Original text here from Patrice Bernard (LinkedIn)
At first glance, Monzo's "Wrapped" campaign, which playfully offers customers a brief summary of their 2023 spending habits, similar to Spotify's year-end music recaps, seems innocuous. However, based on some reactions, it reminds us that dealing with money is never straightforward.
As a practical demonstration of the bank's knowledge of individual spending habits, Monzo confidentially provides each user in its mobile app a glimpse of their notable spending trends throughout the year. This includes analysis of their transactions, ranging from regular use of public transport and frequent visits to fast-food chains to preferences for nightlife or the disproportionate portion of rent in their finances.
Although they probably don't represent the majority, a segment of customers, encouraged to share their results on social media, express their dissatisfaction with this unique initiative surprisingly vehemently. Some perceive the insights as insults (like "say I'm too fat!"), others are indignant about being reminded of inflation's impact on their finances, some feel uncomfortable with what they perceive as an invasion of privacy, and there are those who simply don't want to know where their money goes.
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Like the reactions to personal finance management tools or card-related promotions, these hostile responses reflect the vast diversity of consumer sentiments regarding their money. This is magnified when they are confronted with their spending behaviors and inherent contradictions. It's noteworthy that even an approach intended to be benevolent and slightly humorous, to address a serious topic lightly, is inevitably misinterpreted by a portion of the audience, partly because it comes from a bank.
Monzo's experience thus serves as an additional warning to the entire financial sector about the risk of treating all customers as a homogenous group, where personalization efforts serve solely marketing objectives. When there's a genuine intention to assist users with their generic budgetary issues, which is increasingly becoming a necessity, it's also vital to adjust interaction modes for each individual case, taking into account factors that go beyond the bank relationship and delve into psychology and personal sensitivity.
