Monzo ditches 'Monzo Plus' premium account

The bank says it is no longer offering the packaged account options, which cost customers between £5 and £12 a month, after poor customer feedback. It said that some customers will be refunded the fees they paid plus interest.

A Monzo staff member told customers via its online community forum that the company was still committed to providing a paid subscription offering, but they would be going "back to basics and starting from the beginning."

See our App-based banking guide for more info on the best banking and savings apps, plus our Packaged Bank Accounts guide.

How did Monzo Plus work?

Monzo customers could choose from three Monzo Plus packages:

• The 'Traveller' package offered travel insurance, free cash withdrawals abroad for fixed periods and discounts with certain travel booking websites for a £12/month fee.

• The 'Home' option gave account holders contents insurance and offers on products like home recipe boxes for a £12/mth fee.

• The 'Supporter' bundle provided customers with a different-coloured debit card, Monzo-themed merchandise and discounts on products like music streaming service Tidal. This cost £4.95/mth.

I'm a Monzo Plus customer – what does this mean for me?

Monzo says it won't be sending out any 'swag' – its name for its official merchandise – or holding metal card draws like it had initially planned to.

It says if you've chosen its 'Supporter' bundle, you'll be automatically refunded the amount you've paid in fees plus some interest because you're missing out on some of the features offered. You'll still keep your Monzo current account though.

If you have one of the other two bundles, Monzo says you can cancel at any time by contacting customer support in the app. We have contacted Monzo to ask if customers who've signed up for either the 'Traveller' or 'Home' packages in the past will continue to receive some of the services, like insurance, included with these options. We'll update this story once we know more.

You won't be able to open any of the accounts as a new customer.

What does Monzo say?

Writing in the Monzo online community, a Monzo staff member said: "We're going back to basics and starting from the beginning. While we are fortunate to see our customer base growing faster than ever, it's important we take steps now to ensure we're moving towards becoming a sustainable business.

"One of our biggest opportunities for this is a paid subscription that unlocks more value for our customers and gives us steady revenue in return."