Only 4 days after losing their Lead Engineer. http://twitter.com/#!/KirinDave/status/70217986962751488
That's a tweet that suggests acrimonious split if I've ever seen one.
BankSimple: We have cards
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Re: BankSimple: We have cards
#52As I understand it, banks make a large amount of revenues from fees and such. How will BankSimple succeed if it doesn't use that? How will overdrafts work? Will the check just not go through? I love that they are trying to revolutionize the banking industry, and I wish them well. But I'm afraid that they'll succumb to adverse selection to the greatest degree. The reality is that most of a bank's customers are not pro…
Banks make ridiculous amounts of money. I'm sure missing out on a few fees in favor of new customers that add to their reserves won't be a big deal.
Re: BankSimple: We have cards
#53As I understand it, banks make a large amount of revenues from fees and such. How will BankSimple succeed if it doesn't use that? How will overdrafts work? Will the check just not go through? I love that they are trying to revolutionize the banking industry, and I wish them well. But I'm afraid that they'll succumb to adverse selection to the greatest degree. The reality is that most of a bank's customers are not pro…
The 1.5% they get from every single credit (and debit) card transaction as the issuing bank. I also understand that they'll have no branch locations. My local credit union has no fee checking and savings accounts, and in the years of using them they have only given me fees for the occasional coverdraft and absolutely nothing else. Just like how netflix is usurping cable companies $100 bills for a $10 + Internet bill,…
Interchange revenue is going to drastically decrease this year anyways, thanks to the Durbin amendment. Depending on it as a core portion of non-interest revenue would be folly.
Interchange fees have been in the news a lot lately, but they're notoriously difficult to put an exact figure on because PIN-based debit incurs a flat per-transaction fee, while signature debit is generally percentage based, and varies with the merchant in question. (eg, Gas stations will pay less interchange than Best Buy or online merchants.)
When you see figures in news stories, there are a lot of assumptions going on behind the scenes; eg, they'll typically assume a $40 transaction, aggregate PIN and signature based debit, are based on broad-industry studies, &c.
There is also variation depending on what debit networks are being used. If you look at the back of your debit card (especially if it's from a smaller regional bank or CU), you'll see many more logos than just Mastercard or Visa.
Re: BankSimple: We have cards
#54Re: BankSimple: We have cards
#55Only 4 days after losing their Lead Engineer. http://twitter.com/#!/KirinDave/status/70217986962751488
Anyone know the reason why? I'm not asking because the popcorn factor but rather to understand if there's something fundamentally broken about the concept & company.
Re: BankSimple: We have cards
#56Interesting idea. I wish it were 'MortgageSimple' though - the mortgage industry is in serious need of an overhaul even more than banks right now.
Re: BankSimple: We have cards
#57Can someone please tell me the benefits of BankSimple over all the other online banks or your local credit union? I'm afraid I don't get it.
In some ways, they're over-reaching. Sure, people hate the banks right now and it seems like a cash-cow industry that one could really disrupt. However, banking has a lot of competitors including not-for-profit ones in the form of credit unions. It will be very difficult to offer higher rates, better service, etc. than a non-profit credit union while one is trying to make a profit. However, if I were BankSimple and y…
In reading your second paragraph I did a bit of a double-take. You started to summarize almost exactly what Josh wrote to me in an email back when I contacted them with some questions. My point was that while I like the idea of a bank driven by new minds, ultimately I can't think of anything that they will give me that my current bank (Ally, if it's important) isn't giving me right now.
So much of the banking decision for me is based on how well the bank gets out of my way, low fees, and high interest rate. My current bank manages the last two perfectly well, has excellent customer service, and the few issues I have with the web presence are minor.
Josh mentioned that they won't be targeting the absolute rate chasers, but that they will be providing an experience that changes everything (my words, not his). I'm skeptical, but I've been surprised by plenty of other startups. I'm sure there's innovation to be had in the banking industry, I just don't know how much of a draw that innovation will end up being.
Unfortunately every time I look at their site I don't see much that I don't get out of my current bank and my email conversation with Josh was heavy on the criticism of my current bank but light on exactly WHAT they are doing wrong. So for now I'll have to ride the hype with everyone else and just see what comes out.
Re: BankSimple: We have cards
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's already happened you didn't notice (yet), it's called bitcoin.
You might want to add something to indicate that you were being sarcastic.
I'm totally serious. Really. Bitcoin; I love the stuff, I'm using it to build an empire all the way from over here in China. And it was because of the difficulty of getting a bank account in the U.S. to do business there (while not being a resident) and in general dealing with banks that pushed me to bitcoin. I've never had something so convienient regarding internet transfers or payments.
Re: BankSimple: We have cards
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's already happened you didn't notice (yet), it's called bitcoin.
You might make a case for "happening" with bitcoin, but the banking industry is far from "revolutionized" in the past-tense. Besides which, currency and customer support are two very different pieces of a much larger pie. At best, currency is the "implementation detail" behind a much larger set of day-to-day usability concerns inherent in banking.
Well given that just with the bitcoin client alone many banking services are either no longer needed or already provided by the bitcoin network.
Savings, transfers(much faster than any bank transfer, I mean my bitcoin reaches it's destination before I can finish filling in the bank transfer forms), security. All there.
I don't need customer support when there's no problems. I've never had something so easy to use to buy on the internet before.
Re: BankSimple: We have cards
#60Can someone please tell me the benefits of BankSimple over all the other online banks or your local credit union? I'm afraid I don't get it.
In some ways, they're over-reaching. Sure, people hate the banks right now and it seems like a cash-cow industry that one could really disrupt. However, banking has a lot of competitors including not-for-profit ones in the form of credit unions. It will be very difficult to offer higher rates, better service, etc. than a non-profit credit union while one is trying to make a profit. However, if I were BankSimple and y…
It will be very difficult to offer higher rates, better service, etc. than a non-profit credit union
Credit unions generally have disproportionally high overhead due to their size, and their rates are not great lately because of the corporate CU collapse. CUs face 38 basis points of assessments for the next two years to pay for the corporate bailouts.