5 ms·

I've enjoyed my experience with Simple, but the complexity of actually getting money onto the dang card was a huge turn-off. It just took way too long and the r

I've enjoyed my experience with Simple, but the complexity of actually getting money onto the dang card was a huge turn-off. It just took way too long and the reasoning for the issues came across like a glaring incompatibility between the banking industry and startup culture as a whole. Why did I need to pay myself via Square just to get a few hundred bucks on my card? And why did it take 12 hours to show up? And why, if I do a bank transfer, does it take more than a week? I hate to say it, but when you're called "Simple," there shouldn't be that many hoops. And while the app was impressive and offered a lot of smart thinking, Capital One's app is not so far behind what the company's doing as to make it a total downgrade to use the big bank's app instead. And unlike Simple, I can easily deposit money anywhere and most of it is available to me immediately. Simple is awesome for spending money, but the problem was that there was really no good way to deposit it. Perhaps the bank buyout could help make that issue a little less painful.

jcastro 13y ago
More than a week for a transfer sounds weird; I've done a bunch of transfers to and from Simple and it's the standard ACH time (2 or 3 days I think?).
- grey-area 13y ago
  In the UK it now takes seconds with the faster payments scheme (most banks participate). http://www.fasterpayments.org.uk http://www.fasterpayments.org.uk
Osiris 13y ago
I deposit money in two ways: 1. Direct deposit from my employer, 2. I use the mobile app to scan a check I write to myself from my other bank account (limit of $3000) (another option I haven't used, is just to mail a check to them) 3. Use external account transfers to pull money in from other checking accounts. I've used all three of those methods and they've all worked just fine for me. The biggest issue I've had is the inability to write a check, which doesn't come up often but often enough I have to have a separate bank account for that.
dasil003 13y ago
Wait a second, name one bank that does it better in the US. The problem is the US banking system is in the dark ages. The bullshit that we put up with in the US is unfathomable in Europe. If you hand someone a check (cheque?) in the UK they look at you like you're from 1957. Why? Because banks provide a modicum of modern service. Bank transfers are fast, cash machines are free, debit cards are secure, etc etc. Of course people complain about banks equally as they do in the States, but that's only because they don't realize how truly asinine banking can get. Now even though I've live in the UK since 2011, I opened a Simple account and it's been a breath of fresh air. The transfer to and from my other accounts is far simpler than any of my other US accounts. Also, I can receive wire transfers for free (imagine that, receive money for free!? The Wells Fargo founder must be spinning in his grave at the sound of that). Contrast this with the old experience of calling up a bank and saying I want to transfer money to another account and they tell me I have to call the other bank, because ACH is a "pull" system. Sorry to get off on a rant, but Simple is the best of the best in my opinion as a customer having dealt with at least 10 different banks over the last 20 years in both the US and UK.
- shortformblog 13y ago
  Please see the part I said about there being a "glaring incompatibility" between startup culture and the banking industry. I'm not saying it's Simple's fault. I'm saying that what it's offering (easy to use banking done mostly from your phone) is ultimately beholden to all the stuff it loses from not being a traditional bank (long delays between transfers, no easy way to deposit a check). And that ultimately holds back Simple's promise. The banking system sucks and is way behind where it should be. Simple, for all the amazing stuff it does, exposes some of those huge faults by tripping into them. And in many cases, they're problems they simply can't avoid because of the way the system's set up now. I hope Simple becomes more successful and uses its corporate parent's clout to fix these problems once and for all.

jcastro 13y ago

More than a week for a transfer sounds weird; I've done a bunch of transfers to and from Simple and it's the standard ACH time (2 or 3 days I think?).

grey-area 13y ago
In the UK it now takes seconds with the faster payments scheme (most banks participate). http://www.fasterpayments.org.uk http://www.fasterpayments.org.uk

Osiris 13y ago

I deposit money in two ways: 1. Direct deposit from my employer, 2. I use the mobile app to scan a check I write to myself from my other bank account (limit of $3000) (another option I haven't used, is just to mail a check to them) 3. Use external account transfers to pull money in from other checking accounts. I've used all three of those methods and they've all worked just fine for me. The biggest issue I've had is the inability to write a check, which doesn't come up often but often enough I have to have a separate bank account for that.

dasil003 13y ago

Wait a second, name one bank that does it better in the US. The problem is the US banking system is in the dark ages. The bullshit that we put up with in the US is unfathomable in Europe. If you hand someone a check (cheque?) in the UK they look at you like you're from 1957. Why? Because banks provide a modicum of modern service. Bank transfers are fast, cash machines are free, debit cards are secure, etc etc. Of course people complain about banks equally as they do in the States, but that's only because they don't realize how truly asinine banking can get. Now even though I've live in the UK since 2011, I opened a Simple account and it's been a breath of fresh air. The transfer to and from my other accounts is far simpler than any of my other US accounts. Also, I can receive wire transfers for free (imagine that, receive money for free!? The Wells Fargo founder must be spinning in his grave at the sound of that). Contrast this with the old experience of calling up a bank and saying I want to transfer money to another account and they tell me I have to call the other bank, because ACH is a "pull" system. Sorry to get off on a rant, but Simple is the best of the best in my opinion as a customer having dealt with at least 10 different banks over the last 20 years in both the US and UK.

shortformblog 13y ago
Please see the part I said about there being a "glaring incompatibility" between startup culture and the banking industry. I'm not saying it's Simple's fault. I'm saying that what it's offering (easy to use banking done mostly from your phone) is ultimately beholden to all the stuff it loses from not being a traditional bank (long delays between transfers, no easy way to deposit a check). And that ultimately holds back Simple's promise. The banking system sucks and is way behind where it should be. Simple, for all the amazing stuff it does, exposes some of those huge faults by tripping into them. And in many cases, they're problems they simply can't avoid because of the way the system's set up now. I hope Simple becomes more successful and uses its corporate parent's clout to fix these problems once and for all.