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

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#171

Post by steve8918 » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:06 PM UTC

al3x wrote: post #38

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 co…

Thanks Al3x. When you say "we hold ourselves to the same security standards", what does this mean? Are you regulated? Who are your regulators?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#172

Post by finisterre » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:17 PM UTC

smackfu wrote: post #19

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…

I think the idea is: What if you took mint.com, and instead of interfacing with hundreds of banks, you interface with a single bank. You can integrate much more closely and provide a better experience, and the customer shouldn't really care what the underlying bank is.

I wonder if the Mint team ever thought of going that route; they were/are very well placed to lead users into this model. Once you get used to the idea of being able to see all your accounts and varies metrics in one place it's obvious to appreciate being able to push data the other way and instigate transfers and bill payments from that nice central hub. Maybe the complications of getting the banks on board was the barrier.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#173

Post by onemoreact » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:22 PM UTC

axiak wrote: post #71

vaporstun wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 simplici…

Actually, http://citi.com redirects to citibank.com for me.

They use both, https://creditcards.citi.com/ is the 'official' domain name for Credit Card side of things.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#174

Post by damoncali » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:22 PM UTC

useflyer wrote: post #161

i2pi wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the naming of the account, it is a little more complicated. Everyone gets, at least, two accounts with us. One is a joint account, that is named 'Simple', but titled for the benefit of (FBO) our customers. But titling it such, all FDIC insurance flows through to the individual customers. In addition to the co-mingled account, everyone gets an individual interest baring account, which is directly titled in the name…

psuedo-account numbers do not inspire confidence that my money is safe. please put a HOW IT WORKS section on your website and go into details, because this just seems insecure and shady

I dont' know if I'd call it shady, but it certainly seems more complicated than just opening a bank account.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#175

Post by kjell » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:23 PM UTC

I signed up for the waiting list 04/2010. Anyone here that's already in? When was your sign up?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#176

Post by netmau5 » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:24 PM UTC

I really like what you guys are trying to do here, but you still haven't made it more appealing than getting frequent flyer miles on my credit card. I know you want to use the normal card fees to make some cash, but why do you need those + deposit interest?

My brick & mortar bank provides me with a free-to-use checking account w/debit card in exchange for the interest made off my deposits. My credit card, paid in full each month, provides the same free service with flyer miles. The value proposition of making my data easier to search and filter from the information already given to me at my current bank/CC websites doesn't do it for me.

Love what I've seen, but I hope you guys find a better value/price point.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#177

Post by corin_ » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:25 PM UTC

al3x wrote: post #147

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/

Hi Alex - in a previous comment you said:

> When you get your Simple card, it'll say "issued by {Bank Name}" on the back.

How does that fit around moving money around behind the scenes? Will each customer's money be limited to a single bank, and moved around between account types? Will all Simple's customers be using one bank that you have partnered with?

If not, could one Simple account actually have its funds stored between multiple different banks (or multiple accounts within a single bank)?

And when you say "we automatically move your money..." are we talking about the automated equivilent of when a bank phones / writes to you saying "looking at your behaviour over the last 5 years this account might fit you better...", or is it more like "every day your money might move somewhere else", or (I assume this) where between those two?

If I weren't English then I'd be signing up for sure, good luck :)

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#178

Post by sector » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:27 PM UTC

al3x wrote: post #108

damoncali wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Hi, cofounder of Simple here. 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…

As a customer, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you worked solely as a technology vendor to my bank.

This isn't a knock on the team you're putting together, or your ability to build a great company. It's caused by the realities associated with venture capital.

Now that you took VC money, there's countdown to an exit, and I have to think about likely buyers. If you're successful, one of the top possibilities is a strategic acquisition from a major bank. This basically means that if I buy into the vision and support it, I'm likely to end up right where I started.

I want to like this idea, because I want to see more great, customer-service oriented banks. But I just can't quite bring myself to like it, because of the guaranteed change in ownership that is pending and the lineup of probable buyers.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#179

Post by scott_s » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:34 PM UTC

ynniv wrote: post #157

scott_s wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Relevant, always. But demanded? We don't always demand to know important details regarding open source NoSQL databases, and that's our area of expertise. Just suggesting that outrage isn't appropriate in this situation.

It's not outrage, people just don't understand how this business works. I think people want to know how it works both because they like understanding the inner workings of things, and they won't use it until they're convinced it will work.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#180

Post by 3pt14159 » Tue, Nov 08, 2011, 7:34 PM UTC

al3x wrote: post #64

lhnn wrote: post #47

I don't get what the confusion is. "Simple" (generic name, weak branding..) is a middle-man between banks and you. Why? -They have multiple backend banks, so I suppose that keeps you the customer from getting locked into one bank's crappy fee policy. -They can focus on customer satisfaction and UI rather than be bogged down by becoming a "real" bank. Any doubts about their trustworthiness because they're not a bank i…

Sorry that you think the name is "weak" and "generic", but I'm glad that you get what we're doing. "Simple" is definitely a generic term, but brands are built over time. Personally, I love our new logo (by our own @3n), and I think it'll resonate when you start seeing it on actual debit cards and such :)

The name is ok, not good or bad. 7 out of 10.

The logo though. Good type, horrible website icon. It has the Star of David on it. The only ethnicity to Google auto-complete to banking conspiratorial pages is represented by this symbol. There are lots of idiots in the world, I know, but I wouldn't go with this logo. The one on the actual card is much, much better.