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Announcing Photo Check Deposit
- perishabledave 14y agoA bit off topic, but the one thing that is stopping me from using Simple is the lack of paper checks. I know you can send checks directly to recipients, but there are too many instances where I need to write a check and hand it to the recipient directly.
- cylo 14y agoI've complained about the same issue to Simple and they've informed me that they have no plans to ever offer paper checks. I'm getting around this issue by taking out money orders using my Simple card. It's a minor hassle but it works just fine.
- smackfu 14y ago> I know you can send checks directly to recipients, I wonder if these are "real" checks against your account, or just checks against some single account that Simple owns. Because if they are real checks, it would be simple enough to get your own checks printed up with the routing info.
- Terretta 14y agoReal, and yes, you have a real ABA and routing number and can print your own.
- Domenic_S 14y agoJust in case someone was thinking of doing this, Josh from Simple said: if someone produced checks with one of our customer's account numbers, our systems are set up to reject them. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4844641 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4844641
- Terretta 14y agoIf you need to hand a check to someone and know the amount in advance (babysitter, maid), make it out to her name and mail it to yourself. Then hand it to them.
- Goronmon 14y agoIf only they supported Android, I could find myself being interested in this news.
- cylo 14y agoThat's coming in early 2013.
- jedahan 14y agoLink to source?
- twaddington 14y agohttps://twitter.com/gagepac/status/273891431817547777 https://twitter.com/gagepac/status/273891431817547777
- agildehaus 14y agoIf only I could get an invite, I could find myself being interested ... I requested one at least 5 months ago.
- jedahan 14y ago8 months here. The only person I know who has it took 13 months.
- jedahan 14y agohttp://simple.com http://simple.com in chrome doesn't work?
- smackfu 14y ago>To clear, checks must be endorsed and have your account number designated on the back. What does endorsing a check really do?
- alexkus 14y agohttp://money.stackexchange.com/questions/3667/what-is-the-purpose-of-endorsing-a-check http://money.stackexchange.com/questions/3667/what-is-the-pu...
- spking 14y agoI've worked in the banking industry for five years. I've watched dozens of focus groups and seen countless quantitative research projects that mostly all indicate how extremely difficult it is to get people to leave their current bank. Even cash incentives ($100 to open a new Chase checking account, etc) don't seem to move the needle very much in terms of attracting people to switch. The reason features like Bill Pay are free to users--and actually cost banks $1+ per user/mo--is because it will make your relationship with a bank that much stickier and difficult to change. Photo check deposit only brings Simple to feature parity with other banks, almost all of which are using the same provider (Mitek or similar). This isn't to say Simple can't do really well attracting new customers; I just don't think they will be effective even in the medium term at convincing people with an existing banking relationship to completely leave their bank for Simple.
- jpdoctor 14y ago> I've watched dozens of focus groups and seen countless quantitative research projects that mostly all indicate how extremely difficult it is to get people to leave their current bank. Apparently none of them thought to try offering higher interest rates. We moved for a 1/4 point.
- jmharvey 14y agoI'm always skeptical of banks trying to use small interest rate differences to get me to open an account. The bank can simply change the interest rate on my account 6 months later, after I've moved over my bill payments.
- Terretta 14y agoI have a "premiere" relationship and "personal banker" at my main bank, yet having used Simple for a year I'm actively evangelizing those I know to try Simple, and have switched to Simple for my everyday wallet. The Simple banking experience for what most people need is like the original iPhone was to 2006 era smartphones -- the "feature" list is not the real story. Simple offers an extraordinarily low frustration factor between you and your goal, and this isn't captured by the "tech specs".
- fady 14y agoi love simple! been using it for months. i find it to be super simple to send people money, etc.. yes you have to adjust the lack of actual paper checks, but once you're used to it, its def better.
- BryanB55 14y agoI have a Simple account but haven't moved any money to it yet. I'm not really sure why I'm hesitant. At first I was definitely going to do it if they came out with the electronic check deposit before Bank of America (which took BOA FOREVER to do). But I use Mint and BOA and am having a hard time seeing any other major benefits except for a nice UI and better customer service. However, I've probably only contacted BOA's customer service maybe 2 times in the last 5 years. No paper checks seem to be another pain point to get over
- niallsmart 14y agoIf you're on payroll, some employers let you split your paycheck between multiple accounts. That's a useful way to get some money in and try the service without having to totally go all in.
- jordo37 14y agoI also have a Simple account and have yet to really use it. I use ING for my main account and love it (waiting to see what the shift to Capital One does). Before this, they were at a serious detriment to every other bank I have used. I love the ideas, but it seems to me like this is a classic example of needing to be 10x better to convince even folks like HN readers that this is a useful change to make. All this being said, after a few weeks of not using the card and not setting up direct deposit, I got a FANTASTIC email asking me to come back and use it - great job engaging inactive users.
- perishabledave 14y agoI think one of the problems is that you only gain the benefits of using their app if you use their debit card. Credit card points are just too good to pass up.
- B-Con 14y agoI wonder how much longer until the established banks adopt similar ideas. From looking at (but not using) Simple, it doesn't seem like they have any technical advantages, they were just able to start fresh without the bureaucracy bloat that current banks have and focus on modern convenience.
- ceejayoz 14y agoA number already have. Citibank and USAA have offered this for a while, in fact.
- reportingsjr 14y agoPNC as well. Just used it yesterday.
- lnanek2 14y agoChase as well. I've been using Citibank and Chase deposit by picture from their mobile apps for a long time. This is pretty trivial from a technology point of view. The only real difference I've noticed in implementations is the size of the check they allow you to deposit. With Chase I can put in a $1k check I get often, Citibank doesn't allow that, although it has come in handy for the occasional $20 or $50 checks that pop up.
