Digital bank Monzo has been accused of overstepping the mark by using data it holds on customers to call out their spending habits and lifestlye choices.
The bank used data to tell one customer with a past eating disorder that she eats a lot of fast food, spends “more than most” on Just Eat takeaways, The Guardian reported.
Fiona Taylor* has escalated a complaint to the UK financial ombudsman after she was offended by what she called “shaming language” in the end-of-year review which is sent by the bank to customers.
Similar to the popular Spotify Wrapped, where the streaming service details top songs, artists and listening habits over the past year, Monzo sends customers a personalised annual review of how and where they spend their money.
Monzo began running its Year in Monzo feature in 2018, with the review evolving beyond a basic review of spending categories and locations to include more personalised themes and detailed insights
The bank says the aim is “to provide an engaging and sometimes lighthearted summary of a customer’s year”, but not all who use the bank feel the same.
Reddit forums show customers who have criticised the Year in Monzo service for “judging” them and making “snarky” and “sarcastic” comments.
Others have said the review is “just a bit of fun” that teases their spending habits, with some taking pride in being a top spender at certain pubs and takeaways.
Humiliating commentary
Taylor told the Guardian that Monzo had used her financial information to “generate humiliating behavioural commentary” that “crossed into personal and moral judgement”, saying she lives with chronic fatigue affecting her ability to cook, meaning she often relies on delivery apps.
She claimed that it was a misuse of personal data from the bank and ultimately not appropriate behaviour.
Her personalised spending review described her 2025 as “a year of glory and folly” featuring a lot of references to food.
It told her: “You foraged and feasted. But mainly, you fast fooded.”
It added that she was “in the top 15 per cent” for Just Eat, telling her: “You spend more than most on Just Eat. Did somebody say just stop?”.
The sentence is a reference to the food delivery company’s ad slogan, “Did somebody say Just Eat”.
Monzo response
When Taylor contacted the bank with her concerns, it told her that it didn’t find evidence to support her complaint.
The letter from the complaint specialist said: “I recognise that in your case, the automated and standardised language we used was inappropriate and caused genuine upset.”
It said that to put things right, it would pay her £20 as a gesture of goodwill.
Taylor escalated her complaint to the financial ombudsman who said they did not think the bank needed to take any action.
She appealed against the decision, and the case will now be reviewed by a senior ombudsman, who will make the final decision.
The bank argued that Year in Monzo features automatically generated content based on spending patterns, not personalised commentary written by a human.
A Monzo spokesperson said to The Guardian: “It was never our intention to cause upset here, and we’re really sorry this happened.
“While Year in Monzo is designed to be an entertaining recap of people’s spending and is positively received by millions of our customers, it’s completely optional, and individuals can choose to opt out of receiving theirs if they prefer.”
*Name changed
