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BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

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Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#21

Post by esrauch »

noodle wrote: post #9
steve8918 wrote: post #4

Does someone know exactly what they are? If we deposit money with them, how do we know we will get our money back? What does it mean when they say: "we're not a bank, but we deposit your money in FDIC-insured funds"? I'm all for introducing new types of banking entities, and I'm willing to even try this company out, but in the age of post-Madoff and personally having my identity stolen, how do I know who these guys a…

> What does it mean when they say: "we're not a bank, but we deposit your money in FDIC-insured funds"? it means that "simple"/"banksimple" is not a bank itself. you deposit your funds through their interface into actual banks while simple provides an interface to track and visualize your money. thats my understanding, at least. they definitely can't bill themselves as a bank when they aren't one.

Doesn't that mean that you don't actually get any of the legal protections (insurance and assurances) that comes with keeping your money in a bank or credit union?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#22

Post by tdoggette »

evan_ wrote: post #13
vaporstun wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I think this may be true at first, if they gain any critical mass, the "Bank" in BankSimple would become redundant and wasteful. I think it is good and forward looking to rebrand it Simple before launch so that becomes synonymous with banking. Imagine if Google was instead called GoogleSearch? Google became synonymous for Search and therefore the Search portion of their name is superfluous. I for one applaud th…

Like how the "bank" in "Bank of America" is redundant and wasteful? To clarify, I don't really care either way- I'm sure they had other reasons for dropping the "Bank" from their name, especially since they're not really a bank.

Wells Fargo and Suntrust are well-known banks, too.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#23

Post by benatkin »

cynicalkane wrote: post #3

I thought BankSimple was a great brand, because it tells you what it is and fits well with the current zeitgeist. What is "BankSimple?" A way to bank that's simple. Sounds interesting! Everyone hates how complicated banking is, right? Let's go to the website to find out more. What is "Simple?" Who knows. A website that has something to do with banking--or so I'm told--with yet another web 2.0 one-word "brand", a real…

> What is "Simple?"

Shoes.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#25

Post by noodle »

esrauch wrote: post #21
noodle wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What does it mean when they say: "we're not a bank, but we deposit your money in FDIC-insured funds"? it means that "simple"/"banksimple" is not a bank itself. you deposit your funds through their interface into actual banks while simple provides an interface to track and visualize your money. thats my understanding, at least. they definitely can't bill themselves as a bank when they aren't one.

Doesn't that mean that you don't actually get any of the legal protections (insurance and assurances) that comes with keeping your money in a bank or credit union?

https://www.simple.com/faq/

> your cash is deposited with our bank partners in FDIC-insured products.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#26

Post by beforebeta »

Anyone notice the name "Joeseph Schumpeter" on the sample card? Its a reference to Schumpeter's Creative Destruction - further implying them to be in the process of destroying the old ways of doing things (in this case banking) with a radically different approach. Love it!

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#27

Post by gojomo »

schraeds wrote: post #10
cynicalkane wrote: post #3

I thought BankSimple was a great brand, because it tells you what it is and fits well with the current zeitgeist. What is "BankSimple?" A way to bank that's simple. Sounds interesting! Everyone hates how complicated banking is, right? Let's go to the website to find out more. What is "Simple?" Who knows. A website that has something to do with banking--or so I'm told--with yet another web 2.0 one-word "brand", a real…

Mint, Square, Ally. I think the naming convention fits other examples of successful startups in this space.

'Ally' is not a successful startup. Ally is the rebranded GMAC, whose founding dates back to 1919. GMAC was renamed (and officially transformed into a registered bank) as part of a series of changes which included receiving over $16 billion in federal bailout assistance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_Financial

Though I suppose 'Ally' was a spectacular renaming, and their advertising is working, if it gives people the impression Ally is a can-do startup!

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#28

Post by roc »

smarmius wrote: post #5

Honestly, I don't understand this rebranding. Are they making things other than banking simple? I love the idea of making banking more simple and easier, and that's why I thought their previous name, BankSimple, was better. Can someone help me understand this?

I think this is just a PR (over-)reaction to the current negative image of "banks" and provides some space between Simple and the "banking" practices it skewers in its marketing. (It is somewhat problematic to say "banks are bad for you" and "we're not a bank" when your name screams "we're a bank")

I guess it's also somewhat logically defensible, since FDIC-insured credit unions are just as qualified to be Simple's back-end partners. Though it still feels like a dodge, given how foggy the relationship is between Simple and their partner institutions. It feels like they want people to not think about Simple accounts supporting places like BofA, while still being free to partner with BofA in the background.

That said, I wonder if they've considered a "community-focused" account option, where people can specify that they only want their funds to be deposited with credit unions, accepting whatever slightly worse terms come with less competition.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#30

Post by al3x »

buro9 wrote: post #16

I'm not sure I understand the proposition now. Who is the relationship with? As in... who has my money? I read it as them hiding that from you for simplicity... you get this one interface and customer service which is wonderful, but to achieve this they are the proxy to your bank? So... do they set up the bank accounts, or do you? Do you have the ability to go straight to your bank, or does Simple preclude that abili…

Hi, cofounder of Simple here.

We work with partner banks who hold on to deposits. For all intents and purposes, you never have to think about who that partner bank is, but if you ever need to contact them directly, you'll know where your funds are.

You might find our FAQ informative: https://www.simple.com/faq/.

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