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Simple Bank Is Closing

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Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#341

Post by breckinloggins »

BeetleB wrote: post #326
ska wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not so sure you want your bank to do this, because there is no easy aggregate view if you have multiple banks and/or other accounts to track. I have I think 6 currently with no way to merge (curse of bouncing between countries). Gnucash is as baroque as you say, but the only one of your options above that actually works and solves this problem (aggregate view) reasonably, of course that can't help you with things…

I haven't used GnuCash in many years, but when I did, it did not support envelope budgeting.

The way I found to do it is to use the account tree feature to have "virtual subaccounts" under real accounts. That way you'd have something like:

- Checking - Food - Housing - Entertainment - Emergency Reserve

Your paycheck would go into checking and then you'd "fund" those subaccounts from the top level account. Then, when you reconcile your statements (I did it every day by going online), you "spend" out of the subaccounts.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#342

Post by therealrootuser »

abrowne wrote: post #40
bigie35 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Former C1 employee: I would give Capital One another shot. Their tech and apps are best in class and and built in-house. They also contribute to the open source community (or did).

Their website for credit cards is my favorite of any I've tried. My least favorite by far was Chase when I had the Amazon-linked card.

May I present you with "US Bank"? Whose web interface looks like it was designed by an angry intern in 1997.

Then again, we're all sitting here reading on the minimal UI of Hacker News, so...

I find the Chase credit card interface to be pretty reasonable, but then again, I'm not logging into it every day.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#343

Post by wyclif »

alexhutcheson wrote: post #310
vinay427 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they refund ATM withdrawal fees Most importantly, they do this (as well as priority mailing replacement cards) globally. I have yet to find another bank besides possibly Fidelity's checking account (?) that does this with no stated limit. It's invaluable for those who travel abroad to have access to local currencies with no hassles and a refund of all fees.

I managed to get my Schwab debit card eaten by ATMs twice in one trip once, and Schwab was able to quickly Fedex replacement cards to addresses I provided in Thailand and Hong Kong. It stopped my trip from turning into a big headache - I was really impressed.

This is the huge advantage of Schwab over other options I've explored, especially if you are a US citizen but work abroad as a digital nomad. I like CapitalOne, too, but they could not FedEx a replacement card to me when my card got eaten because of what they claimed was a security issue. Schwab could! Also, Schwab's customer service is top notch.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#344

Post by eins1234 »

baby wrote: post #275
drewpc wrote: post #224

I'm a Simple customer and incredibly upset by this decision. For those not familiar with their value add, Simple is essentially "envelope budgeting" built into a banking application. Sure, it's a bank and does bank things. What sets Simple apart is that I can allocate $n/month for an expense and it takes it out of my paycheck and puts it into that expense "envelope". When a charge comes in for that expense, it pulls…

Two things: - Monzo and Revolut are better products - they discriminate against permanent residents who are not citizens (you can’t use their service) So from my point of view: heh

FWIW, I tried to sign up for Revolut in US and was not able to proceed because I'm a TN Visa holder, and they don't have an option to use foreign passport + I94 to verify status like every other bank I've signed up for does. Contacted support as well and they couldn't do anything about it.

Was a pretty disappointing experience for a supposedly forward-thinking bank.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#345

Post by skygazer »

thelean12 wrote: post #328
blaines wrote: post #298

Thanks to the countless folks that built a customer focused bank. It's really sad to see Simple wind down, and it's been the best bank I've had the chance to use. Their service has been unmatched compared even to the best local banks in my area. I've been a customer for nearly a decade now - wow. Early on I exchanged emails with Josh and the team not just regarding banking matters, but reporting bugs, design issues,…

Why are so many people applauding their customer service? You can't even call them after 3pm PT.

It used to be amazing. You could start a real time text chat even in the middle of the night, and they were so helpful, professional and friendly, and followed up when they said they would. It was shocking and wonderful.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#346

Post by madeofpalk »

baby wrote: post #275
drewpc wrote: post #224

I'm a Simple customer and incredibly upset by this decision. For those not familiar with their value add, Simple is essentially "envelope budgeting" built into a banking application. Sure, it's a bank and does bank things. What sets Simple apart is that I can allocate $n/month for an expense and it takes it out of my paycheck and puts it into that expense "envelope". When a charge comes in for that expense, it pulls…

Two things: - Monzo and Revolut are better products - they discriminate against permanent residents who are not citizens (you can’t use their service) So from my point of view: heh

it’s not really helpful to provide UK banks as an alternative to a US bank

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#347

Post by pmart123 »

Saris wrote: post #270
drewpc wrote: post #224

I'm a Simple customer and incredibly upset by this decision. For those not familiar with their value add, Simple is essentially "envelope budgeting" built into a banking application. Sure, it's a bank and does bank things. What sets Simple apart is that I can allocate $n/month for an expense and it takes it out of my paycheck and puts it into that expense "envelope". When a charge comes in for that expense, it pulls…

Ally added buckets last year on their savings accounts which is the same kind of idea, just not quite as mature yet.

I take it you have to use debit to pay for everything for this feature to work well or can you integrate your credit card expenses too?

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#348

Post by jdgoesmarching »

codazoda wrote: post #253
drewpc wrote: post #224

I'm a Simple customer and incredibly upset by this decision. For those not familiar with their value add, Simple is essentially "envelope budgeting" built into a banking application. Sure, it's a bank and does bank things. What sets Simple apart is that I can allocate $n/month for an expense and it takes it out of my paycheck and puts it into that expense "envelope". When a charge comes in for that expense, it pulls…

Try Ally Bank for this. I use it in a similar way. They used to let you create a bunch of accounts but they now have "buckets" in their accounts. I find it pretty useful either way.

Only for savings, which is neat but not as useful.

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#349

Post by mrspandex »

drewpc wrote: post #224

I'm a Simple customer and incredibly upset by this decision. For those not familiar with their value add, Simple is essentially "envelope budgeting" built into a banking application. Sure, it's a bank and does bank things. What sets Simple apart is that I can allocate $n/month for an expense and it takes it out of my paycheck and puts it into that expense "envelope". When a charge comes in for that expense, it pulls…

I recommend PNC's Virtual Wallet actually. It's not quite as nice as what you're describing here, but the main interface is a calendar which shows upcoming bill payments, scheduled ACH transfers, checks you've written, and your paycheck. It uses that to calculate a free balance before your next paycheck. It also has tools to schedule automatic transfers between accounts (checking/spend, reserve, and savings).

Their landing page for the product is absolutely awful: https://www.pnc.com/en/personal-banking/virtual-wallet-overv...

You can see screenshots of at least the mobile version on the play store though: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pnc.ecomme...

Re: Simple Bank Is Closing

#350

Post by therealrootuser »

gcblkjaidfj wrote: post #221
cko wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a happy Schwab customer. Their app isn't what you would call simple, but you can do almost all your investing and banking there (I say almost because I own some physical assets) and they refund ATM withdrawal fees.

most bank do that, specially after you are over an amount in account. The banks that do that, usually also have the worse investing options (e.g. Schwab, HSBC...)

> most bank do that

No, actually that is pretty rare. Getting unlimited domestic and international ATM fees reimbursed is not the norm.

> specially after you are over an amount in account

But that's just the point you're missing. Schwab does it at $0, not $1,000,000.

> Usually also have the worse investing options

Eh? Are we talking about the same company here? Schwab has an enormous array of investing options, given that their main business is that of a brokerage.

> HSBC

Also eh? When did HSBC become remotely competitive in the brokerage space? (And isn't HSBC winding down their US operations?)

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