BankSimple: We have cards • Hacker News Board

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#131

Post by eridius » Sat, May 21, 2011, 4:12 AM UTC

zitterbewegung wrote: post #123

Is it just me or does it seem sort of odd that they don't mention the FDIC anywhere on the page (whether they will be insured) You can't advertise that you will be FDIC insured?

See the FAQ (https://banksimple.com/faq/).

> Will my deposits be insured by the FDIC?

> Yes, all deposits will be insured to the FDIC limit (currently $250,000) through our partner banks at launch, just like with any other major bank (or credit union through the NCUA). FDIC insurance guarantees the safety of your deposits.

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#132

Post by nevinera » Sat, May 21, 2011, 4:14 AM UTC

smackfu wrote: post #96

jrockway wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No? Programmers get better offers all the time. Why make less money at an uncertain startup when you can make more money somewhere that has a certain future? I have no idea that this happened, but people leave for reasons other than "the product sucks". In fact, I would guess that compensation and getting along with your coworkers are much bigger factors.

My concern would be "gee, hope he wrote good documentation."

I sincerely doubt the code is even 5% of the effort that went and is going into making this company. They're building a product in one of the most heavily regulated sectors in a market with an enormous barrier to entry. Dumping the entire codebase and starting from scratch would probably take only a few months, except that the new code would likely have to be re-certified by a dozen agencies.

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#133

Post by n09n » Sat, May 21, 2011, 4:20 AM UTC

palish wrote: post #121

dusklight wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Errr ... can you explain the reasoning behind your reply? Did you feel that the average reader would not be intelligent enough to notice that you did not actually answer the question? (why did Dave quit/was fired). If anything your post has gotten me to trust your service significantly less, because it looks like you think you can get away with duping potential customers with some polite doublespeak. Can you explain…

It's none of your business why Dave quit/was fired.

Of course not. And if al3x had just said that, it would have been swell. In fact, that would have fit much better with his claim of openness than the cookie-cutter non-answer he actually gave.

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#134

Post by c00p3r » Sat, May 21, 2011, 4:29 AM UTC

Looking at what they have on github convinces me that they will fail. They are playing with Javascript and Java toys. This is a wasting of time and money. ^_^

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#135

Post by joshfraser » Sat, May 21, 2011, 4:51 AM UTC

Judging by the IIN of the card in the picture it looks like they are using Visa behind the scenes.

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#136

Post by stellar678 » Sat, May 21, 2011, 6:18 AM UTC

palish wrote: post #120

thinkcomp wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But I thought BankSimple wasn't a bank, despite the confusing name.

"BankSimple: Personal banking from a company that respects you." That's not a bank?

I'd say the problem is how different parties conceive of the word "bank". When you're a consumer, the word "bank" means the entity that you interact with to do your banking. At the same time, the legal definition of "bank" is something entirely different, requiring compliance with many more laws than what BankSimple is doing. So, as far as I can see from the point of view of a customer of BankSimple, they will be "my bank" because you interact with them and not with the banks that are actually responsible for the safekeeping of your money while it's in your account.

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#137

Post by mixmastamyk » Sat, May 21, 2011, 7:07 AM UTC

cpeterso wrote: post #72

mixmastamyk wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, there are already good alternatives to consumer-hostile banks, such as the fantastic Charles Schwab. I always recommend them to people because they pay my banking fees, are insured, ethical/reputable, pioneered the discount brokerage, and have great 24/7 customer service. They've helped me out of numerous jams over the years.

> Right, there are already good alternatives to consumer-hostile banks, such as the fantastic Charles Schwab. Do you mean Charles Schwab is the "good alternative" or the "consumer-hostile bank"?

The first one. I hoped the comma and "fantastic" would make it clearer. ;)

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#138

Post by pbreit » Sat, May 21, 2011, 7:19 AM UTC

orijing wrote: post #26

As 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…

Making money in banking is trivially easy. The big banks need to assess all sorts of fees to sustain their humongous and humongously unnecessary cost structures.

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#139

Post by pbreit » Sat, May 21, 2011, 7:25 AM UTC

RexRollman wrote: post #6

BankSimple sound interesting but they will have to be offering something really awesome for me to even remotely consider doing business with a commercial bank ever again. (There days, I only deal with credit unions.)

You are in a very small minority (credit union customers).

Re: BankSimple: We have cards

#140

Post by pbreit » Sat, May 21, 2011, 7:25 AM UTC

zitterbewegung wrote: post #123

Is it just me or does it seem sort of odd that they don't mention the FDIC anywhere on the page (whether they will be insured) You can't advertise that you will be FDIC insured?

It's you.