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BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

simple.com

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Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#141

Post by firefoxman1 »

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…

This may be one of the few times I like the original name better than the one a company re-brands itself as.

I wish companies could so something like a pretend re-brand and make a fake post on their blog, submit it to HN and then see what the feedback is before just jumping in. HN provides some of the best and most brutal feedback I've seen in a community that simply can't be replicated by a focus group or board meeting.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#142

Post by Aloisius »

Man, whoever their PR person is, they're sure good at getting to be #1 on HN. It seems like every month there is a new BankSimple story and every month the same comments pop up asking who they are and how they work.

I do think maybe they should pick a better username though.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#144

Post by ssharp »

Lewisham wrote: post #84

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…

They're upfront and honest about the requirements. I don't see the big deal.

Simple (from what I can see on their site) is about creating a wonderful banking experience for its customers. There is nothing wonderful about scanning and uploading checks. If the service requires a smartphone, so be it.

From a strategy standpoint, it can be assumed that most of their launch market is going to have an iOS or Android device.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#145

Post by al3x »

ohyes wrote: post #116

So... lets say someone hacks my Simple account (or simply phishes the password) and drains all of its funds. What happens then?

Hi, cofounder of Simple here.

We're in the same position that your current bank is in when it comes to fraud and theft: we're insured for it, and we follow industry-standard practices when something bad happens.

Most likely, what would happen is:

1. You realize that your account has been compromised. 2. You call us up. 3. We investigate your claims with our partners. 4. You get reimbursed. 5. If there was a security flaw on our side that we can fix to prevent this from happening in the future, we do so.

We have a comprehensive security review process and participate in internal and external (third-party) security audits. We're also taking steps to make it more difficult for attackers to compromise your account through multi-factor authentication and other mechanisms.

If you have any other questions about our security practices, please contact us: hello@simple.com or security@simple.com.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#146

Post by MatthewPhillips »

al3x wrote: post #98
Lewisham wrote: post #84

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…

You should support Windows Phone as well.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#147

Post by al3x »

losvedir wrote: post #90

Sigh, still waiting for an invite. Got an email in October of last year saying I could get an account "at some point [this] year", so hopefully soon. One question, though, I can't find on the site, is whether I receive any interest. And, if so, at what rate?

You will receive interest. In fact, we automatically move your money around behind the scenes so you earn as much interest as possible.

I don't know when we'll start publishing our interest rates, but we have some additional info about interest rates on our FAQ: https://www.simple.com/faq/

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#148

Post by corin_ »

chc wrote: post #62
corin_ wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

That's precisely the point vaporstun was making — we commonly omit the "Bank" from those names because it's seen as redundant.

But I was replying to tdoggette not vaporstun, who was making (I think) the opposite point.

So my response was to point out that actually the banks we think of as not having "bank" in the name do, and it hasn't stopped us from referring to them without it. So if they stuck with Bank Simple, it would help people initially understand what they do, then once (if) they become a household name, people could refer to them as "Simple".

Of course, this is all ignoring the whole legislation stuff.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#149

Post by scott_s »

ynniv wrote: post #111
maaku wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"a lot like a prepaid card" doesn't answer the question. In what ways is it like a prepaid card? In what ways is it not? As the OP asked, where does the money actually go? It's a concern that you couldn't really answer the question.

I think that you are wrong that this is a concern. HN is not a financial forum, and you are asking for technical details that are irrelevant to the discussion. Simple's statement is that your money is in a third party bank, and Simple promises to be a prudent intermediary.

Huh? Since when have technical details of any kind not been relevant to a discussion on HN?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#150

Post by botker »

tadfisher wrote: post #112
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.

Colloquially, they're "B of A".

That's true in the Bay Area at least, but not necessarily everywhere. Back when I was their customer I recall visiting NYC, and asking several random strangers if they knew where I could find a "B of A", and none of them knew what I was talking about, until I clarified, "Bank of America".
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