Nice, thanks for letting me know. 
It would be interesting to see if this subscription has a wide adoption or will be the same as the one before.
From the offering, I guess the same, but you never know, I might be wrong.
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Underwhelming, it seems…
That’s from April 2019 (a previous version of Monzo Plus)
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Oops, sorry Monzo 
Sorry - I meant this…
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It’s funny they haven’t changed the name at least, because a Google search just brings up all the old bad press!
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Any thoughts on the latest report?
^ Interesting hot take. It definitely doesn’t look good for them.
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It’s a shame 
they started off with a special vibe and now they’re like a ghost of their former self 
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Yep, I saw your reply last night. 
I think they will just cut all the marketing (even more), close US and downscale.
Big difference between Monzo and N26/Revolut was that from day 1 the goal was revenue (and product).
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their subscription model is a mess, @edoardomoreni could make an additional tier ? 
Emma, Emma Plus + Emma Pro how expensive would it be for an e-money license 
?
What would you want in Emma Plus? 
I think for the time being baring in mind the way the worlds going , I’d use it as mid- tier equivalent based on people having lower affordability at the moment, *custom app icons, special titles for the forum, the custom transaction features and exclusive rewards. Maybe exclusive newsletter or early access or beta tester privileges, loyalty card management and Pro would be cool if we could have that more like a VIP Experience, Exclusive welcome from the Emma Team have a monthly zoom meeting with a select few, up the cap on gummies, exclusive first run of new features like the £ referral or exclusive access to some of these snazzy new features Swag ! Leaderboards for gummies and referrals, I can come up with more if you like Pro users need to feel they’ve got value for their buck specially if they’ve paid full price, like a founder perk for support early on I’m sure they’d appreciate it, may help with customers feeling frustrated if there’s a promotion etc.
This could be cool! 
First to know about updates, new features etc?
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Yes! 
very cost effective and making the user feel more in the loop, special exclusive newsletters I very much enjoyed talking to the team on a regular basis feel very welcomed 
getting an emotional response out of something no matter how small makes the biggest difference in my opinion 
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Woo, we’re glad! 
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Full frontend that taps into the best available BaaS backends… You might need to become a back first though 
Anyone subscribed?
It was not the easiest of starts. Just as TS Anil took up his post running Monzo’s American business in February, Covid-19 forced his home city of San Francisco to declare a state of emergency. The 49-year-old financial services veteran ended up working from home rather than meeting new colleagues at the digital bank’s Los Angeles office.
Little did he know that his situation was about to get a lot harder. In May, Monzo’s London-based chief executive and co-founder, Tom Blomfield, 35, stepped back to take a less hands-on role as president. Just three months after joining, Anil was asked to replace him.
The announcement rocked the fintech world: the visionary behind one of Britain’s most promising ventures, which enjoyed a £2bn valuation as recently as last year, was no longer at the helm.
“Most people, including myself, were surprised when Tom said it,” recalled Anil, who was previously at Visa and Standard Chartered. “But he’d been thinking about it for a while because he knew where Monzo was going. At some point it was going to need someone who’s operated at scale, and Tom didn’t think that was him. He’s a technology guy and his passion was around product, customers and tech.”
Others do not buy the corporate line and see Blomfield’s departure as worrying. He stepped back just before Monzo completed a fundraising that saw its value drop by 40% to less than £1.3bn, with Swiss firm Reference Capital among the backers. It disappointed thousands of individual investors who bought into a crowdfunding round in December 2018.
Since Anil took charge, more cracks have emerged. Monzo’s annual report, published late last month, showed that losses more than doubled to £113.8m in the year to March, even as income more than tripled to £67.2m.
More troublingly, its auditors at EY warned of “significant doubt” over the bank’s ability to stay in business beyond 12 months because of the uncertainty caused by Covid-19.
Also, Monzo admitted that it was examining its financial crime controls following a review by the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Lockdown has dealt another blow. The resulting drop in card transactions and overseas travel has meant lower income for Monzo. FCA changes forced the bank to stop its 50p-a-day overdraft charge, another crucial source of income.
In June, Monzo announced that 120 jobs were being axed at its London headquarters, and its Las Vegas office closed in April with the loss of 165 jobs. Almost 300 staff have been furloughed. Blomfield is taking no pay for a year while the board directors have agreed to a 25% cut.
The string of problems has caused less of a stir among Monzo’s customers, however. Its free banking and slick app have gathered a loyal following of almost 4.5 million since it started in 2015.
The bank’s future now hinges on its ability to generate new income: if it cannot, the chances of making a profit or raising more capital will dwindle. A source said it was in the throes of a £40m cash call. Anil is placing his bets on new products: a Monzo Plus account costing £5 a month, which pays 1% interest on balances up to £2,000, and two business accounts, one with a £5 monthly fee.
More than 50,000 customers have signed up for Monzo Plus since its launch a month ago, a promising sign for Anil, although it is the bank’s second attempt at offering a fee-charging account. The new boss must keep the money flowing, or EY’s warning will become reality. The clock is ticking for Monzo.
The digital challenger did not have the most auspicious of beginnings. In 2013, Blomfield quit GoCardless, a debit collection service, to join American dating site Grouper. While at GoCardless, he had met Anne Boden, now chief executive of Starling Bank, who was an adviser.
After he was sacked from Grouper in 2014, Boden invited him to work on her fledgling bank. Less than six months after joining, Blomfield broke away to set up Monzo with some Starling colleagues, including former Northern Rock banker Paul Rippon, who now runs an alpaca farm. “They had their differences over the direction of technology,” said a source of the rift between Boden and Blomfield. “There have been lawsuits.”
Early backing from Passion Capital, which has a stake of about 25%, enabled Monzo to issue its coral-coloured pre-paid card before gaining a banking licence in 2017. Pressure then mounted as tougher rules on capital and customer checks were applied. “People who were good at technology and products suddenly had to spend most of their time dealing with regulation,” said Simon Taylor of fintech consultancy 11:FS.
Deposit balances rose from £462m to £1.4bn last year, but operating costs jumped from £60m to £151m. The Bank of England raised Monzo’s minimum capital requirement by £40m in May.
Sources said Blomfield felt the increasing regulatory scrutiny was a “buzzkill”. Others noted that he began stepping back at the start of the year. Chairman Gary Hoffman, who also chairs the Premier League, oversaw operations such as HR and legal between February and June.
Monzo has only just started growing in lending and business banking. Starling, by contrast, has handed out about £700m of Covid-19 bounce back loans, and won a £100m taxpayer grant to build up its business bank.
Still, investors seem unfazed. “In terms of the company’s financial or ongoing viability, it’s natural for the auditors to be cautious in these unprecedented macroeconomic conditions,” said Eileen Burbidge, co-founder of Passion Capital and a non-executive director of Monzo. “But the board isn’t worried about it, the investors aren’t, and we all remain confident in the company’s tremendous performance and strong prospects.”
If troubles persist and the bank’s value drops further, high-street rivals may be keen to snap up Monzo. Other banks have tried and failed to launch their own digital challengers: NatWest pulled the plug on its Bó venture after just six months.
Anil is confident, despite the challenges. “Do I worry? No,” he said. “Do I make sure our capital and business plans remain robust? Of course.”
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Thanks for sharing! 