Monzo teases new travel-friendly features for Monzo Plus subscriptions

Last night Monzo released its long-awaited annual report for the past financial year and the fintech world was abuzz with activity.

The results weren’t exactly peachy, the digital bank posted losses of £113.8m in 2020, up from £47.2m the year previous and Monzo’s board of directors revealed there were “material uncertainties, which may cast doubt over the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Despite this, after trawling through the report ourselves, it seems that Monzo is planning on expanding its Monzo Plus service in the next financial year.

Monzo is planning on rolling out travel perks for its premium users, just like N26 and Revolut’s subscription services.

And while the digital bank didn’t divulge details, it teased: “We plan to roll out another market leading premium banking product in FY2021.”

“These products will help people get more from their Monzo accounts, both at home and when they travel.”

The launch of a travel-friendly subscription and/or features were delayed, much like Monzo Plus itself, because of the lockdown and travel bans across the world due to coronavirus.

Currently, Monzo Plus users pay £5/month for features such as open banking account aggregation, 1 per cent interest on balances up to £2,000, customisable categories and virtual cards.

The next question will be what exactly will Monzo’s travel-friendly subscription look like?

Travel insurance is a tricky beast to master, particularly for a digital bank, and with Monzo Plus's troubled history, the bank will want to get it spot on.

Back in early March, it was revealed that N26 had mis-sold its travel insurance that was offered as part of its premium subscription plan, leading to a review into the product by the FCA.

N26 failed to ask key questions about its customer’s health, particularly regarding pre-existing conditions, that could have excluded them from the policy that they were paying for.

Rumours swirled that the mistake was ultimately what led the bank to leave the UK, however, the digital bank maintains the mistake had nothing to do with its exit from the UK market.

Still, it remains to be seen whether or not Monzo Plus has been a successful endeavour for the bank, but appears to be trying to go down the Banking-as-a-Service or the ‘freemium’ route, rather than making money in a more traditional way for a bank, by lending money.