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Robinhood launches 3% checking account

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Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#111
post #88
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems very likely. Robin Hood users seem to tend towards young and educated, so I imagine the transaction data would be a goldmine.

Is it? I'd expect anyone educated enough to actively trade with robinhood is not using a debit card for ordinary spending.

This is purely anecdotal from e.g. the finance subreddits/websites I read, but Robin Hood seems to be the first trading experience for a lot of its users (likely because the mobile experience is so seamless compared to something like ETrade). I meant educated as in "holds a higher education degree", not necessarily in the way of trading.

Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#112
post #27
post #21

While 3% is a good deal, there have been internet-only banks for quite some time now, all of whom look pretty much like this. Radius and Axos are two examples that have been around for a while.

It's not very common on checking accounts though, even for online banks. 3% interest on online savings though is a different story!

Is it really? I search for the best interest rates on savings accounts fairly regularly and I haven’t seen 3% since the Great Recession. Radius only offers 2.05% and Axos a mere 1.3%. A quick survey reveals a handful of places offering 2.25%, and I don’t see anything higher.

Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#113

This is higher than even most long-term CDs at the moment. Anyone have thoughts on how this is possible? Possibly a teaser that will adjust down soon?

My bank is offering a 3.01% 18 month CD, and a quick perusal of current 12 month rates shows ~2.8% isn't hard to get: https://www.depositaccounts.com/cd/

5-year CDs are well over 3%.

Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It looks like both FDIC and SIPC have a 250K protection, are there any other differences between the two that would matter to an average consumer?

Maybe: > SIPC insurance provides protection for your cash balance and securities holdings if Robinhood fails financially, but does not cover investment losses due to declines in the value of securities themselves . Emphasis mine. If you put $250,000 into an FDIC-protected checking account, that account holds cash and FDIC protects the full amount of that cash. If you put $250,000 in an SIPC-protected brokerage accoun…

What are securities in this context? Is that not something that you personally choose to invest in?

Because if it is, then this is basically the same. Your cash is fully insured, but obviously your investments run investment risk.

If Robinhood automatically converts your money into securities, then it's a different matter. It sounds unlikely to me that any bank account would work that way, but I don't know how Robinhood works.

Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#115
For folks trying to understand this, some context which may be useful:

Checking accounts are loss leaders virtually everywhere, the exception being smaller community banks. Their primary revenue stream was, once upon a time, net interest income, but these days due to the extremely low interest environment and alternate sources of funding the revenue stream is more weighted towards fees (primarily NSFs, although that was hit a few years ago) and debit card interchange.

Robinhood also likely expects to not become the park-your-money account of choice for older dentists but rather to become the spend-your-money account for their millennial userbase. With high velocity of money and low balances the interest expense is minimal and, to the extent they use debit cards, the interchange revenue can be material. (In a stylized example where someone makes $2k a month and spends $200 on debit card purchases and $1.8k on rent/etc the interest cost for the year is ~$30 and the debit card interchange for the year is ~$60, even ignoring potential interest revenue.)

This is roughly in the same line as their core strategy, which is spending what would otherwise be a marketing budget on keeping commissions at zero, making money on the other ways brokerages make money. If you do not understand how a brokerage makes money, I encourage you to peruse the annual reports of e.g. eTrade or TD Ameritrade, which will happily explain their revenue sources and why commissions are a surprisingly small portion.

Metacomment: geeks who believe they have outmathed a financial firm should ask themselves "Are financial firms likely to be bad at math?" and "Are financial firms incapable of hiring their own geeks?"

Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#116

This is higher than even most long-term CDs at the moment. Anyone have thoughts on how this is possible? Possibly a teaser that will adjust down soon?

i suspect its a combination of (1) 6 month treasuries are yielding ~2.5% (2) they are getting revenue share from interchange fees on spending that they are passing on in the form of interest as opposed to some cash back/rewards program

Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does this mean it's not smart to store more than 250k in robinhood? (I don't, just wondering)

You shouldn’t store more than $250k in cash in any kind of bank or brokerage due to the insurance limit (unless the bank has account insurance beyond $250k.) Investments are different, of course. Edit: I forgot about the details of the limit. Thank you all.

Interactive Brokers introduced a Bank Deposit Sweep Program this year. They distribute cash over 10 banks to provide up to $2.5mio FDIC insurance.

Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#118
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They aren't part of FDIC but they have SIPC insurance https://support.robinhood.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001469903 Is my money insured? Your cash in Robinhood is insured up to $250,000 by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). SIPC protects cash deposits in your account in the unlikely event that Robinhood fails. Up to what amount? SIPC insurance covers your checking, savings and investments. Your cas…

Apparently, SIPC doesn't provide blanket coverage[1]. So no coverage against, i.e. fire, flood, robbery or embezzlement [2]. The first 3 may not be relevant with digital bank that doesn't handle cash, but the last one might be. EDIT: I misread the second reference. apparently FDIC does not insure against theft or embezzlement, but according to the first link FDIC does provide blanket coverage unlike SPIC. it's still…

Where did you get the "So no coverage against, i.e. fire, flood, robbery or embezzlement" claim from? It isn't in [1] or [2] and contradicts this:

https://www.fool.com/investing/brokerage/2014/05/11/what-sip...

Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#119

For folks trying to understand this, some context which may be useful: Checking accounts are loss leaders virtually everywhere, the exception being smaller community banks. Their primary revenue stream was, once upon a time, net interest income, but these days due to the extremely low interest environment and alternate sources of funding the revenue stream is more weighted towards fees (primarily NSFs, although that…

Just to add a 3rd question to balance the other two: "Are financial firms able to change the way they've operated for decades (centuries?) easily?"

Re: Robinhood launches 3% checking account

#120
post #21

While 3% is a good deal, there have been internet-only banks for quite some time now, all of whom look pretty much like this. Radius and Axos are two examples that have been around for a while.

Radius:

> Earn up to 2.05% APY on balances of $25,000 & up and meet your savings goals faster. Don’t quite have $25,000? Radius High-Yield Savings still earns 1.50% APY on balances of $2,500 to $24,999.99.

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