7 ms·

Simple launches Android app

97 points by sbkirk 14y ago

ben1040 14y ago
So the technology platform is Simple's main product (after all, they're not a bank, that part is left up to their bank partner), right? In light of that, it seems odd that they'd farm out the development of one of the biggest customer-facing parts of that platform to a third party.
- dublinben 14y ago
  I doubt anyone who uses the app will ever know it was designed by this firm. The branding will just say "Simple" and people will get hooked on their service.
- nleach 14y ago
  In my experience Simple's main product is customer service (and delight). They're great at leveraging technology to accomplish this, but I'd say they're far from being a technology company. In an ideal world I'm sure they would have created their app in-house, but it looks like outsourcing the development left them with a quality final product. Seems like a smart enough choice to me.
  - rachit 14y ago
    You hit it on the head. We were also able to speed up time to market and provide them with more than just outsourced dev.
sjmulder 14y ago
They see to have made a really nice custom styled app while still remaining true to modern Android conventions. Well done. It would be cool if banks could license their code (for a hefty fee) because the apps by banks here in thee Netherlands aren’t very good at all.
- dasil003 14y ago
  Given the legacy infrastructure they have to deal with I wouldn't be surprised if the code were dropped in their laps that it would still be impossible not to ruin it when wiring it up.
MatthewPhillips 14y ago
This is very well done. Usually I'm skeptical when a startup elects not to do the Android app themselves; it's often a sign that they don't really care about the platform. But in this case it's obvious that Two Toasters cares deeply, and I'm sure they weren't the cheapest option, so that shows that Simple cares as well. In the future it might be smart for startups whose care value isn't in the UI, to only do their web apps themselves and outsource the native apps to experts in the platforms, with guidance of course.
- yarianluis 14y ago
  I thought the same thing initially. That they did not care about Android as much. After all this app is released over eight months after the iOS and on top of that it's outsourced? But according to Simple's official blog statement they actually consulted with TwoToasters and have their own Android team. https://simple.com/blog/Banking/announcing-simple-for-android/ https://simple.com/blog/Banking/announcing-simple-for-androi... Incidentally, their jobs page has an opening for an Android engineer: http://banksimple.theresumator.com/apply/phViRT/Android-Engineer.html http://banksimple.theresumator.com/apply/phViRT/Android-Engi...
  - KirinDave 14y ago
    Hiring really good Android engineers is really hard. I'd say it's easily the hardest set of hires I've approach in a new startup trying to bring people onboard.
    - yarianluis 14y ago
      What qualities would you say make someone a good Android engineer?
- rachit 14y ago
  Hi Rachit - CEO at Two Toasters here. You're absolutely right, we care a lot creating great user experiences and brought our expertise on Android to the table. We built a trusted relationship with the Simple mobile team and worked closely with them to ensure we stayed true to the Simple experience but with appropriate considerations for the Android platform.
felideon 14y ago
I am going to be in quite the conundrum when I get a Simple invite. On the one hand, I think what they're doing is awesome — for me, namely, the Safe-to-spend feature. I currently keep track of this in a not-so-accurate Excel spreadsheet and in my head. On the other hand, I currently use Perkstreet's debit card for everything and the 1% cash back adds up in a noticeably short period of time. I wonder if the 1% cash back is worth the grunt work that Simple would make quite, well, simple.
- Lewisham 14y ago
  Simple also don't offer any interest (nor a savings account) which grates a bit. Using Simple loses you money. It's not a "hidden fee", but it's a cost that isn't that clear. EDIT: There's also no outgoing ACH transfers yet, which I really would like.
  - stevenbrianhall 14y ago
    Re: interest, this isn't technically correct, though the rate is 0.01%. See: https://simple.com/faq/#interest https://simple.com/faq/#interest and https://simple.com/policies/rates/ https://simple.com/policies/rates/
  - daeken 14y ago
    The lack of outgoing ACH transfers is what's keeping me from doing the bulk of my banking through Simple. As it stands, I throw money into it every once in a while, but it's a novelty, largely. Once I can transfer to my local bank for large cash withdrawals, I'll switch to Simple for most of my business.
  - tadfisher 14y ago
    Unless your account offers >3% interest, saving your money in a bank loses you money. The only question here is how much.
- ry0ohki 14y ago
  If this is your game, you should consider making all purchases on a charge card that pays 1-5% on all purchases, the Costco Amex is the one I use.
johng 14y ago
