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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

#221

Post by intelekshual »

bradleyland wrote: post #68
basseq wrote: post #58

My checking account is fundamentally a revolving cash account between a portion of my paycheck and my monthly bills (cc, mortgage, utilities, etc.). Other than autopay bills, all my purchases go through my credit card (which is then another autopay against my checking acct.). I manage all this at a macro level through Mint. I never visit my bank website, partly because it sorta sucks, but partly because I have no rea…

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?

Ally reimburses third-party ATM fees, as well: http://www.ally.com/

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#222

Post by bradleyland »

ironchef wrote: post #104
bradleyland wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

But pragmatically if they switch banks behind the scenes, that would usually require a hard credit pull every time it occurs. This would seem to hurt a person's credit score if that was what actually occurred (that's why the semantics are important).

Banking is an industry that is not nearly as simple as it seems. There is a difference between "you" walking in to a bank wishing to establish an account and a "partner" like Simple seeking to move depository funds between banks.

The bank pulls a credit check on you, the individual, to mitigate risk. A company like Simple would secure a bond or insurance to mitigate this risk for the partner bank, reducing the friction for a business critical action (moving partner banks).

Pragmatically, Simple wouldn't survive very long if every customer were hit with a hard credit pull every time Simple moved their funds. I'm not even sure that would be legal.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#223

Post by ironchef »

mahyarm wrote: post #183
ironchef wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But pragmatically if they switch banks behind the scenes, that would usually require a hard credit pull every time it occurs. This would seem to hurt a person's credit score if that was what actually occurred (that's why the semantics are important).

Maybe the definition of a hard credit pull should be changed? It discourages people from shopping for loans since you often cant get a real interest rate quote until that provider gets your credit rating themselves anyways.

Well...I think FICO scores should be revamped anyways, but if you're shopping for loans, from what I recall, you only get hit once per 30 days (as obviously if you're in the market for a loan, you shouldn't be negatively affected for every vendor you approach).

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#224

Post by ynniv »

maaku wrote: post #192
ynniv wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

If I am to be giving my money to anyone for safekeeping, I better be damned sure I understand the financial and legal details. Are the FDIC-insured accounts in (Bank)Simple's name? What happens if they go under? Can the creditors of Simple use those deposits to recoup their investment? Now do you see the problem?

Those are better questions. Perhaps lead with those, rather than trying to deduce the answers yourself.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#225

Post by jaysonelliot »

al3x wrote: post #32
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.

I'm a fan of the name Simple instead of BankSimple. I bank with ING and USAA at the moment, and I've never had any trouble with the fact that neither one has the name "Bank" in their brand.

I agree, calling it "BankSimple" feels limiting, and carries baggage from bad experiences I've had with banks in the past.

Now if only I could get an invitation to open an account!

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#226

Post by xradionut »

ganeumann wrote: post #217
xradionut wrote: post #153

Unfortunately they need to make their web site cross-browser functional. Doesn't function well in IE8. I still have no idea why I would need their service. My current financial institutions provide awesome service without cryptic bs. Consumer banking and small business banking is simple to the moderately educated.

I think, when you say that banking is simple to the moderately educated, you're objectively wrong. Banking regularly comes out as one of the bottom few industries in reputation and one of the top few industries in customer complaints. A huge number of people in the US really, really dislike their banks. There are some people who do some work to make sure they choose a bank that will not treat them poorly and then con…

"I think, when you say that banking is simple to the moderately educated, you're objectively wrong."

Moderately educated means that a person as spent a few days in their lifetime informing themselves how simple accounting and consumer/small business banking works. It's not rocket science. If you can't read a simple financial or income statement, you can't make an informed decision about a choosing a bank or understand starting a company. Most people do cargo-cult personal finance.

Why should people pay a middle man for good treatment when they can shop around and find a credit union that will do so, sans the vig?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#227

Post by ohyes »

al3x wrote: post #145
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…

Thanks for responding,

So when you say you aren't a bank, you really do follow many standard banking industry practices (at least in terms of security/insurance).

I think it is important that you show this when advertising a service like this to possible customers.

I appreciate the importance of keeping the pitch simple, but for me, I act a little more cautiously with my money than I would signing up for a new social network or something of that nature.

I want to be able to read all of the fine print and know exactly what recourse/assurance I have, before I fill out an application. Having it spelled out somewhere is important. Perhaps I simply couldn't find that part of the site, (but even if that is the case), any security guarantees might be worth putting front and center.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#228

Post by middayc »

al3x wrote: post #151
middayc wrote: post #125

looks good, but I'm not sure if necessary very-good-modern-design == simple ? not trying to be down on you, just asking about it now because when I make stuff for others I don't have this corellation and to me the simplest thing is many times command-line.

Hi, cofounder of Simple here. This is a good point. We think there's a difference between "simple" and "stark" or "minimalist". Our goal is to create an experience that's inviting, explorable, and clear. That doesn't necessarily mean doing away with all visual ornamentation. Sure, plain text is "simple", but iconography, texture, and other design elements can contribute to that ideal as well. Thanks for your thoughts…

Yes, I agree with you. There are many types of "simple" and iconography, texture, .. can help the simplicity if used very well.

I would just be really careful when doing this very rich design that the designer doesn't get carried away and forget that the design should be serving simplicity and not the other way around.

Good luck with the product!

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#229

Post by al3x »

ben1040 wrote: post #213

I already use a small local bank. They have only a handful of branches and it's pretty easy to get stuff done with them. I don't want to change that relationship because I am happy with it, and I certainly don't want to abstract the whole thing through a middleman. It doesn't look like Simple is really right for me anyway as I have several joint checking accounts and a business account as well. But, I really wish my…

We're not going to aggregate your existing accounts, so no, we may not be right for you.

We're also not super interested in getting into white labeling, but it's something we've thought about.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#230

Post by al3x »

AznHisoka wrote: post #79

People aren't compelled to try a financial service to spend more wisely. They're compelled to try it because it "earns" them more (more interest, cash back, etc). Might be the same thing, fundamentally, but psychologically, it's not. Greed is good.

Hi, cofounder of Simple here.

Some people are driven to change banks because of interest rates, but those people are not the majority. Most people change banks around major life events: moving, getting married, getting your first job, etc. Or, they change banks when they have an extremely negative experience with their current bank.

Either way, changing banks is a hassle, and we really have to make it easy and compelling. But interest/rewards aren't the only motivation, or even the primary motivation, for switching one's bank according to bank industry research.

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