INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Monzo, one of a plethora of U.K
fintech startups aiming to re-invent current account banking, has launched a new feature that makes it even more frictionless to transfer
you can initiate a payment without needing their phone number to be in your contact book first.One of the ways Monzo has increased its
virality from the get-go is by making friend-to-friend payments easy, either to people who already bank with the startup, or via the
Monzo.me service, which gives users a payment link to share with friends
The idea, as Monzo co-founder often explains, is that unlike traditional incumbent banks that basically have zero network effects (perhaps
beyond joint accounts), the challenger bank is designed to become more useful the more people who join it.Revolut has a similar feature
Specifically, here is how Monzo says its implementation works:When you open Nearby Friends, we send an anonymous token (a random string of
text) to GoogleThat token is broadcast via Bluetooth to devices nearbyAt the same time, your Monzo app starts searching for other devices
your personal information with third parties during the process
The token we send to Google expires after a short period of time, meaning your personal data is unidentifiable.Meanwhile, competitor Revolut
fast the $1.7B valued banking startup is moving.
