Monzo takes another shot at paid current accounts
Monzo has relaunched a premium account offering after scrapping its Monzo Plus scheme last year.
The UK challenger bank has priced the paid-for current account at £5 a month.
Monzo – yet to reach profitability – will be hoping that the new product launch will emerge into another revenue stream.
Monzo has gone with a holographic blue card for its new paid service
Whether it does depends on customer reactions. Last year, many users complained about Monzo Plus, which eventually led to its wind down.
What’s included?
Users can sign up to Monzo’s new premium subscription for a minimum of three months and recieve 1% interest on balances of up to £2,000.
The fintech has partnered with specific brands such as HelloFresh, Fiit, and Naked Wines to give users up to 50% off particular products.
Premium users can create up to five virtual cards for their favourite retailers, so they don’t have to put their entire card online.
The start-up has also added credit score checks powered by TransUnion, and the ability to view bank balances held with rivals in Monzo’s app.
When it comes to spending, users can now sort single transactions into multiple categories. These transactions can then be automatically exported to Google Sheets.
Change can be rounded up two, five, or ten times the original amount, and when abroad users can withdraw up to £400 cash for free every 30 days. You also get one free cash deposit a month at PayPoints across the UK.
And instead of its signature coral pink, Monzo has gone with a holographic blue card for its new paid service.
The aim of Monzo Plus 2.0
Mike Hudack, chief product officer at Monzo, told CNBC that the new paid subscription service is aimed at helping users budget better.
“We’re going to market with what we consider to be a really great, complete, high-value product,” Hudack said. “I think we’ve taken a dramatically different approach here.”
Customers will get two months of free access to the new service. Currently, only UK customers – and not US customers – can sign up.
The challenger, like many across Europe, is trying to find new revenue streams in order to reach profitability,
Last year, Monzo experienced a post-tax loss of £47.2 million, which was up from a £30.5 million loss a year earlier. The fintech’s 2020 annual accounts will land sometime later this month.
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