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Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

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Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#311

Post by DKnoll »

run4yourlives2 wrote: post #275
kuschku wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly, I think the solution in the US and some parts of the EU is even worse than the chinese one. Try buying Cuban cigars without cash anywhere. Your VISA or MasterCard will mysteriously fail to allow this purchase – because, due to the embargo, these companies just refuse to allow transactions containing the words "cuba", "iran", etc. VISA and MasterCard also have additional rules of their own, and if you have a so…

I'm Canadian, so not only can I buy Cuban cigars, I can buy them in a store down the street with my debit card. (A real debit card that connects directly to my account, not just a prepaid credit card.) Regardless though, making an illegal purchase isn't a very good reason to argue for cash; in fact you may have more luck changing the dumb laws if people are truly hurt by them. The US definition of a "debit card" is m…

> many banks in Canada are now fully virtual or offer next to no fees.

Uhh, which ones? Free chequing accounts have transaction fees for Interac, and with unlimited Interac accounts you pay monthly or must keep a minimum balance. I'm sure there are a couple exceptions, but certainly not with TD, CIBC, NBC, etc.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#312

Post by zimzam »

tkmunzwa wrote: post #235
s_dev wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely -- the police can be very corrupt in Zimbabwe so you don't want hard cash hanging around or it will be taken. The actually official Zimbabwe currency can't really be taken seriously because of insane inflation rates. US Dollars vary greatly in price. Small transaction fees are nothing to operate cashlessly for some of these people compare to the risk of trying to store cash. Even India recently banned high…

Actual Zimbabwean here: you are so wrong I'll have to ask: have you ever been to Zimbabwe? > Absolutely -- the police can be very corrupt in Zimbabwe so you don't want hard cash hanging around or it will be taken. Yes, the police are corrupt but they won't rob you[1], they might try and coerce a bribe. > The actually official Zimbabwe currency can't really be taken seriously because of insane inflation rates. This is…

Is there really much practical difference between a police officer demanding a bribe and being robbed?

(I've never been to Zimbabwe: if there is a difference between cops "coercing" a bribe and what I'm assuming you mean I'd appreciate the clarification!)

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#313

Post by curryhowardiso »

coding123 wrote: post #251
jacksnipe wrote: post #215

At first I was wondering what I could possibly use this for, but as I sat and thought about it, I realized the possibilities are enormous. I'd like to know if the following are possible: 1. Forcing me to stay on budget, unless there's an emergency (perhaps allow purchases over budget after the third attempt). 2. Automatically distribute paychecks or other income into different accounts (some to retirement, some to sa…

I think stepping up 3 would be to specifically tie your API to something with GPS like your phone, and the authorization could be based on that. (I travel a lot). Or better yet, an app on the phone to just "enable transactions for a minute" since many addresses of POS systems are likely far from the actual POS.

You could also do extended KYC based on this information!

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#315

Post by derefr »

ic4l wrote: post #298
rhcom2 wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To get to that point though I'm sure the bank would be calling you for their money, sending you letters, serving you with legal documents, ect and I think most people should notice if their account suddenly had extra unbudgeted money the size of your mortgage payment. So yeah, be careful but I don't think you could lose your home.

Don't be so confident that the right thing happens always. I had a friend that was told he could delay a payment and they tricked him into paying late and they sold his home already... after many legal battles he eventually won but the bank said that they already sold the home so that we're in a losing situation either way. They picked the lesser of two evils. Form what i understand it was because two branches of the…

That sounds like intentional malice rather than an accident. If you can't bounce a cheque safely, you don't really have a bank; you have a loan shark.

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#316

Post by curryhowardiso »

apostacy wrote: post #248
ChristianBundy wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, although I wonder whether the transaction can be asynchronous. For example, if you don't approve or deny within a few seconds, I'd be willing to bet that the transaction times out. This would be fine for in-person transactions, where you can approve it on your phone, but for transactions you aren't expecting (e.g. recurring monthly subscriptions) it seems like you'd need some notice -- or a long timeout period.

I'd love to collapse all of my recurring payments into a monthly report, that I can review and authorize. This is exactly the thing banks are suited to handle. It would also be cool if a bank could abstract bill payments for me, where they present the debit, and show the time window to pay it, and let me select what business day to process it on. Actually, all of these services exist in one form or another. If you ha…

> I'd love to collapse all of my recurring payments into a monthly report, that I can review and authorize.

Yes, even just a list of the recurring payments (that is updated in realtime and that you can centrally discontinue) should be available to the banking consumer -- and it should be the responsibility of the banking entity to provide this feature.

The do not, because the financial sector makes its revenue from payments occurring, rather than not. A consumer would naturally gravitate towards a bank that was not limited by this concern (or derived equivalent profit elsewhere for provision of value)

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#317

Post by curryhowardiso »

archeantus wrote: post #292

This looks amazing. I actually spent several months making an awesome Mint killer. The only problem was getting access to bank data that wasn't crazy expensive. If this pans out, I've got a beautiful app ready to roll! Anyone want to help out?

Have you seen plaid.com? Also - yes :)

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#318

Post by curryhowardiso »

medmunds wrote: post #28
artursapek wrote: post #6

I wish brokerages/banks had APIs, even just for reading. I've tried just reading my Fidelity transactions with a script and they seem to have blocked my server.

You might check into the https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Financial_Exchange format. Software like Quicken is able to download transactions from several banks and brokerages using it. (I don't know what's involved in getting access to its endpoints, though.)

> Microsoft, Intuit and CheckFree announced the OFX standard on 16 January 1997.

> Many banks in the US let customers use personal financial management software to automatically download their bank statements in OFX format, but most Canadian,[2][3][4] United Kingdom and Australian (CBA exports OFX and QIF files) banks do not allow this.

I'm not criticizing - we need to do better! Developers demand JSON!!! :)

Re: Root – Programmable bank account for software developers

#320

Post by _jal »

Someone wrote: post #267
jacksnipe wrote: post #215

At first I was wondering what I could possibly use this for, but as I sat and thought about it, I realized the possibilities are enormous. I'd like to know if the following are possible: 1. Forcing me to stay on budget, unless there's an emergency (perhaps allow purchases over budget after the third attempt). 2. Automatically distribute paychecks or other income into different accounts (some to retirement, some to sa…

5. Due to a bug in _your_ code, accidentally have your mortgage payments bounce because of lack of funds, and get evicted from your home. With great power comes great responsibility. The number of times you say 'perhaps', 'unless', 'so if', or 'could' is so high that you would have to thoroughly review your code before trusting it.

Well, sure. But lots of people write code that involves doing things money for a living. (I do.)

...If someone wants to say, "well sure, but that's not my money", I hope they'll also name the services or apps they work for, so I can avoid those.

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