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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

#241

Post by anonymoushn »

al3x wrote: post #214
bisrig wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a follow-on to this, it certainly appears (from quick searches of your site as well as reading through this thread) as though you are not disclosing which banks you are specifically partnering with... this is certainly your choice, of course, but given the events of the past few years, I think that there's a significant number of people that make an active choice not to use certain banks due to their past behavior…

We've disclosed all of our bank, technology, and processing partners. I don't think we're likely to allow customers to choose which partner bank holds their funds, but we do make that information transparent.

Could you point me to the place where you've done this?

Edit: it looks like you disclosed two partner banks at http://www.simple.com/blog/Simple/partners-funding/, but I'm not sure that this is a conclusive list.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#242

Post by ironchef »

bradleyland wrote: post #222
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).

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 fricti…

Sure. I would assume it would be very similar to the pre-screening credit card companies do (which does not negatively affect a person's credit); however, if you look at the common components of a person's FICO score, a number of factors _could_ be adversely affected depending on how these things are done (closing of revolving accounts, length of credit history, credit searches, etc.). People are asking questions because it's a complex subject...and while people want to believe they won't be adversely affected, that doesn't mean it won't happen. Simply due dilligence I think.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#243

Post by adamio »

18pfsmt wrote: post #240
adamio wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok fair. With Simple I can have a nifty way to view my expenses and have no hidden fees. The cost to me is nothing out of pocket, but I have to let Simple manage my money. I can see being more useful than a prepaid visa card for (college)kids, but it seems rather limiting to compete with standard checking accounts.

> I can see being more useful than a prepaid visa card for (college)kids, but it seems rather limiting to compete with standard checking accounts. I'm not sure if your ability "to see" anything is relevant, but your characterization seems extremely shortsighted. Do you honestly believe that innovative startups of this kind launch with one set of features and never make improvements or add features later? I can think…

I retract my comment about who would invest in this company. Yes I agree innovation is needed in the banking world, and I don't know anything beyond the website. So right now there is too much missing information about their first product to speculate.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#244

Post by paulocal »

Love the new name and domain. Love the design of the card!

Two questions though:

1) Are actual branches in the roadmap at all? Digital banking is great but has its limitations.

2) How about deposits? Can we take pictures of a check? Or make deposites at an ATM?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#245

Post by citizencain »

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…

You have a cheesy nickname, so it doesn't count. An organization that handles money doesn't need to be experimental on the name. I think it needs to be more on the safe side. It's money after all.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#246

Post by tucaz »

I don't live in the US but I do some business there sometimes. It would be really nice if foreigners could open an account, but I think that because the lack of a Social Security Number this is not possible, right?

Actually, I have a bank account (and debit card) in a small bank in Iowa so maybe this is not an issue at all.

Now I'm confused. Can someone who knows or lives in the US clarify this one?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#247

Post by infinite8s »

brendn wrote: post #195
botker wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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".

I'm a New Yorker and I know what you mean by "B of A," as do many of the people I know. I think we're both dealing with small anecdotal data sets here, though.

That could also depend on when he visited. NYC is still ruled by Chase - there's one almost every other block, whereas I struggle to find BofA ATMs.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#248

Post by __david__ »

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".

And I call it "bowfah" myself.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#249

Post by dman »

Umalu wrote: post #42
al3x wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There are actually laws prohibiting non-banks from using the word "bank" in their name. A lot of bank holding companies (which are not, technically, banks) got around this by replacing the "k" in "bank" with a "c" -- such as "BancAmerica Corp". I'm sure we all breathed a sigh of regulatory relief seeing that "c" there.

Is avoiding regulation as simple as changing what you call yourself?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#250

Post by Lewisham »

corin_ wrote: post #204
i2pi wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you spend more money than what we have placed on the card account, but you have available funds at other accounts we manage, we'll automatically move over the money to cover the cost of your transaction. No fee. Real time. We don't have the notion of 'overdraft'. Instead, we set up a special savings goal for each customer called an Emergency Fund. We automatically start saving a small amount each day towards the E…

Next time you're over here give "streaky bacon" a try, it looks to be closer to the norm in America. And I've made a mental note to eat some bacon next time I'm in LA to see what you're complaining about!

As an ex-pat, my impression is streaky bacon == American bacon, but America has no analogous product to English back bacon.

It drives me nuts. I haven't had a decent bacon sandwich in years :(

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