
Mint.com transforms personal finance from an onerous task into a fun diversion - robg
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24wwln-medium-t.html?ref=technology
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dreish
Am I missing something? They're asking for the keys to my bank account -- my
username and password for online banking, something that should never be given
out to anyone under any circumstances. That, to me, is an issue I just can't
get past, no matter how many people sing their praises.

~~~
staticshock
You're not missing anything, it's just a matter of trust. There are a lot of
middlemen between you and your money, no matter the scenario. For online
banking, these middlemen include the browser, your OS, and the underlying
communication network. You have developed a trust relationship with those
components. Mint wants to be another middleman, and that's why they're
developing a brand known for security and trustworthiness.

~~~
tectonic
And if they get hacked and my password is abused to steal money from my
account, will my bank cover the liability? I doubt it - I gave my password
away. I assume it's like a stolen ATM PIN, I eat the loss. No thanks.

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ryanwaggoner
Actually, your bank is required by law to limit your liability to $50 if
reported within 2 days, or to $500 if reported within 60 days. Many states are
even more friendly towards consumers, and some banks have voluntarily made
their policies more consumer-friendly than that, limiting liability to $50 in
all cases, for example.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_E>

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pj
How quickly we forget, from 4 days ago:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=615528> "Report: Mint Considers Selling
Anonymized Data from Its Users (readwriteweb.com)"

Is it fun to have your financial data sold to, perhaps several of, the highest
bidders?

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greengirl512
I think Mint is, hands down, the best personal money management site (although
if anyone disagrees, I'm open to checking other sites out). The big thing, for
me, is the emails and text message alerts, especially the ones that go out
once you've reached your monthly budget on a certain type of spending. Huge
help!

~~~
woodsier
I really wish this was available in Australia. All the alternatives are too
messy and clunky, or don't hook into my bank easily.

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edw519
"Where eBay had once turned shopping into a game, Mint had now turned saving
into one."

A good lesson for _any_ software.

If I write a comprehensive functional specification, a detailed email, or call
a meeting to discuss requirements, my users don't care (and half of them never
bother).

But if I give them something to play with, using their own data, they go nuts.
Then they're pushing me to get _their_ project moving along.

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asb
As far as I can see, few of these services are available outside of America.
The only available service I know that downloads data from your online bank
account is Yodlee (which Mint uses as a data provider). I haven't used Egg
Money Manager, but I believe that has a windows only client that downloads
your transactions on your own computer. Does anybody know what precisely is
holding back these services from launching worldwide? I'd imagine they'd want
to get a foothold in Europe as quickly as possible before somebody beats them
to it. Is there a regulatory problem with providing this service?

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ckinnan
"The service seems simple enough, though Patzer says there are five separate
patents pending to the technology."

I wonder if this is defensive or if they plan to litigate their competitors.

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gruseom
It's almost certainly defensive, probably because their investors want them to
be "protectable". Startups tend not to sue their competitors.

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asb
I've recently signed up with Yodlee Moneycenter and become a big fan of these
personal finance websites. Hopefully more services will soon become available
to UK customers.

~~~
pmikal
How long until Yodlee pulls the plug on Mint? They provide Mint's account
aggregation technology and now are shooting to be a competitor. Hmm...

~~~
staticshock
i don't have a yodlee account, how do they stack up?

