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Launch HN: Brex (YC W17) – Corporate Credit Card for Startups

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Launch HN: Brex (YC W17) – Corporate Credit Card for Startups

#41

Post by hdubugras »

soared wrote: post #40

How is this different from a, for example, chase business credit card (or debit card for that matter)? If you have funding but no credit history you can get one. I was 19 when I got mine. I don't understand how connecting to my bank account provides 10-20x more credit if you're already verifying my startup's funding.

1 - chase will require a personal guarantee, what that means is that you’re personally responsible for the credit card. Your ssn is on the line. With Brex, we underwrite your company.

2 - our credit algorithm is actually very different and the limit changes according to your bank balances.

3 - it’s actually a credit card (technically a charge card), so it has all the protections of a standard credit card, people dont have access directly to your balance like a debit card.

Does that make sense?

Re: Launch HN: Brex (YC W17) – Corporate Credit Card for Startups

#42

Post by danielvinson »

hdubugras wrote: post #7
dsr_ wrote: post #5

This appears to be a debit card that processes at the end of a statement period rather than immediately. Is that accurate? If so, is the phrase "credit card" in the FAQ a mistake?

It's technically a Charge Card, which is a type of credit card that doesn't allow you to keep a balance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_card

How is that better than a debit card?

Re: Launch HN: Brex (YC W17) – Corporate Credit Card for Startups

#45

Post by crsv »

What will you be using my transactional information for? Will you be commercializing my transactional information in some way? With the banking information you require for sign up will you be funneling other financial information about my startup to other companies? What safeguards do I have that a competitor won't have a way to gain knowledge about the financial state of my company through data commercialized by Brex?

Re: Launch HN: Brex (YC W17) – Corporate Credit Card for Startups

#46

Post by jeffwass »

hdubugras wrote: post #41
soared wrote: post #40

How is this different from a, for example, chase business credit card (or debit card for that matter)? If you have funding but no credit history you can get one. I was 19 when I got mine. I don't understand how connecting to my bank account provides 10-20x more credit if you're already verifying my startup's funding.

1 - chase will require a personal guarantee, what that means is that you’re personally responsible for the credit card. Your ssn is on the line. With Brex, we underwrite your company. 2 - our credit algorithm is actually very different and the limit changes according to your bank balances. 3 - it’s actually a credit card (technically a charge card), so it has all the protections of a standard credit card, people dont…

Out of curiosity, what happens in the unfortunate case of a startup closing shop while still carrying a Brex balance?

Ie, does Brex have some legal senior debt-holder claim against the company’s assets? And what happens to the personal credit history of the founders, does it remain untarnished since they were never personally responsible?

Re: Launch HN: Brex (YC W17) – Corporate Credit Card for Startups

#47

Post by chaosite »

danielvinson wrote: post #42
hdubugras wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's technically a Charge Card, which is a type of credit card that doesn't allow you to keep a balance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_card

How is that better than a debit card?

Fraud.

You have protections under both systems (debit & credit), but the ones on the credit card are much more in your favor. With credit cards it's pretty hard to end up on the hook for the fraudulent charges (50$ limit on liability), while on debit cards you have to report the charges before a deadline.

Re: Launch HN: Brex (YC W17) – Corporate Credit Card for Startups

#48

Post by rokhayakebe »

kposehn wrote: post #44

Love the concept and you also managed to nab a former coworker of mine. But: I highly recommend not having that per-user fee waive promo. You never know who might signup today. We would all happily pay anyway most likely :)

I highly recommend not having that per-user fee waive promo

Correct. At $5/month per user I "assume" more people will sign up than if it were free. This is a corporate/business product, free does not yield more confidence.

Re: Launch HN: Brex (YC W17) – Corporate Credit Card for Startups

#49

Post by dang »

merinowool wrote: post #39
dang wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't break the site guidelines by taking threads on generic flamewar tangents. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

I did not intend to start a flame war, just wanted to highligh the fact that the page uses language that is deeply offensive to me. I think I have a right to do that especially that the authors were seeking an opinion. If you think I did break any rules I am happy for you or the moderator to delete my comment.

I believe you, but the problem is that then your language is offensive to somebody else and they also think they have a right to respond in kind, and down in flames we go. That's why the site rules ask people not to take HN threads off topic in inflammatory directions. Divisive topics on the internet work that way; they consume everything else if you let them, so we can't let them.

Re: Launch HN: Brex (YC W17) – Corporate Credit Card for Startups

#50

Post by cperciva »

hdubugras wrote: post #31
cperciva wrote: post #30

Thoughts in no particular order: 1. Tell me what the rewards are. Right now I get credit card reward points worth ~1.5% of my monthly spending; I'm not going to switch cards based on "we have fantastic rewards, trust us!" 2. Find a way to integrate with Stripe! They've already done all the AML/KYC stuff, and they also have plenty of information about my revenue. For that matter, why have money bounce via a bank accou…

1 - Today with Brex if you signup and have Brex be your primary card you get: $5k of AWS, $105 in Doordash and $105 on Instacart. Although we're building a new rewards program that will launch later this year, would love to hear your thoughts on what a great rewards program looks like for you. 2 - Interesting thought on the payment! Will investigate it. On the AML/KYC by regulation we can't rely on another party, we…

we're building a new rewards program that will launch later this year, would love to hear your thoughts on what a great rewards program looks like for you.

Honestly, dollars are fungible. For less sophisticated customers, points which can be redeemed specifically for travel are attractive because people anticipate getting better deals than they end up with; but I'd be disappointed if that works well for the audience you're targetting here. Just make it a cashback %age based on the fees you get from the card network.

On the AML/KYC by regulation we can't rely on another party, we have to do our own :/

Ah, too bad. But even if you have to do your own AML/KYC paperwork, pulling data from Stripe should help with risk scoring, right? In particular, for those of us with unfunded but profitable startups.

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