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Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

root.co.za

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Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#411

Post by lalitkale »

brilliantcode wrote: post #270

> Powered by Standard Bank South Africa Doesn't give me much confidence. Allgedly hacked & involved in a fraud case [1] [2] [1] http://city-press.news24.com/Business/standard-bank-r300m-fr... [2] https://businesstech.co.za/news/mobile/170629/major-sa-banks...

In addition to that you can observe that their website's certificate details. it seems they are using fee ssl provided from cloudfare. Not really a confidence booster and definitely not even close to fintech security which we can trust.

Mastercard logo is displayed without any hint that they are official partner of visa or mastercard. The said bank and offerzen site does not have links etc. There is no documentation or hints about legal disputes resolution or any kind of compliance mechanism ever mentioned on site.

Though I like the concept, will hold off still I get to know that the site is genuine.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#412

Post by run4yourlives2 »

DKnoll wrote: post #311
run4yourlives2 wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm Canadian, so not only can I buy Cuban cigars, I can buy them in a store down the street with my debit card. (A real debit card that connects directly to my account, not just a prepaid credit card.) Regardless though, making an illegal purchase isn't a very good reason to argue for cash; in fact you may have more luck changing the dumb laws if people are truly hurt by them. The US definition of a "debit card" is m…

> many banks in Canada are now fully virtual or offer next to no fees. Uhh, which ones? Free chequing accounts have transaction fees for Interac, and with unlimited Interac accounts you pay monthly or must keep a minimum balance. I'm sure there are a couple exceptions, but certainly not with TD, CIBC, NBC, etc.

Check out credit unions. I'm with Coast Capital and pay zero for fees at regular bank machines. "Private" atm fees do cost, yes. Tangerine and PC financial also offer no fee options too, but I'm not sure to what extent.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#413

Post by run4yourlives2 »

jdminhbg wrote: post #291
run4yourlives2 wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm Canadian, so not only can I buy Cuban cigars, I can buy them in a store down the street with my debit card. (A real debit card that connects directly to my account, not just a prepaid credit card.) Regardless though, making an illegal purchase isn't a very good reason to argue for cash; in fact you may have more luck changing the dumb laws if people are truly hurt by them. The US definition of a "debit card" is m…

> The US definition of a "debit card" is massively different than the Canadian one. For us, our bank card is the debit card. The same one I use to take money out of my account at an ATM is the same one I can use to buy a $1 coffee. I keep seeing this pop up, but it's a misconception; we have these in the US too. I have one, although I don't use it for purchases (I use a rewards credit card that gets paid off monthly…

It's not that they don't exist, it's that you don't have the POS being widespread enough to support it in a common way.

The Interac system in Canada is pretty much a given for any vendor that has a cash register. That automatically makes every single bank card into a direct debit card. You can choose to use it if you want of course, but it's default for all bank accounts, really.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#414

Post by Sandman »

palerdot wrote: post #371
jacksnipe wrote: post #215

At first I was wondering what I could possibly use this for, but as I sat and thought about it, I realized the possibilities are enormous. I'd like to know if the following are possible: 1. Forcing me to stay on budget, unless there's an emergency (perhaps allow purchases over budget after the third attempt). 2. Automatically distribute paychecks or other income into different accounts (some to retirement, some to sa…

What about bugs? What if your distribution code looped infinitely and effectively pumped all of the money from your account or something like that? Programming and bugs go hand in hand, and right now we are relying on the banking systems to compensate us in case we lose money because of their software oversights. Not sure how this problem will be solved in this kind of system.

I would expect that initiating a payment from your account directly from code would be forbidden by the platform itself. I'm thinking about this more in the terms of hooks that get called when a payment is received or sent. In essence, what do I want to happen when I'm sending or receiving money?

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#415

Post by alexchamberlain »

_jal wrote: post #397
alexchamberlain wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They generally have a team behind them, rather than an individual.

...And?

Teams tend to promote good practices, such as code reviews and thorough CI setups, which are hard to achieve as an individual.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#416

Post by Meekro »

btmerr wrote: post #403
Meekro wrote: post #247

Anyone remember Seed[1], the YC startup that tried to do programmable bank accounts years ago? They did eventually launch, and I have an account, but all the programmable stuff went away and we're left with basic business bank accounts rather than the original vision. I wonder what happened there, and I hope Root can better stay on track! [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9066363

Hey there. I'm Brian, the CEO of Seed. Thanks for remembering us and thank you for trying us out. :) Long story short, we're still working on making the API available to our members. Plans changed along the way and we ended up releasing our mobile business bank account first, but our long term goal of offering a more open platform remains. It's tough to do anything innovative within the US banking system due to regul…

Hey Brian, I'm glad to hear that you guys are still at it! Your original vision is exactly what I wanted. We got an account for our small business because paying contractors with a monthly cron job that initiates an ACH transfer is exactly the kind of nerdy thing we want to do. We're using it, and waiting for the API to come along.

I hope you guys succeed! Not many startup founders look at the tangled mess of regulations that is the financial sector and think, "now that's where I want to be!"

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#417

Post by gergoerdi »

tragomaskhalos wrote: post #388
pc86 wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Come now, just write it in Rust and bugs are a physical impossibility.

Or, use Haskell and have the type system protect your precious moolah :)

The real version of this is https://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/234939...: Ethereum contracts written in an Idris-embedded DSL.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#418

Post by spookyuser »

uitgewis wrote: post #385
spookyuser wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? That's great. I didn't know that. FNB should get on it then. In general FNB seems to have 'poor' security. You can't even paste a password in when resetting or signing up. They seem to just want me to be making week passwords.

FNB also does OTP within their own mobile app.

It's not TOTP 2FA though right? I couldn't add it to authy if I wanted.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#419

Post by louwhopley »

andrewflnr wrote: post #359
louwhopley wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey andrewflnr, he's pretty right. We've also worked on some mechanisms to prevent accidentally making unwanted/mistake transfers :)

You mean you actually are leaning on packaged, reviewed rootcode to prevent errors? That seems somewhat inconsistent with your stated mission.

Nope, never said anything remotely close to that :) I said there are ways to prevent mistakes, like confirming transfers before executing them, etc

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#420

Post by louwhopley »

RickS wrote: post #184
louwhopley wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey RickS, they are still called MCCs :) (2) is a bit more tricky to get our hands on, at least in South Africa

Cool - is MCC identifiable as part of the auth process, in the way my parent comment describes (conditional auth based on MCC)

Yeah, MCC and a bunch of other information on the merchant (name, location, etc)
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