
Announcing The Simple iPhone App  - Q6T46nT668w6i3m
https://www.simple.com/blog/Simple/announcing-the-simple-iphone-app/
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ubercore
I WANT SIMPLE SO BAD.

Sorry, I don't mean to add noise to the conversation, but I haven't
anticipated a product like this for quite awhile. I've also been really
impressed with how responsive they are with sometimes demanding requests for
account ETAs, etc. Bodes well for their future customer service.

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christiangenco
Every time I see a blog post from Simple I literally salivate. I've been on
the waiting list since February 8th and all I got was this lousy "Thank you
for signing up" email. TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY

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ubercore
TAKE MY MONEY AND HELP ME SPEND IT EFFECTIVELY WHILE SAVING FOR FUTURE GOALS
WITH YOUR IMMACULATE INTERFACE!

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ecaroth
Looks awesome... can't wait to try it! Been on the wait list for what feels
like (and probably has been) 1.5 years though... Plans/ETA for android
version?

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BallinBige
to be completely honest - I am sitll confused what Simple does differently
than Mint.com

also - have been on the waiting list forever...

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rickyc091
Simple is like an online banking account where as Mint requires you to have an
existing bank or credit card account. Mint just helps you to visual and
consolidate all your accounts into one easy to access area.

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BallinBige
Simple requires you to have an existing bank or credit card account too,
right??

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Q6T46nT668w6i3m
No:

 _Can I use Simple with my current bank?

No. You’ll transfer money to our platform, where it’s held in an FDIC-insured
account at our partner bank. Our partner holds the funds, and we take care of
the rest._

<https://simple.com/faq/>

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felideon
Definitely look forward to having an account with Simple soon.

'Safe to spend' balance is brilliant and is something I have to do manually in
Excel by playing with numbers.

However, if I keep a zero-sum budget it would be nice to have multiple safe-
to-spend balances. If I understand correctly[1], with Simple I can presumably
just set non-bill budgets (eg. fuel, clothing, mini-savings, misc/blow) as
bills or even goals to fake it. That way, 'safe to spend' will always be $0
(give or take) — in essence managing a virtual envelope system, making my
personal finances much easier to handle than the current grunt work one has to
endure.

[1] "Safe to Spend is your account balance minus what you've saved toward
goals, minus pending contributions toward goals, minus pending bills in the
current pay cycle." [https://www.simple.com/blog/Saving/simple-budgeting-and-
rain...](https://www.simple.com/blog/Saving/simple-budgeting-and-rainy-days/)

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rkudeshi
Any ETA on a rollout of the service to people on the waiting list?

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i2pi
We began rolling out in November of last year. It's going to take us a while
to get through the entire list. I know many of you have been waiting over a
year & we deeply appreciate your patience.

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kdommeyer
I'm surprised so many people are clamoring for this. While the system seems
excellent overall, the lack of a rewards program on the card seems like a
deal-breaker for day-to-day use. Why would I use this instead of a credit card
that gives me 1-5% cash back?

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al3x
So, a couple reasons:

1\. Unless you're doing an absolute ton of spending on your rewards credit
card, any fees you pay on your credit card probably wipe out any cash you're
getting back. If you're not paying fees yourself, merchants or other
institutions may be subsidizing your rewards in ways that aren't sustainable.
Many rewards programs have been slashed during the financial crisis of the
last several years.

2\. Cash-back rewards make your personal accounting more complicated. If you
really want to set and meet financial goals, you need to be keeping close tabs
on what you spend on what card, how much you're getting back in rewards, what
fees you're paying, and where those reward dollars are going so that you're
actually accumulating wealth (saving account, brokerage account, etc.). Our
model combines an interest-bearing account with the ability to easily track
your financial goals. Keeping it all in one place is, in our experience, way
easier.

We're not crazy about the idea of rewards programs, but it's also not
something we've completely ruled out. If we can find a way to do a rewards
program that has clear incentives for our customers, merchants, and our
partner institutions, we'll explore that.

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kdommeyer
Thanks for your reply.

1\. I pay no fees on my credit card. My full balance is paid automatically and
1-5% is refunded (depending on where I spent the money). To put that in
perspective, if I spend $50,000 I get back $500-2500, which is not an
insignificant amount. You are absolutely correct that rewards are subsidized
by merchant and banking fees. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't
merchants have to pay fees when accepting Visa debit cards as well?

2\. Cash-back rewards only make personal accounting more complicated if you
calculate them on an ongoing basis and pay additional fees for the credit
card. If you do neither of these you'll stay within your budget and be
rewarded with a substantial bonus every month that you can then spend or
invest.

With all that said, I agree that keeping it all in one place would be much
easier and I would love to try Simple myself. I just can't imagine replacing
my day-to-day purchases with a debit card, no matter how awesome the system
that surrounds that card may be.

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felideon
And if you're not into credit cards just by principle, there's always
Perkstreet's debit card. As their tagline goes, "No fees, just perks." (Perks
being gift cards or cash back.)

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jdoody
I wish they had something to let you know how far down you are on the wait
list and how long it will be approximately until you can finally get an
account. I signed up for the wait list nearly a year ago. Getting a bit
frustrated with how long it's taking.

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al3x
Sorry, I know it's been a long wait. We hope it'll be worth it.

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swang
Nice, I didn't know they were already taking signups.

Also I'm in Win7 on Chrome and the site font (maybe the font-weight?) makes
text on the site appear real fuzzy.

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Q6T46nT668w6i3m
Thanks. We're working on it.

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yahelc
Since you're here...

I got an email in November saying "Because you got in early, you can probably
expect to get your invite by Spring of 2012."

Can I still expect that? Bank of America is killing me, and there's only so
long I can wait.

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zellyn
Same situation here. Any ETA on joint accounts? I just realized that even
after my hard-won invite appears, I won't be able to share an account with my
wife... :-(

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AznHisoka
I still think BankSimple would've made for a better brand. Simple sounds too
generic.

"Hey, have you tried this Simple app?" "What's the name of this app? Where can
I find this app?" "It's Simple" "Yeah I know, but what's the name of it?"
"Umm.. it's Simple" "Simple what?" "Just Simple" "I searched the App Store. No
app called Just Simple, dummy"

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Macsenour
I agree, my first thought was "Simple what?".

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Macsenour
I have no idea why this was down voted. That really was my first thought and
not meant as an insult to anyone.

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chrisgoodrich
Simple is building a product that they are certain will be successful. VC's
should be clamoring to get involved with Simple.

Look at the Simple Twitter feed and you'll see people begging for invites.

I am still hoping for an invite Spring '12 as my last email from them
indicated. :)

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af3
is Simple like PayPal with plastic card and nice web/app interface?

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i2pi
I've been using Simple since September[0] as a complete replacement for my
bank account. That's the idea - you replace your existing checking/savings/etc
accounts with Simple.

[0]: I work there.

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dsl
Shut up and take my business!

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Q6T46nT668w6i3m
Ha! We're working on it.

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christiangenco
If I ever see you in person I'm going to literally throw my money at you.