- osi 14y agothe lack of joint accounts continues to be a barrier for anyone that isn't legally single.
- bkyan 14y agoAs a small business owner, what I would find to be more useful would be if someone is sending me a check, they could scan it themselves and then email me the scan. I could then process the check with an app on my side.
- wjamesg 14y agoMy bank (Charles Schwab Bank, U.S.) has had this for a while now. Also other cool stuff like two-factor authentication.
- zrail 14y agoI have Charles Schwab Bank as well. The thing that they offer that Simple doesn't is unlimited ATM fee refunds. The ability to go up to any ATM anywhere in the world and pull out cash with no fees is too big of a benefit to give up.
- steve8918 14y agoThe reason why I hate features like this is because it now puts the onus on customers to detect fraud, not the banks. If my understanding is correct, you have 60 days to reverse any fraudulent checks on your account. If you're someone like me that doesn't look into their bank account too closely (because you don't spend a lot), then you could be the victim of fraud very easily. And in the age of Photoshop, you can make a very convincing check image very easily.
- i2pi 14y ago(Josh from Simple here) Not sure if I quite follow. We don't let our customers write checks directly. They can send checks from our apps, but they don't get a checkbook. Even if someone produced checks with one of our customer's account numbers, our systems are set up to reject them. We are working on a way to let our customers write their own checks, but we're taking our time on this feature as we want to shut down that fraud path with a special type of check. More details to come in the future. The feature we released today is for check deposit. Yes, you could suffer if someone gave you a fraudulent check, but the risk is no different than depositing that same check at a teller.
- Terretta 14y agoAs a customer it's interesting to learn that you would reject "custom" checks since your app shows me the routing number and I can use that (and have used that) to do EFT which asks for the number off the bottom of a check. You make it look like a check, and it works like the number off a check, but a third party printed check using that same number wouldn't work? Good to know.
- smackfu 14y agoThey are probably just whitelisting the check numbers that they write, and then rejecting any other check numbers.
- MiguelHudnandez 14y agoWhile I agree with the principles of your objection, there are several mitigating factors. First, generally deposits are done via an app without choosing a photo from the photo roll. So you'd need to actually print a check to get it through the app, or hack the app to take a digital file. The deposit is tied to your account, and your physical phone, which means if you use it for fraud it is easy to trace back to you. I suppose we could see stolen phones being used to deposit checks, but then they'd have to get the money out of that person's account and move on quickly. Second, a bank that isn't customer-hostile will have many notification tools available. I get push notifications of large transfers in or out, and the same for low balance warnings or upcoming bill payments. Moving on to some opining... I wish I could print one-time use codes (QR or letters) on my checks. It'd be nice for me to submit the amount and the challenge code through my bank's app to authenticate a paper check. But the fact is, I now write checks very infrequently. Assuming that's a broader trend, I think any major development we see in the handling of checks will be to benefit businesses, which might deal with a lot of them going in and out.
- akmiller 14y agoI currently use Simple for my discretionary spending account. I really love the interface. However, if they are serious about converting people to use it as their main bank then their entire focus should be on allowing multiple people on one account. I can't add my wife to my account means this can't be my primary bank. It's that Simple! ...oh and after that, please create a mobile site that allows me to login from any device. I despise having to use my wife's iPhone to check my balance!
- nekojima 14y agoI didn't realize cheques (checks) were still widely being used. I haven't written a cheque in almost ten years, either personal or business. We've received a few cheques from large companies, but very rarely.
- niallsmart 14y agoI assume from the spelling of cheque that you're located outside the US. :) The banking system is ridiculously archaic, compared at least to Europe. For example, there's no simple way for me to directly transfer funds to a friends bank account (we would have to use PayPal, or I would have to pay a "wire transfer" fee). It's also quite common for the payroll department to ask you to bring a "voided check" on your first day at work so they can get your account details.
- mike_ivanov 14y agoI don't understand what is this thing for and there's no clear explanation anywhere on the homepage. Can someone enlighten me please? Is it another PayPal killer or something?
- akmiller 14y agoSomeone writes you a check for your birthday, you don't have to drive to bank (or mail) to deposit. Simply take photo of front/back and send it via app and money is deposited into your account.
- jacobwg 14y agoSimple is an online-only bank (in essence) that's trying to do a lot of things "right." There's more to it (they call themselves a "bank replacement"), but that's the basic idea.
- mike_ivanov 14y ago"bank replacement" - oh, ok. Thanks.
- nchlswu 14y ago(Hey Simple guys...I know you're watching!) Is there any video of the interface working? I'm very interested in Simple's approach to the design of theirs.
- EGF 14y agoI had signed up some time ago and forgot that my invite showed up this past July. Upon going through the process of creating an account, the final step was to deposit $200-$500 into the account. I understand the need to get funds, but with the time energy and passion devoted towards the ease of use of the form and the comprehensive FAQ I could not find the answer as to why this minimum was required. All the comments here are interesting, and I understand that switching costs are high, but the $200 barrier without explanation made be bounce from the form. I really want to give this a shot, but I want to understand the required funds first.
- true_religion 14y agoDon't all banks require a minimum deposit when opening an account?
- EGF 14y agoMost do (some do not) but it was the lack of explanation and the fact that its $200 that stopped me in my tracks.
- pnathan 14y agoTalked with one of the Simple guys earlier this fall. Really great guy, he described an amazing company. Congrats, Simple. :-)
- lutorm 14y agoI wish checks would just die. It's amazing that I'd never used a check before moving to the US from Sweden in 1996 and I still have to use them today here!