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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

#261

Post by ianlevesque »

burnstek wrote: post #211
smackfu wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The problem is that most customers do care what the underlying bank is, especially given the events over the past few years. The world may have been ready for this five years ago, but not anymore.

There are plenty of people still ready for it now.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#262

Post by steve918 »

dman wrote: post #249
Umalu wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

If the regulation governs naming, then yes.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#263

Post by Game_Ender »

Game_Ender wrote: post #160
sector wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, so let's take a real situation that happened to me: an ATM debited my account $600, but only dispensed $300. In that situation, I call you, and what happens from there? Thank you for taking the time to answer some of our questions on what is surely a busy day.

According to a video on their site they don't add additional fees for out of network ATMs only forward the fee that ATM charges.

NOTE: sector edited his answer to remove an unrelated question on ATM fees which I was attempting to answer.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#264

Post by Game_Ender »

omarchowdhury wrote: post #252
Game_Ender wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to a video on their site they don't add additional fees for out of network ATMs only forward the fee that ATM charges.

Which ATMs charge $300 in fees per transaction?

sector asked about fees, then removed the question from his post with an edit.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#265

Post by esrauch »

shamirk wrote: post #31
esrauch wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't that mean that you don't actually get any of the legal protections (insurance and assurances) that comes with keeping your money in a bank or credit union?

Guys - the FAQ https://www.simple.com/faq/has all the answers you need. - FDIC insurance is pass through from the underlying banks. - you open your account through us, and manage it through us.

You FAQ absolutely does not answer my question. It sounds like this comment answers the question, but it still isn't explicit enough.

If I trust Joe Schmo with my money, he can put that money in a FDIC insured bank. In a way, you could say that I am protected by the FDIC insurance because if there is a run against the bank or something, my money would still be safe.

However, the mere fact that Joe is storing my money in an FDIC insured location doesn't mean that I get the same legal protections. What if Simple goes out of business? If it goes bankrupt?

I infer from this comment that my money would go nowhere if Simple went out of business, that I actually have a relationship with some bank that I could access and completely bypass Simple if I so chose, and that would continue to exist even if Simple went out of business. I would absolutely not trust you without this explicitly stated in the FAQ though.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#266

Post by rapind »

al3x wrote: post #92
rapind wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I preferred BankSimple too, but I guess having Bank in the name would present too many problems. Simple seems very generic, no offense guys.

None taken. "Simple" is a generic term, and it's up to us to build it into a strong brand over time.

Which I'm sure you will. Looks like a great idea and I look forward to the day you come to Canada.

By the way, the on-page anchors in your footer aren't working atm (#features, #vision, #sign-up, etc.).

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#267

Post by mschaecher »

dman wrote: post #249
Umalu wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

UberCab becoming Uber is another pretty good example of this name switch to get ahead of regulators from a brand perspective.

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#268

Post by plusbryan »

al3x wrote: post #186
inmygarage wrote: post #162

I wish Simple would consider supporting all ATMs, not just in-network ones. And by supporting, I mean reimbursing all ATM-related fees. Ally does this. Although Ally is a bank rather than a front-end-for-a-bank, this feature has become increasingly important to me as I find myself increasingly patronizing cash-only establishments.

We've explained in our FAQ why we don't do this currently: https://www.simple.com/faq/ Basically, reimbursing ATM fees is an illusion. They charge you over here and reimburse you over there. No net win for most consumers, unfortunately.

I'm curious about this - it's one of the reasons I love banking with Schwab. No fees for ATM use, even internationally. I rarely need cash, but when I do, it's really convenient that I can use any stinky old corner ATM.

I ask honestly: what illusion am I missing?

Re: BankSimple invites first customers; rebrands itself as Simple

#270

Post by nickpinkston »

rapind wrote: post #65
Umalu wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

1-600-DOCTORB ("The B is for 'Bargain'")

Thanks Dr. Nick!
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