Monzo puts fees to customer vote

Monzo has launched a customer poll to determine the future cost of foreign ATM fees.

The rising cost of foreign ATM fees is forcing Monzo to end its policy of free withdrawals. Global point-of-sale transactions and ATM withdrawals in the UK will remain free of charge.

According to Monzo data, annual ATM withdrawals costs have risen from £6 per active user in June 2016 to £16 per active user in August 2017. Although Monzo currently absorbs the entire fee itself, this has become unsustainable ahead of their upcoming current account launch.

Monzo are offering three options to its customers: 1 per cent charge for withdrawals in Europe and 2 per cent outside Europe; 1.5 per cent charge for all withdrawals outside the UK; a £200 free allowance per month with a 3 per cent charge for all withdrawals outside the UK thereafter.

Revolut recently responded to growing foreign ATM fees by lowering the cap on free withdrawals from £500 to £200. Customers are charged 2 per cent on all withdrawals above this monthly limit. N26, a German digital bank, received criticism after closing 500 customer accounts due to high withdrawal costs.

Despite open accounts increasing at a rate of 5 per cent a week, Monzo posted 2016 losses of £7.9m. It was valued at £65m in its latest round of funding having raised £35m since its founding in 2015.