
Banking Startup Simple Acquired for $117M, Will Continue to Operate Separately - uptown
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/20/simple-acquired-for-117m-will-continue-to-operate-separately-under-its-own-brand/
======
jaysonelliot
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.

~~~
ceejayoz
Simple'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.

~~~
Argorak
It's a thin line to walk. I would feel quite different if that happened to me.

~~~
ceejayoz
In all seriousness, why?

~~~
Argorak
Does it matter?

Simply put, I parse that as a creepy attempt of simulating a personal
relationship that just isn't there.

~~~
cylinder
Agreed; I'm getting sick of this faux-friendliness that's trendy in American
customer service these days. Banks and B2B startups are equally as guilty. I
don't want to be asked how I'm doing or discuss the weather every time I call
you for a quick question, wasting lots of time with useless polite banter. I'd
rather a business call with an established vendor go like this:

* Ring, quick answer

* V: Yeah?

* Me: I need X changed to Y.

* V: Got it.

* Me: Thanks. _end call_

~~~
josephjrobison
What about at Trader Joe's how they always have a nice conversation with you,
what's your take on that?

~~~
Argorak
Depends on what the conversation is about. The ring on my finger? (similar to
the example above?) No-no.

The weather, because it is summer and hot? Ok. Just banter.

The crowded store and the fact that I had to stand in line 5 minutes? ("Crazy,
we didn't expect that many customers today!") Yes! Shows they are aware and
care.

It's not that I don't want to interact, I just don't want to be dragged into
that 'we're friends' game.

------
blhack
I'm a simple customer...

First: $117M? That seems like an astonishingly low amount of money.

Second: The service you get from simple really is that good, probably better
than what most people would expect. The app is amazing, their website is
amazing, their customer support is amazing.

It feels like a bank from the 21st century, not from the stone age.

This acquisition actually makes me really sad. Simple is awesome, and I really
hope that it doesn't get screwed up by this.

~~~
Karunamon
The onboarding process on the other hand is opaque and nigh-useless. I got
shot down for an account with these guys due to a .23 (that is not a typo..
twenty-three cents) report on chexsystems from five years ago.

Every bank I've had the ability to talk to an actual person was able to see
that this is clearly absurd, I am not a serial check bouncer/overdrafter/etc
and to get my account going. Simple..notsomuch. I'd love to use them if they'd
let me.

~~~
nhangen
I had heard so little from them that I assumed they were in the throes of
dissolution. I guess I was wrong.

~~~
FireBeyond
I'm still blown away that they don't/can't offer joint accounts. I mean, I'm
fairly sure that's not a limitation of Bancorp, so ...

------
jackgavigan
_A source close to Simple tells The Verge that the company, which had raised
$15.3 million, had been shopping itself around in search of a buyer since
business wasn 't progressing as quickly as it hoped. "They had kind of run out
of steam," said the source..._

Source: [http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/20/5429916/bbva-acquires-
simp...](http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/20/5429916/bbva-acquires-
simple-117-million-cash)

Simply (no pun intended) building a layer on top of the existing banking
infrastructure isn't really that innovative. The big potential in this space
is building a new banking platform from scratch, instead of relying on
existing/legacy technology. Unfortunately, the investment required is higher
than VCs seem willing to risk.

~~~
patrickk
> The big potential in this space is building a new banking platform from
> scratch, instead of relying on existing/legacy technology.

It's likely nearly impossible to build a bank from scratch because of
regulatory hurdles. That's why Simple had to team up with a partner bank
instead of going it 100% alone. I remember reading a blog post from Simple
about it, it seemed they had no choice to partner with an existing bank (if I
find the post I'll share it). The banking system is broken on purpose. This is
why banks operate like it's the stone age and get away with awful service and
fees - there's little chance of nimbler competitors coming along and eating
their lunch.

~~~
maxerickson
Another piece of the puzzle is that a single new bank isn't going to have it a
whole lot better when it comes to interbank stuff (probably they have it
worse, having to build useful relationships).

~~~
tanzam75
> _Another piece of the puzzle is that a single new bank isn 't going to have
> it a whole lot better when it comes to interbank stuff (probably they have
> it worse, having to build useful relationships)._

Interbank transfers -- wire and ACH -- are processed through central
clearinghouses. You just show up with a copy of your bank charter, pay the
fees, and you're now on equal terms with any other bank when it comes to
moving money around.

The hard part is getting that charter in the first place. Just two months ago,
the Bank of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania became the first new consumer bank to
be chartered in the United States since 2010. One bank, in the past _three
years_. It was huge news in the banking world, even made the Wall Street
Journal and the Financial Times. It's an Amish bank -- they have a drive-
through lane for horses and buggies.

