
BankSimple Announces API Plans - seancron
https://www.banksimple.net/api/
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modeless
What I'd like to see is the ability to give a read-only login to third parties
like Mint.

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cmelbye
I don't understand how BankSimple is going to work. Is it going to actually
store people's physical money somewhere, or is it just a layer on top of
existing banks?

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jauer
I'd like clarification on that as well.

From reading their posts it sounds like they are doing a abstraction layer on
top of existing banks so they can avoid the paperwork of becoming a actual
bank.

That makes me wonder how well their no fee scheme will work in practice.

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Q6T46nT668w6i3m
Right. We'll handle everything except treasuries and compliance.

What makes you wonder about our "no fee scheme"?

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jackowayed
I think he worries that since the banks "under" banksimple are already taking
a good cut of the "interest gap" between the rate you can lend it out at and
the rate you pay customers, there won't be enough left for you to cover your
costs.

P.S. get a real username?

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jauer
Precisely. Also concerned that the underlying banks could be jerks and change
terms etc to make their model not work or cause problems.

I'm not against trying it, just concerned about how well it will play out.

I haven't been looking forward to switching banks before. So far every time I
have switched banks it has been to get a local branch to deposit checks. I'm
really hoping BankSimple is the last bank I'll ever need but I'll need to see
how it works in practice.

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Q6T46nT668w6i3m
Ah, O.K. Fair question. Unfortunately, I couldn't provide you with a
satisfactory answer until we announce our partners. I expect we'll be doing so
sooner than later.

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jauer
If their product is half as good as their stated plans I'll switch as soon as
it is available. API + Check cashing via cell phone is pretty cool.

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Zev
_...Check cashing via cell phone is pretty cool._

FWIW, I can do this with Chase and an iPhone app that they offer. No API, but,
I don't _need_ one. Mint works fine with Yodlee.

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krmmalik
And as usual, i presume this is only going to be available in the U.S.

Seems great financial products either make their way to the UK very slowly, or
dont come at all.

Mint still doesnt support UK Banks, so i'm using lovemoney but its reporting
is not as good as what Mint has on offer.

BankSimple looks really good, and if it was in the UK, i'd certainly be
interested in signing up.

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johnnygood
Banking is a highly regulated industry and so products usually stop at
national borders. Even banks that operate in multiple countries (RBS/Citizens,
Santander/Sovereign, HSBC, etc.) basically operate as separate companies in
each country.

It's expensive and time consuming to comply with so much regulation. If
BankSimple does well, I'm sure they'd be happy to expand internationally, but
at this point it's questionable whether the public will gravitate to
BankSimple. If they tried to launch in multiple countries from day 1, they'd
be spreading resources very thin dealing with all the different laws. This
way, they can launch, be successful, and expand.

In some ways it's like physical businesses. You wouldn't expect a new fast-
food chain to launch with 50,000 stores worldwide, would you? Unlike the web
which is decently universal, they need to wait a little to catch on and grow.

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mildweed
Go check out the discussion on their Google Group. It is already filling with
insightful discussion.

<http://groups.google.com/group/banksimple-api>

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notahacker
permitting third party developers to interact with bank accounts in even a
strictly limited way seems like an absolute gift for phishing schemes...

