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I've been with Simple for about a year and a half, and slowly moved from my TD Bank account to using Simple exclusively for personal banking. They've blown me a
by jaysonelliot 13y ago
I've been with Simple for about a year and a half, and slowly moved from my TD Bank account to using Simple exclusively for personal banking. They've blown me away with how a bank can operate if it just joins the 21st century. Everything from their UX to their customer service is outstanding.
Calling them on the phone reminds me of going in to my local bank when I lived in a small town in Iowa.
Then again, this is pretty much the way I felt when I joined Commerce Bank in 2002. They were leaps and bounds above any other bank in everything from their down-home attitude to their evening and weekend hours. Then they got acquired.
Things weren't too different with ING Direct. Joined up for their interest-bearing checking and used them as my savings account. Had wonderful experiences. Then they got acquired.
Tangential, but relevant, I got HostGator as my hosting provider many years ago—they were a little company in Texas with great service and great people. I'm leaving them this month. They got acquired, and everything changed.
I hope this goes well for Simple. I really do. But I'm preparing myself. I know the signs to watch out for. First they'll get an automated phone tree, and I'll have to tell the robot what I want. Then it will get just a little longer to wait for a person. A couple fees will show up, nothing much, just little stuff. Tiny, unobtrusive, totally defensible, annoying policies will start taking hold. And soon, it'll be just another online bank—albeit one with a very pretty iPhone app.
I hope that doesn't happen. But I'm bracing myself anyway.
- enobrev 13y agoI've had pretty much the exact same banking experience. Commerce Bank was incredible when it came to service, both in the branches and over the phone. The web site wasn't so great, but not specifically bad either compared to most others. TD Bank (which acquired Commerce) was just OK. ING was absolutely remarkable. Less so after being acquired. And Simple is by far the best banking experience I've had. The interface is so well done, the customer service has been phenomenal. I actually find myself on my banking tab nearly every day (happily), adjusting goals and making sure I'm on target. I still use mint to manage all my accounts and consistently wish the interface was even half as good as Simple's. Mint is another example that stopped being incredible after being acquired - or at least stopped progressing in any useful manner.
- lmg643 13y agoAgreed on all fronts. Rooting for the Simple crew to keep their product rocking. I also have to note that the Spanish banking system is among the worst, most troubled, in the world. Santander recently bought Soverign bank (US regional bank) and it makes me wonder whether they are trying to address solvency from bad loans with fresh deposits however they can acquire them. makes me nervous to think about having any serious amount of funds with a spanish bank.
- ceejayoz 13y agoSimple's support is definitely outstanding. I get little notes like "Fixed it! By the way, it's not my business but I like that you hyphenated your name when you got married." that really reinforce that there are actual humans being allowed to solve problems, not fill out a script.
- mattermill 13y agoExactly. Here's a recent interaction I had with Simple support. http://cloud.mattermill.com/image/2w0W1v0z3E0d http://cloud.mattermill.com/image/2w0W1v0z3E0d
- Argorak 13y agoIt's a thin line to walk. I would feel quite different if that happened to me.
- Paul_D_Santana 13y agoI love ING Direct. I just wish they offered Two-Factor authentication for "360" accounts. Relevant link: https://www.facebook.com/CapitalOne360/posts/10151557334229501 https://www.facebook.com/CapitalOne360/posts/101515573342295...
- notJim 13y agoHonestly, it would be great if they had passwords instead of just a maximum 6-digit number (!!!) for auth. It's fucking absurd.
- hueving 13y ago>It's fucking absurd. On an unregistered browser, someone has to guess the answer to two security questions and the PIN. Did it occur to you that maybe it's not a problem since it's been that way for at least 8 years now (I signed up in 06)?
- justincormack 13y agoYes 8 years ago poor security was a bit less of a risk.
- r00fus 13y agoDo other internet-only banks offer such a feature? I'm pretty done with "360".
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- rjf90 13y agoI think acquirers are aware of notions like yours (I used to work for one of the acquirers you mentioned). These companies will eventually start to take great care to preserve the brand and product of the acquired company. My experience with one of the banks you mentioned has not changed since it's been acquired.
- tribe2012 13y agoI love ING direct. Even after converting to 360 they've still been pretty good.
- johnpozzi 13y agoHi Jason, Consider www.grb.net - John.Pozzi@comcast.net