challenger was set for more fundraising as it seeks to reach the giddy heights of a $1.5 billion valuation.
