BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple • Hacker News Board

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#31

Post by shamirk » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:28 PM UTC

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?

Guys - the FAQ https://www.simple.com/faq/has all the answers you need. - FDIC insurance is pass through from the underlying banks. - you open your account through us, and manage it through us.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#32

Post by al3x » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:28 PM UTC

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…

The "Bank" in "BankSimple" was problematic for us. We're technically not a bank. We also don't want to be associated with the way people have approached banking, particularly in the US.

Sorry you're not crazy about the new name, but we're happy with it. It gives us a lot of room to grow.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#33

Post by k-mcgrady » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:29 PM UTC

wwdevries wrote: post #15

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…

Coincidentally I noticed that both Simple and Square do not mention anything (anymore) about who they are. No about page, no team page, no nothing. Especially with companies that are all about your money, I'd at least like to know who's running the shop. Since it's pretty much the standard for startups to tell about themselves on their web site, this must have been a deliberate choice. What advantage does it have – e…

It's probably to do with image, particularly how that looks to ordinary consumers. If consumers look at a bank/payments company and see it is run by a small team of 20/30 something geeks, rather than wall street types they might be anxious about letting them take care of their money.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#34

Post by al3x » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:29 PM UTC

vaporstun wrote: post #12

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…

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…

Thanks for getting it :)

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#35

Post by warmfuzzykitten » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:30 PM UTC

Do you really want to let Simple take care of your money?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#36

Post by corin_ » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:30 PM UTC

tdoggette wrote: post #22

evan_ wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Official name "SunTrust Bank", owned by "SunTrust Banks, Inc."

Official name "Wells Fargo Bank, N.A." owned by "Wells Fargo & Company".

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#37

Post by vaporstun » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:30 PM UTC

pyrhho wrote: post #14

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…

No more redundant than Bank of America or Citibank...

I disagree. Even Citibank doesn't use the "bank" part on their main website, instead going by just Citi: http://citi.com

There are also many other large banks that omit "Bank" from their name such as Wells Fargo.

Keep in mind this is not a traditional bank, so following the rules of traditional banks would be inappropriate. They are better off following the rules of progressive startups which have been using simplicity in their names quite successfully as of late (e.g. Square).

As for Bank of America, you couldn't remove the Bank from Bank of America or it'd just be America which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I don't think Bank of America, aside from controlling most of the banks in this country, is an objectively great brand. Rather, I thought it always tried to piggyback and sound like a federal entity which it's not and always found its name disingenuous.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#38

Post by al3x » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:33 PM UTC

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…

Hi, cofounder of Simple here.

From a regulatory perspective, we're a lot like a prepaid card. It's a well-known model that banking authorities, legal experts, and the government is comfortable with. You probably already use financial products that work similarly to the way we do.

That said, we hold ourselves to the same security standards that "real" banks do. I'd like to think we're going above and beyond when it comes to security.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#39

Post by steve8918 » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:33 PM UTC

noodle wrote: post #25

esrauch wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I still don't get it. When I deposit $1000 into Simple, will I get a statement from Simple or the "banking partner". Can I go directly to the "banking partner" and withdraw my money or must I always go through Simple?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#40

Post by al3x » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 4:35 PM UTC

wwdevries wrote: post #15

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…

Coincidentally I noticed that both Simple and Square do not mention anything (anymore) about who they are. No about page, no team page, no nothing. Especially with companies that are all about your money, I'd at least like to know who's running the shop. Since it's pretty much the standard for startups to tell about themselves on their web site, this must have been a deliberate choice. What advantage does it have – e…

Hi, cofounder of Simple here.

We had a "team" page on our previous site (under the BankSimple name). We plan on revising and reviving that page, it just didn't make the cut for our updated site for the Simple rebranding.

I like knowing who's behind the products and services I use too.