- Banking app Monzo launches new mobile phone plans
- All three plans will get cheaper the longer you stay with Monzo
- They’re launching this summer and you can sign up for the waitlist now
Mobile banking app Monzo is shaking up the UK’s mobile networks with three new eSim plans launching this summer – and they get cheaper the longer you stay.
Monzo Mobile will build on the Virgin Media O2 network, and the banking app claims it will reward loyalty by reducing your monthly bills by 5% each year, up to a total discount of 30%. This is a new tip that could prove popular with anyone fed up with contract price hikes.
So how do these three plans break down? As you can see below, Monzo will offer an £8 per month plan (with a 10GB data cap), a £12 per month plan (for 30GB of data) and an ‘unlimited’ plan for £20 per month. Beyond data caps, the main differences between the three concern their roaming options.
These are not the cheapest mobile network plans in the UK. For example, Lebara (which uses the Vodafone network) currently has a 10GB rolling monthly contract which costs on average £2.48 per month over a year and includes roaming.
But Monzo Mobile’s plans are certainly still tempting, and the digital bank hopes to convert some of its 15 million customers with features such as the ability to track your mobile data, roaming and more in the Monzo app.
The flip side is that you’ll need a Monzo current account to join its new mobile network, with the waiting list open now if you head to the official Monzo Mobile page.
Is this a good deal?
The launch of Monzo Mobile is certainly a smart move for the digital bank, whose brand enjoys strong brand recognition in the UK – but not everyone is yet convinced it will be a home run.
Duygu Yenidogan-Schmidt, general manager of core banking at Monzo, said that “we always believed that your bank should do the hard work for you” and that the new network was “mobile, done the Monzo way”.
However, Monzo isn’t the first new mobile player we’ve seen recently. Earlier this year, Revolut launched a mobile plan that gives you a free NordVPN subscription on all plans. Digital bank Klarna also has an open waiting list for its new unlimited plan.
Jez Samuel, mobile expert at Uswitch, said: “We’re seeing more players getting into mobile than ever before, which can only mean more choice for consumers. Flexible, no-contract plans are attractive, but this flexibility works both ways since Monzo can change the price of its plans at any time.
Although Monzo Mobile’s main feature is its 5% loyalty discount, there’s nothing stopping it from rolling out inflation-linked price rises. The banking app told This is Money there was no “commitment” to imposing price increases “at this stage”.
Customers who are already on high-value networks like Giffgaff will not necessarily be tempted to switch either. On Reddit, one commenter claimed that “the O2 network is disappointing” and that they are “super shocked that European roaming isn’t included on all plans” (you don’t get that on the £8 per month Monzo Mobile plan).
Meanwhile, a current Giffgaff customer said they were “definitely not sold” due to the price and lack of European roaming in the basic Monzo plan. Nonetheless, Monzo users might still see the benefit of tracking their banking and mobile usage in one app, and we’ll find out exactly how popular this new reader is when it launches this summer.
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