I have a simple account and the simple app on my Android phone. It's top notch. And while I've run into an issue with them refusing to work with my paypal account (because the paypal account shows a business name and my simple bank account is a personal account) -- the tech support was at least friendly about it. So far I like what they are doing.
- jarcoal 14y ago
  Same thing happened to me on a Friday and they locked my account. CS claimed they couldn't unlock the account until Monday... just imagine if they were my only bank. Not impressed.
jMyles 14y ago
I requested an invite in September; haven't heard from them since. What's the rollout pace right now?
- alax 14y ago
  It's fairly slow. I requested one in July and I just got mine a few weeks ago. YMMV.
- zampano 14y ago
  I requested one in September and got the invite in early December so I'm not sure if there is any real rhyme or reason to how the invites roll out. You might check your spam folder as well; mine had somehow ended up there.
thomasvendetta 14y ago
For anyone looking for an invite to Simple, I've got three available. Shoot me an e-mail (in profile). I've been using Simple for the past 6 months and I've got to say I don't miss my brick and mortar bank one second. These guys are the perfect example of doing it right.
- ry0ohki 14y ago
  Just out of curiosity what's the big deal? I received an invite was reluctant to signup because there is an "inactivity fee". As far as I can tell it's just an online bank?
  - bluetidepro 14y ago
    > I received an invite was reluctant to signup because there is an "inactivity fee" From their site: "After 180 days (6 months) of inactivity, we charge a $5 monthly fee to avoid escheatment,..." I think if you were to switch to Simple it would be very rare to not use your card for 180 days, but that's just my 2 cents. But yeah, I wouldn't switch to only have an "extra account" that would eventually hit that 180 day inactivity time.
  - achompas 14y ago
    Better account planning (with Safe-to-Spend + goals), excellent UI, instant report generation using searches, humongous network of free ATMs. The inactivity fee takes a long time to kick in--we're talking a year of not posting any transactions to your account. Their customer support is very open about it.
PetrolMan 14y ago
Minor rant: I requested an invite and got one but they didn't have an Android app and thus wouldn't let me sign up. They were supposed to send out another invite once the Android app was available. I'm probably just being impatient but I am actually really interested in trying their service.
- bluetidepro 14y ago
  Do you want me to send you another invite? I have a bunch on my account, currently.
  - aeosynth 14y ago
    I'll take an invite :)
    - bluetidepro 14y ago
      What's your email? I'll send it on over! :)
- meadman 14y ago
  I'm in the same situation. I just clicked the signup link in my email that contained the original invite and it let me sign up.
  - industrialwaste 14y ago
    Same here, previous sign up link lets you sign up now. Albeit, I have to wait to make sure I have the minimal $200 to transfer.
- chimeracoder 14y ago
  I got one - they may just be sending them out in batches.
- enobrev 14y ago
  I'm guessing that you'll get one soon. That's not necessarily blind faith, as my communication with them so far has been impressive. I had the same reply at sign-up, but just happened to have an iphone I use for testing, so I signed up and just left the account sitting while I waited for an Android app. I received an automated email from them about 2 months ago asking why I haven't logged in. I replied that I was waiting for an Android app (expecting nothing in return). I got a reply from someone within a day letting me know there would be an Android app early this year. He even responded to my follow-up email. Just got the email from them today about the new Android app (automated, not from the same guy). At least from this history with them, I assume they'll start getting those re-invites out soon.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
whalesalad 14y ago
If anyone would like an invitation to Simple, please shoot me an email via my profile, with a brief explanation as to why you might enjoy it =) I get a few invitations every once and a while (have 3 currently) and would love to give them to people who would truly like to use this awesome bank.
- Rtmagner 14y ago
  I just sent you an email with a request for an invite.
lucb1e 14y ago
It took me a while to figure out that Simple is actually a company name. That's like naming your company "Red", also an adjective. Honestly though, what is Simple? Everyone else seems to know it.
- msarchet 14y ago
  a bank https://www.simple.com/ https://www.simple.com/
  - trvrprkr 14y ago
    Simple is explicitly not a bank[1]. It's a financial-experience-as-a-service -- they manage your interactions with depositing, withdrawal, budgeting, etc. Their partner bank takes care of the money itself. [1]: https://www.simple.com/faq/#thebasics https://www.simple.com/faq/#thebasics
ommunist 14y ago
It will take years for Simple to reach the UK customer. How unfortunate for Britons.
Heqx 14y ago
I've noticed several people in this thread asking for Simple invites. I have three available. Message me with an email if you'd like one.
- Rtmagner 14y ago
  I would like one, if you have any available. Rtmagner@gmail.com

