When does light-hearted banter become inappropriate and humiliating?
Digital bank Monzo has been accused of going overboard by using data it holds to tell a customer with a past eating disorder that he eats a lot of fast food, spends “more than most” on Just Eat takeaways and had banished his life goals thanks to his spending choices.
Fiona Taylor* has complained to the UK Financial Ombudsman after being offended by what she called “disgraceful language” in the bank’s end-of-year review.
Similar to Spotify Wrapped, which shows users of the streaming service their top songs and artists from the past year, Monzo sends customers a personalized annual review of how and where they spent their money.
The aim, the bank says, is to “provide an attractive and sometimes cheerful summary of a customer’s year”, but it has divided opinions.
On forums such as Reddit, some customers have criticized the Year in Monzo service for “judging” them and making “snide” and “sarcastic” comments, while others said they were “just a bit funny”.
Some customers shared screenshots of their reviews highlighting how much money they spend at bakery chain Greggs or mocking them for having an “unused oven”.
Taylor, 42, from Kent, said Monzo had used her financial information to “generate humiliating behavioral comments” that “crossed personal and moral judgment”. He stated that this was not appropriate behavior for a bank and amounted to misuse of personal data.
Your personalized spending review describes your 2025 as “a year of glory and madness.” It includes many references to food, telling him: “You looked for food and feasted. But mostly, you ate fast food.”
He then said he was “in the top 15%” of Just Eat, adding: “You like banquets in beige and in boxes.”
This appears to be a reference to a “beige” diet dominated by bland or processed foods like chicken nuggets, chips, and pasta.
He later returned to this topic and told her: “You spent more than most on Just Eat. Did anyone say just stop?”
The last line is a reference to the food delivery company’s advertising slogan “Did Someone Say Just Eat?”, but Taylor said it implied its expenses “should have been reduced.”
He said he lives with chronic fatigue, which affects his ability to cook and go to the shops and means he often relies on food delivery and takeaway apps. She also previously experienced an eating disorder and said, “Comments that framed my food-related spending in a derisive or critical manner were particularly distressing and unwanted.”
Taylor said this was not information Monzo could have known, which is why comments interpreting its data were inappropriate. “A bank cannot know the medical, personal or trauma-related context behind spending decisions.”
Their review also had a section on leisure spending that said: “You banished boredom. And your life goals, thanks to your entertainment choices.”
He said the reference to his life goals was disturbing because he had recently experienced “a significant professional setback” and the comment “compounded feelings of loss and failure.”
On Reddit forums, some Monzo customers expressed pride at being named among the top spenders at their local pub or chicken shop, but others weren’t so happy.
One said “the world sucks right now” and didn’t need the bank to tell them “how I wasted my life’s goals… The packaging just felt like they were ‘kicking us while we were down.'”
When Taylor contacted Monzo to express her concerns, it told her it had “found no evidence to support your complaint”. The letter from their complaints specialist went on to say: “I recognize that in your case, the automated and standardized language we used was inappropriate and caused real distress.” He said that to make things right he would pay her £20 as a gesture of goodwill.
Taylor then complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service, but its investigator effectively sided with Monzo, saying they did not believe the bank needed to take any action. She appealed the decision and her case will now be reviewed by a senior ombudsman, who will make a final decision.
The bank argues that Year in Monzo features automatically generated content based on spending patterns, not personalized comments written by a human.
A Monzo spokesperson said: “It was never our intention to cause unrest here and we are very sorry this has happened.
“While Year in Monzo is designed to be an entertaining summary of people’s spending and is positively received by millions of our customers, it is completely optional and people can opt out of receiving theirs if they prefer.”
*Name has been changed
