Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

BankSimple Launches Preview Site

banksimple.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 112 posts

Re: BankSimple Launches Preview Site

#51

Post by joevandyk »

mey wrote: post #30
donpark wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BankSimple is not a bank. Think of them as a user-friendly GUI over a group of banks. As to where money actually gets deposited, it probably depends on which bank offers the best deal at any given time.

Doesn't mean that GUI doesn't have control of your financial interactions, moving your financial accounts between underlying banks, or being involved in any of the interchanges (ACH/Debit/Credit Rails, etc)

Your statement confuses me. Are you suggesting that GUI has control?

Re: BankSimple Launches Preview Site

#52

Post by pennig »

phlux wrote: post #39
dschobel wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same way Zappos just sells shoes? A nice UI, efficient operations and customer service which doesn't actively hate you can make a pretty compelling value proposition.

True, but we all have such a sour taste from our experience with all banks that we are rightly a little squeamish to the concept. I think the subconscious reaction is "yeah right, trust another banker?" This got me: "...designing the complete consumer banking experience, via the web and your smartphone.." I am not sure how good this will be, I mean, credit unions were supposed to be the answer to big banks issues - b…

What people really need is fundamental help with managing their spending and finances.

Check the "Know what you can safely spend" blurb under The Product section. It seems like it's in the ballpark of your grand vision. You can allocate spending/saving buckets, and it will tell you — based on your income/spending streams — how much discretionary money you have at any given point. Seems really handy.

Re: BankSimple Launches Preview Site

#53

Post by Q6T46nT668w6i3m »

nathanwdavis wrote: post #28
abp wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't https://www.banksimple.com/faq/ help?

I didn't see a link to the FAQ anywhere. I see now it is a small link at the very bottom. Regardless, I still don't see what the great value proposition is other than that they are friendly. My bank (a small local bank) has never charged me a overdraft fee, never had to wait more than a minute, and I can only remember one time that I paid an ATM fee. I must have just been lucky enough to get one of the non-evil banks…

Hi, I’m Allen. I’m an employee at BankSimple.

We think that’s great.

In the past, we’ve shown animosity toward banks without too much distinction. In retrospect, this might’ve been a mistake. Hopefully, we’re a refuge for resentful and puzzled customers of a certain subset of national banks rather than a competitor to a non-profit credit union. We wholly realize the necessary and worthy function that credits unions fulfill that neither we nor any national bank could accomplish. While we realize we might not be the right fit for some customers, we believe we’ll be a worthwhile alternative for many others.

Lastly, I’ve personally spent a significant amount of time thinking about ways in which BankSimple and other financial service startups could further bolster credit union adoption and satisfaction to better pursue their mission (e.g. opening financial research to nonprofits and academics or technology sharing). I’d love to hear from anyone who has thoughts on this.

Re: BankSimple Launches Preview Site

#54

Post by masterj »

ndaiger wrote: post #41
rms wrote: post #34

In the meanwhile, I've been very happy with Charles Schwab's checking account. Free as in beer, you're allowed to overdraft with no overdraft fees, free ATM fees at all ATMs (including international!)

Yeah, me too. And when I've called customer service, it has always been fantastic. I've never felt like the rep has just been reading a script.

I just opened a checking account with Schwab (and the requisite brokerage account that goes along with it). As I was registering the account online, the web system threw an error, and I couldn't finish.

The next day I got a voicemail from one of their operators inquiring about my account with a number to call him back. The number went straight to him, and my account was straightened out in a few minutes. They also sent me checks, something I had never bothered paying for with my account at Chase.

And I haven't even put any money in the account yet. So far I'm very impressed.

Re: BankSimple Launches Preview Site

#55

Post by scotje »

city41 wrote: post #36
callmeed wrote: post #27

My email has a . before the @ and was deemed invalid ...

You mean like foo.bar@mail.com? Mine does too (most gmail addys do), and it worked. It did say my email address was invalid, but focusing and unfocusing the textbox fixed it. I don't think it's an issue with the email format, just the form is buggy.

Unless it has changed recently, Gmail ignores the dots anyway. So if you find a form that wont validate your john.smith@gmail.com, you can use johnsmith@gmail.com and still receive it.

Re: BankSimple Launches Preview Site

#56

Post by jond2062 »

This bank "overlay" concept appears to be very similar to what SmartyPig (http://www.smartypig.com) has been doing for a couple years. The revenue model is slightly different (SmartyPig partners with retailers to offer cash back bonuses to customers if they convert their savings goal into a retailer gift card or load it on to the SmartyPig Cash Rewards Card), but the general model of leveraging existing banks for client deposits is the same. I will be interested to see how competitive BankSimple's interest rates are and if they can differentiate themselves in a meaningful way from the many great online banks that already exist (INGDirect, Ally, etc.).

Re: BankSimple Launches Preview Site

#58

Post by emmettnicholas »

rms wrote: post #34

In the meanwhile, I've been very happy with Charles Schwab's checking account. Free as in beer, you're allowed to overdraft with no overdraft fees, free ATM fees at all ATMs (including international!)

Same. The web interface leaves something to be desired (e.g. focus events firing while I try to type my password, broken middle-click behavior, etc.), but the reimbursed ATM fees are so cash.

Re: BankSimple Launches Preview Site

#60

Post by HectorRamos »

abp wrote: post #13
Dramatize wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What countries will they support?

The US. For the time being, we are concentrating on the US market. Banking regulation and service levels vary widely around the world. After we launch in the US, we may look at international expansion.

Here's hoping that it works in Puerto Rico.

I'm sure BankSimple trusts Banco Popular :)

Post reply on HN