~~~
jackgavigan
They had to spend $800,000 just to get approved.
[http://lancasteronline.com/business/new-bank-of-bird-in-
hand...](http://lancasteronline.com/business/new-bank-of-bird-in-hand-result-
of-long-approval/article_3b1f38d1-5125-54e7-8868-794b5fe303fc.html)

------
iends
I really, really, really want to use Simple.

But they don't have joint accounts, so my wife and I would have to go through
a lot of trouble to use their service. It's interesting to say that they are
not able to expand as fast as they wanted when they are missing this HUGE
feature. Not having this feature has kept me from using their service ever
since I received a very early beta invite.

~~~
sneak
I can't imagine a life wherein a joint account is not insanity.

Why not have one account for each of you? Simple has instant account-to-
account internal transfers.

~~~
Kerrick
Many couples would find it just as annoying as having separate refrigerators
and simply transferring food between the two before withdrawing and eating it.

~~~
achompas
Well aren't we fortunate that holding two separate accounts in a relationship
is nothing like this at all!!

------
stevenbrianhall
When I moved to my current job a year ago, I shut down my business and closed
a checking, savings, business checking, and credit card account with Bank of
America. I had a Simple invite sitting around, and thought it made sense to
consolidate and...Simplify, making my single Simple account my sole bank.

I couldn't be happier with that decision, and believe that I have been saving
money (in both fees and in general) because of Simple's interface.

So with this news, I feel excited for their team, but still very nervous. I
joined Simple precisely because I was tired of dealing with a megabank (like
many folks here), so if Simple can continue to buck the trend and stay
customer-focused and agile, then I'll continue to be all-in.

------
hawkharris
When I was a kid without a bank account, a 401K or other investments to worry
about, I used to put my money in envelopes: one for a new bike; one for a
video game, etc. I could glance at my cash and know exactly what was safe to
spend without performing mental math.

Simple's Safe to Spend feature is the digital equivalent. I can aside money
for rent and emergencies in digital envelopes. I never thought personal
finance was fun and easy until I began using Simple. It changed the way I
think about money.

~~~
Nicholas_C
The problem is I use credit cards for reward points and I only pay them off
once a month. It sounds like you can only get budget reports for money you've
spent on your Simple card. Correct me if I'm wrong. This wouldn't be too
helpful to me. The budget tool would be awesome if it encompassed all my
cards.

------
Goopplesoft
I've been using Simple for well over a year now can say that the software and
website are absolutely amazing at monitoring and tracking your money. It has
its flaws though: transferring is pretty much limited to automated mailed
checks and accounts you own (they recently added simple to simple instant
transfers), and no B&M banks to get things like large cash withdrawals (I do
fee-less cash advances at another bank when I need money) or cash deposits.

With that said, I'd actually prefer a quicker integration with BBVA with hopes
that their backend banking infrastructure would improve, but I wish they had
done it with a more prominent US bank with more branches (BBVA has very few).

Edit: want an invite? Email in profile.

------
Osiris
I'm a Simple user and occasionally the lack of checks has been a problem.

One specific incident that I had was that I needed a cashier's check to close
on my house, but I didn't know the exactly amount until a few days before
closing. I paid $50 to have them overnight the check. The check didn't not
arrive overnight and I ended up having to chase it down at a FedEx hub so I
could have the check at closing.

During this whole time, I had a chat with the SAME rep. I had a whole long
conversation that lasted over two weeks regarding how to get the check, asking
for the check, talking about problems with the shipping, and even getting a
refund for the overnight shipping.

This is what was amazing to me. The same rep was tied to my conversation. When
I had problems with Comcast, every time I called I talked to a completely
different person and I had to explain my issue over and over again (even worse
I often got dropped during a transfer and had to call back and do it all over
again).

~~~
compuguy
It's a problem with online only banks also. I was in a similar situation with
a closing, needing a cashiers check from usaa. I had to wire the money
instead. Does simple allow for wire transfers?

~~~
compuguy
I checked and it seems they accept wire transfers, but you can't send them :(

------
somberi
I was one of the early customers of Simple. When I received their card in that
lovely cardboard with a rubber band on, I was hooked. I really wanted to move
to Simple.

