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Show HN: Earn 9.62% on US Treasury I Bonds on Yotta

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Re: Show HN: Earn 9.62% on US Treasury I Bonds on Yotta

#71

Post by dpifke »

TreasuryDirect doesn't have an API, so there's no way to implement this without storing your users' TreasuryDirect passwords. How do you protect those passwords?

With reference to https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/31/363.17, what recourse would I have if I use your service and my TreasuryDirect account is compromised as a result?

Your other products include FDIC insurance via Evolve Bank & Trust. I can't imagine the FDIC would cover losses related to this product—i.e. funds are only FDIC-insured up until they're used to purchase an I-Bond. The FDIC recently sent a cease-and-desist to FTX in relation to a similar scheme (in FTX's case, funds are only FDIC-insured at Evolve up until they are used for cryptocurrency purchases); see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32524527. In light of that action, what have you done to clarify the limits of the FDIC insurance to your customers and potential customers?

Re: Show HN: Earn 9.62% on US Treasury I Bonds on Yotta

#73

Post by bm3719 »

brk wrote: post #70
bm3719 wrote: post #69

I Bonds are 30 year bonds. Since the I Bond yield of 9.xx% is only guaranteed for the first 6 months, what's the consensus thinking here on a long term hold of them? Some info I found says: I bonds cannot be cashed for one year after purchase. If a bond is cashed in year two through five after purchase, the prior three months of interest are forfeited. There is no interest penalty for cashing in the bonds after five…

IMO, it's not worth over thinking. The rates are very good, but you are limited to a relatively small amount of money. My wife and I both bought an I bond at the recent rates. If we're lucky, we'll make about $1,000 each on them. You can do a lot with $1,000, but it's not like we're talking about life altering amount of money here (in the context of people who can afford to put $10K in an I bond in the first place).…

That's true. I'll probably grab one once the official site works again, but I was weighing that, plus the inconvenience of having to manage funds in yet another location and keep the tax implications in mind (you only have to pay federal taxes on interest here).

Re: Show HN: Earn 9.62% on US Treasury I Bonds on Yotta

#74

Post by klyrs »

adammoelis wrote: post #33
teraflop wrote: post #25

I'm curious about how the legalities of this work. If you create a TreasuryDirect account using my SSN, do you then require a durable power of attorney to manage it on my behalf, as laid out in 31 CFR § 363.33? Or are you simply logging in using "my" credentials and performing actions as if you were me? If the latter, are you at all worried about the Treasury Department cracking down on this?

We do the latter. Performing actions as if we were you. I am not worried given that.

You have sold me on I Bonds as a financial product, but you'll never touch my money. Hire a lawyer.

Re: Show HN: Earn 9.62% on US Treasury I Bonds on Yotta

#76

Post by jonnybgood »

paxys wrote: post #38

Everyone here is criticizing your product but it's funny that as I type this https://www.treasurydirect.gov/ is completely down. I wish this was available back when I invested and had to navigate my way through that hellish website.

Doesn’t look down to me

Re: Show HN: Earn 9.62% on US Treasury I Bonds on Yotta

#77

Post by sometimeshuman »

Is this service only for individuals or can you set up an account for my corporation too ? The process of setting up a treasury account for my business at Treasury Direct is stalled for some reason.

Edit: I noticed a related comment:

Rebelgecko: how do you handle accounts that require medallion verification

adammoelis: We can't support those unfortunately right now.

That was the problem on my end. I went through the hassle of getting a medallion verification for my business 2 months ago, mailed in the paperwork, and never heard back from the treasury department.

Re: Show HN: Earn 9.62% on US Treasury I Bonds on Yotta

#78

Post by DoesntMatter22 »

adammoelis wrote: post #49
c0nsumer wrote: post #39

Why would I want to use your company for buying an I-Bond myself? Treasury Direct kinda sucks, but it's really not that bad. And once you're through the initial setup repeat purchases (like each subsequent year) is a lot easier. Why would I want to insert a middleman into a long term investment? If you all go sideways -- which is incredibly likely within the next 10 years -- then it'll be far more hassle than the up-…

1) Easier UI and management of your I Bonds. Treasury Direct has lots of issues and you'll likely end up having to call in and wait on hold for 2 hours with customer support at some point. Maybe not if you're on top of things, but most people aren't. 2) Having your money all in one place. It's annoying to have money different places, so if you already have a Yotta account with us, it's one tap to do this. If you are…

Are there legal protections to ensure that you'll give us the TD account directly, like is it like a bank or is it that we just have to trust you?

Re: Show HN: Earn 9.62% on US Treasury I Bonds on Yotta

#79

Post by UncleMeat »

adammoelis wrote: post #33
teraflop wrote: post #25

I'm curious about how the legalities of this work. If you create a TreasuryDirect account using my SSN, do you then require a durable power of attorney to manage it on my behalf, as laid out in 31 CFR § 363.33? Or are you simply logging in using "my" credentials and performing actions as if you were me? If the latter, are you at all worried about the Treasury Department cracking down on this?

We do the latter. Performing actions as if we were you. I am not worried given that.

> I am not worried given that.

YOLO is definitely an interesting approach for a financial company. Didn't people shit all over Plaid for taking this approach? Training people to give their financial credentials to 3rd parties is not the best.

Re: Show HN: Earn 9.62% on US Treasury I Bonds on Yotta

#80

Post by mindslight »

mherdeg wrote: post #21

There's a $10k annual limit per individual, LLC, or trust. (Plus a bit more as paper I bonds in your income tax refund.) Can you partner with Stripe Atlas to help me spin up a trust or business entity and buy another $10k? I'll pay you a 5% commission.

You can create as many simple revocable trusts as you'd like using a Nolo offering and a visit to your bank for notarization.

I've heard TD will sometimes complain about a trust with your SSN as its TIN, but I've had no problems. After all, it is still a separate entity and that is the technical requirement.

Managing your own records and dealing with TD's horrible login process are the main hoops to creating multiple accounts. I appreciate the GreaseMonkey snippets for fixing their password input, that are listed elsewhere in this thread. But what would be really fantastic is if OP published their code for programmatically interacting with Treasury Direct.

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