97 points by sbkirk 14y ago

So the technology platform is Simple's main product (after all, they're not a bank, that part is left up to their bank partner), right? In light of that, it seems odd that they'd farm out the development of one of the biggest customer-facing parts of that platform to a third party.

dublinben 14y ago
I doubt anyone who uses the app will ever know it was designed by this firm. The branding will just say "Simple" and people will get hooked on their service.
nleach 14y ago
In my experience Simple's main product is customer service (and delight). They're great at leveraging technology to accomplish this, but I'd say they're far from being a technology company. In an ideal world I'm sure they would have created their app in-house, but it looks like outsourcing the development left them with a quality final product. Seems like a smart enough choice to me.
- rachit 14y ago
  You hit it on the head. We were also able to speed up time to market and provide them with more than just outsourced dev.

sjmulder 14y ago

They see to have made a really nice custom styled app while still remaining true to modern Android conventions. Well done. It would be cool if banks could license their code (for a hefty fee) because the apps by banks here in thee Netherlands aren’t very good at all.

dasil003 14y ago
Given the legacy infrastructure they have to deal with I wouldn't be surprised if the code were dropped in their laps that it would still be impossible not to ruin it when wiring it up.

MatthewPhillips 14y ago

This is very well done. Usually I'm skeptical when a startup elects not to do the Android app themselves; it's often a sign that they don't really care about the platform. But in this case it's obvious that Two Toasters cares deeply, and I'm sure they weren't the cheapest option, so that shows that Simple cares as well. In the future it might be smart for startups whose care value isn't in the UI, to only do their web apps themselves and outsource the native apps to experts in the platforms, with guidance of course.

yarianluis 14y ago
I thought the same thing initially. That they did not care about Android as much. After all this app is released over eight months after the iOS and on top of that it's outsourced? But according to Simple's official blog statement they actually consulted with TwoToasters and have their own Android team. https://simple.com/blog/Banking/announcing-simple-for-android/ https://simple.com/blog/Banking/announcing-simple-for-androi... Incidentally, their jobs page has an opening for an Android engineer: http://banksimple.theresumator.com/apply/phViRT/Android-Engineer.html http://banksimple.theresumator.com/apply/phViRT/Android-Engi...
- KirinDave 14y ago
  Hiring really good Android engineers is really hard. I'd say it's easily the hardest set of hires I've approach in a new startup trying to bring people onboard.
  - yarianluis 14y ago
    What qualities would you say make someone a good Android engineer?
rachit 14y ago
Hi Rachit - CEO at Two Toasters here. You're absolutely right, we care a lot creating great user experiences and brought our expertise on Android to the table. We built a trusted relationship with the Simple mobile team and worked closely with them to ensure we stayed true to the Simple experience but with appropriate considerations for the Android platform.

felideon 14y ago

I am going to be in quite the conundrum when I get a Simple invite. On the one hand, I think what they're doing is awesome — for me, namely, the Safe-to-spend feature. I currently keep track of this in a not-so-accurate Excel spreadsheet and in my head. On the other hand, I currently use Perkstreet's debit card for everything and the 1% cash back adds up in a noticeably short period of time. I wonder if the 1% cash back is worth the grunt work that Simple would make quite, well, simple.

Lewisham 14y ago
Simple also don't offer any interest (nor a savings account) which grates a bit. Using Simple loses you money. It's not a "hidden fee", but it's a cost that isn't that clear. EDIT: There's also no outgoing ACH transfers yet, which I really would like.
- stevenbrianhall 14y ago
  Re: interest, this isn't technically correct, though the rate is 0.01%. See: https://simple.com/faq/#interest https://simple.com/faq/#interest and https://simple.com/policies/rates/ https://simple.com/policies/rates/
- daeken 14y ago
  The lack of outgoing ACH transfers is what's keeping me from doing the bulk of my banking through Simple. As it stands, I throw money into it every once in a while, but it's a novelty, largely. Once I can transfer to my local bank for large cash withdrawals, I'll switch to Simple for most of my business.
- tadfisher 14y ago
  Unless your account offers >3% interest, saving your money in a bank loses you money. The only question here is how much.
ry0ohki 14y ago
If this is your game, you should consider making all purchases on a charge card that pays 1-5% on all purchases, the Costco Amex is the one I use.

