Intuit's recent announcement to discontinue its widely-used personal finance app, Mint, in January has sparked a surge in users flocking to alternative platforms. Among these platforms, Monarch Money, a subscription-based money manager app, has experienced a remarkable influx of new customers.
Intuit's recent announcement to shut down its personal finance app, Mint, in January has prompted a surge in users for alternative platforms. Monarch Money, a subscription-based money manager app, is among the startups benefiting from this influx of new customers.
What is Monarch Money？
Monarch Money, co-founded by Val Agostino, Jon Sutherland, and Ozzie Osman, aims to assist users in setting financial goals and charting a path to achieve them. Following the news of Mint's discontinuation, Monarch Money witnessed a twofold increase in its user base.
Notably, the app's Google Play Store page indicates over 10,000 downloads since its launch in January 2021, with a significant surge in new users on November 1, marking one of their most successful days.
Interestingly, Monarch's CEO Val Agostino has a unique connection to the Mint app. He was the first product manager on the original Mint team and led the product development through its acquisition by Intuit in 2010.
Why Mint Quit？
Intuit's acquisition of Credit Karma in 2020 presented an opportunity for a strategic shift. With Credit Karma boasting an estimated user base of 130 million in the United States, significantly surpassing Mint's reported 3.6 million monthly active users in 2021, Mint's development seemed to slow down.
Agostino emphasized that it made sense for Intuit to consolidate its efforts on Credit Karma and retire Mint. Thus, it will be discontinued and integrated into Intuit's Credit Karma, starting from January 1st, 2024.
Monarch's Efforts on Replacing Mint
Val Agostino shared that when he founded Monarch Money, his goal was to address the issues he perceived with Mint, particularly its business model. According to him, a free personal finance app is not financially viable due to the high costs associated with financial data aggregation. Ad-supported apps tend to prioritize advertisers' needs over users, undermining the core purpose of such tools, which is to improve users' financial well-being.
With Mint users concerned about losing their financial data, Monarch Money offers a solution. They allow users to import their Mint data, ensuring that they can transition to Monarch without sacrificing their financial history.
Fintech Market Opportunities
Competitors in the personal finance app space are also seizing the opportunity presented by Mint's shutdown. Shawn Adrian, co-founder of spend tracking app Cheddar, expressed surprise at Intuit's decision, considering Mint's historical dominance. The closure of Mint has led to a substantial increase in beta signups for Cheddar, indicating a positive outlook among its team and competitors.
As Intuit prepares to integrate Mint into Credit Karma, the landscape of personal finance apps is undergoing a transformation. Monarch Money and other fintech apps are stepping up to meet the needs of users seeking alternatives, which is a great market opportunity.
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