101–110 of 295 posts
This move strikes me as being a little too quaint for a financial service. I can't tell what I'd be signing up for. While their language is very friendly, it's also obtuse, and that doesn't foster trust.
What questions would you like us to answer, or where do you think we can be more specific? We're always trying to improve the way we explain what we do, so we're open to suggestions :)
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…
As I understand it: Banking is a commodity product. Other than access to ATMs, customer service, and online banking there's not much difference between banks (other than rates & fees, of course). Same goes for the customers, honestly. If the bank doesn't extend you credit anyway, its a "your money is green" situation. Yet the marketplace is still inefficient, and they think they can make money by making it efficient.…
That doesn't sound very great to me.
Seriously broken website, at least it is in IE8.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Still confused. Is the account at the partner bank in my name, or that of Simple?
I have no affiliation with Simple, but the relationship seems pretty straight forward. "Where" your money is becomes an abstraction. You hold an account with Simple, and are issued a Visa card with which you can access the funds in your account. Everything beyond that is transparent to you. The accounts would technically be "in your name", since the funds are yours, but you never have to interface with the other bank…
I already have a checking account. The website interface works. Its not trendy glossy HTML5, but that's ok because my money isn't handed over to a third party who gets to profit off its interest on my behalf. What problem are you solving? The user interface for bank's sites are not good? So you are a different user interface and all I have to do is put my money in a black box? Who is funding these startups, wow. I ha…
You're right that user experience is a primary concern for us. The interface that most people have their financial data is extremely poor. This makes answering questions about your financial life slow and clumsy, if it's even possible given the tools your bank provides. That keeps a lot of people from making the right financial decisions to stay debt-free and grow their savings.
To your point about your checking account: many checking accounts don't actually have simple terms. Increasingly, they're full of hidden fees and complex conditions.
More broadly, we're doing what we're doing because many banks aren't investing in design, technology, and customer service. Instead, they're investing in new ways to squeeze as much money as they can out of their customers without innovating. We're here to continuously experiment and improve. That may mean that we're not the right banking solution for everyone, but we think a lot of people are going to like what we've built.
Did anyone else see this in the FAQ? Who can use Simple? To be eligible, you must: - Be a resident of the United States and over the age of 18; - Have a Social Security number; and - Own a smartphone (iPhone or Android). Do I really need to have a smartphone? Well, you need to have an iOS (version 4.2 or higher) or Android device. Android phones and iPhones are preferable so that you can deposit checks using your sma…
Hi, cofounder of Simple here. We require a smartphone for more than just mobile check deposit. We want people to have our app installed so we can use it for multifactor authentication, for example. We also want to do rich push notifications of account activity, and SMS (the only viable non-smartphone option for that) isn't a great experience. Today, there's still a bunch of people who don't have smartphones. But the…
A number of Internet banks used to say "hey, you could mail us checks, or you know, just keep a brick-and-mortar account open and transfer them over." The way the FAQ reads to me is that Simple are a bit bloody-minded about it, what if I never get checks? (I must have had about 2 or 3 this year, total). Then I wouldn't need a smartphone, but Simple would still not let me sign up. Saying things like multifactor authentication would help push the idea that the smartphone is really required, rather than just something helpful.
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…
I don't get it either. I want to know who my bank is. I also don't find checking accounts and credit cards to be all that complicated. My bank (USAA), for example, is pretty good. The idea of putting a startup between them and me just seems odd. It all just seems like a glorified IT system for banks.
Most banks do use "glorified IT systems". Very few of them develop their technology in-house.
Think about it this way: you can have a bank that buys their technology from another company, or you can have a technology, design, and customer service company that partners with banks. Both are viable options, but I think our approach is going to better for retail banking customers in the long run.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Simple's FAQ says no fees: https://www.simple.com/faq/ Although you may be referring to third-party ATM fees. I'm curious which banks still reimburse for third-party ATM fees. Can you share the name of your bank?
Not the OP, but I have a bank account at Schwab[1], and they refund all ATM fees that other banks charge. [1] http://www.schwab.com/
Anecdote: I have been with Schwab for years and love their offering. One weekend in Vegas I accumulated something like $150 in ATM fees and they refunded every penny of it. Like Alex said, this was only possible through previous trade commissions/fees they've generated from me.
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…
I don't get it either. I want to know who my bank is. I also don't find checking accounts and credit cards to be all that complicated. My bank (USAA), for example, is pretty good. The idea of putting a startup between them and me just seems odd. It all just seems like a glorified IT system for banks.
Simple would do well to match USAA's service, but in reality they are competing with the BofA's, Chase's, and WF's of the world, and beating them on service shouldn't be too difficult. I think Simple is a step between your bank's actual web interface and a service like Mint.com. It's certainly a gap in the market. The question remains "is there a market in the gap?"