johng 14y ago

I have a simple account and the simple app on my Android phone. It's top notch. And while I've run into an issue with them refusing to work with my paypal account (because the paypal account shows a business name and my simple bank account is a personal account) -- the tech support was at least friendly about it. So far I like what they are doing.

jarcoal 14y ago
Same thing happened to me on a Friday and they locked my account. CS claimed they couldn't unlock the account until Monday... just imagine if they were my only bank. Not impressed.

jMyles 14y ago

I requested an invite in September; haven't heard from them since. What's the rollout pace right now?

alax 14y ago
It's fairly slow. I requested one in July and I just got mine a few weeks ago. YMMV.
zampano 14y ago
I requested one in September and got the invite in early December so I'm not sure if there is any real rhyme or reason to how the invites roll out. You might check your spam folder as well; mine had somehow ended up there.

thomasvendetta 14y ago

For anyone looking for an invite to Simple, I've got three available. Shoot me an e-mail (in profile). I've been using Simple for the past 6 months and I've got to say I don't miss my brick and mortar bank one second. These guys are the perfect example of doing it right.

ry0ohki 14y ago
Just out of curiosity what's the big deal? I received an invite was reluctant to signup because there is an "inactivity fee". As far as I can tell it's just an online bank?
- bluetidepro 14y ago
  > I received an invite was reluctant to signup because there is an "inactivity fee" From their site: "After 180 days (6 months) of inactivity, we charge a $5 monthly fee to avoid escheatment,..." I think if you were to switch to Simple it would be very rare to not use your card for 180 days, but that's just my 2 cents. But yeah, I wouldn't switch to only have an "extra account" that would eventually hit that 180 day inactivity time.
- achompas 14y ago
  Better account planning (with Safe-to-Spend + goals), excellent UI, instant report generation using searches, humongous network of free ATMs. The inactivity fee takes a long time to kick in--we're talking a year of not posting any transactions to your account. Their customer support is very open about it.

PetrolMan 14y ago

Minor rant: I requested an invite and got one but they didn't have an Android app and thus wouldn't let me sign up. They were supposed to send out another invite once the Android app was available. I'm probably just being impatient but I am actually really interested in trying their service.

bluetidepro 14y ago
Do you want me to send you another invite? I have a bunch on my account, currently.
- aeosynth 14y ago
  I'll take an invite :)
  - bluetidepro 14y ago
    What's your email? I'll send it on over! :)
meadman 14y ago
I'm in the same situation. I just clicked the signup link in my email that contained the original invite and it let me sign up.
- industrialwaste 14y ago
  Same here, previous sign up link lets you sign up now. Albeit, I have to wait to make sure I have the minimal $200 to transfer.
chimeracoder 14y ago
I got one - they may just be sending them out in batches.
enobrev 14y ago
I'm guessing that you'll get one soon. That's not necessarily blind faith, as my communication with them so far has been impressive. I had the same reply at sign-up, but just happened to have an iphone I use for testing, so I signed up and just left the account sitting while I waited for an Android app. I received an automated email from them about 2 months ago asking why I haven't logged in. I replied that I was waiting for an Android app (expecting nothing in return). I got a reply from someone within a day letting me know there would be an Android app early this year. He even responded to my follow-up email. Just got the email from them today about the new Android app (automated, not from the same guy). At least from this history with them, I assume they'll start getting those re-invites out soon.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

whalesalad 14y ago

If anyone would like an invitation to Simple, please shoot me an email via my profile, with a brief explanation as to why you might enjoy it =) I get a few invitations every once and a while (have 3 currently) and would love to give them to people who would truly like to use this awesome bank.

Rtmagner 14y ago
I just sent you an email with a request for an invite.

lucb1e 14y ago

It took me a while to figure out that Simple is actually a company name. That's like naming your company "Red", also an adjective. Honestly though, what is Simple? Everyone else seems to know it.

msarchet 14y ago
a bank https://www.simple.com/ https://www.simple.com/
- trvrprkr 14y ago
  Simple is explicitly not a bank[1]. It's a financial-experience-as-a-service -- they manage your interactions with depositing, withdrawal, budgeting, etc. Their partner bank takes care of the money itself. [1]: https://www.simple.com/faq/#thebasics https://www.simple.com/faq/#thebasics

ommunist 14y ago

It will take years for Simple to reach the UK customer. How unfortunate for Britons.

Heqx 14y ago

I've noticed several people in this thread asking for Simple invites. I have three available. Message me with an email if you'd like one.

Rtmagner 14y ago
I would like one, if you have any available. Rtmagner@gmail.com