But did not. I mean I still have an account a few hundred dollars in it, but I
have never found a reason to use it.

My main account is a combination of Credit Union and Chase. Chase's mobile App
does all that I need, and the credit union staff are so fantastic, I have
stayed with them for 15 years.

In addition Chase comes through for "serious" banking stuff like wire
transfers, LoCs etc.

All the best. I still have the cardboard they sent me as an example of how
something simple can be lovely.

------
shortformblog
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.

~~~
dasil003
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
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.

------
Edmond
Shutting down in 1..2... Despite what the CEO says, I don't see how Simple is
going to see the light of day in a giant that manages $800+ billion in
assets...too bad, the prospect of a new type of banking was something I was
actually excited about.

~~~
JonnieCache
_> the prospect of a new type of banking_

...

 _> The acquiring company, BBVA, is a 150-year old financial services
corporation_

I think that was the problem.

I predict they kill it within 6 months, either overtly or by halting all
development.

~~~
nandhp
Or maybe they acquired Simple to gain next-generation online banking for their
own customers. If they were feeling very ambitious, they could take further
advantage of Simple's bank abstraction layer to license the system to other
banks and/or credit unions -- a sort of online banking-as-a-service.

~~~
JonnieCache
Probably. I'm having a bad day. I still won't be surprised if it grinds to a
halt though.

------
ebiester
The killer for me is that it didn't seem to have a way to track spending from
my credit card. To get the benefits, I'd have to give up my rewards card, and
the rewards and customer protection are more important (to me) than a clean
interface.

Maybe this acquisition can help that.

------
m_d
I've enjoyed banking with Simple over the past couple years, but if they move
my account to BBVA, I'll be leaving for a credit union.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBVA#Criminal_charges:_money_la...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBVA#Criminal_charges:_money_laundering.2C_account_falsification.2C_bribery.2C_drug_and_weapons_trafficking)
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBVA#Connection_to_drug_syndica...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBVA#Connection_to_drug_syndicates_and_terrorist_groups)

I know most banks have some skeletons in their closets, but BBVA seems to be
less ethical than average.

------
josephjrobison
I signed up for Simple because of the pretty video and app and I was hooked. I
now spend everything from Simple and just use my old Wells Fargo account for
recurring bills. It's a beautiful app, has a cool goals feature, and alerts
you right away how much you just spent, which is helpful for verifying your
receipts. Their customer service is like WP Engine status and you can chat
them right away. Their transaction categorizing it 10x better than Mint. Mint
puts 1/3 of my stuff as uncategorized.

I only hope they don't go the way of Mint, even though they're two different
products. Has Mint improved any features at all since they were acquired?

~~~
Timothee
_Has Mint improved any features at all since they were acquired?_

Not really. I looks pretty much the same to me as when they started and it
certainly looks the same as when they were bought, five years ago.

I'd be very interested in knowing how many product and engineering people
still work on it. (if any…)

~~~
binxbolling
Well, they added the nice "feature" of bugging you sign up for partner offers,
whether loans, credit cards, or whatever.

So: changes, yes. Improvements? No.

~~~
tanzam75
> _Well, they added the nice "feature" of bugging you sign up for partner
> offers, whether loans, credit cards, or whatever._

That was the whole business model that Mint was based upon. They'd give you
the service for free, and make money on lead-generation.

When they were a startup, they could afford not to be quite so annoying about
it. Now that Intuit owns it, they can no longer keep burning cash. They have
to show that they can make a profit. If lead-gen won't do it, then they'll
have no choice but to start charging.

------
knerd1
Early user of simple here and, while their design was excellent, there was
little else to recommend them. Plenty of other banks offer no-fee atm access
and have apps. Those banks, unlike simple, reliably process transactions. They
went down more than once, which meant my card was declined. The customer
service rep was nice when he told me their servers were down. No advance
notice. It would be nice to have a bank that, you know, works.

~~~
ixmatus
This criticism is silly - they are a startup and you should know what you were
getting yourself into. Plus, credit cards in the event it's down?

I myself never experienced downtime and they've only gotten more reliable,
better customer service, and more features.

~~~
anona
If the product wasn't in beta, why shouldn't you expect reliable service?

~~~
ixmatus
_It is reliable_! Growing pains happen. Downtime happens. Expecting five nines
from a little startup, even when it's out of beta, is silly!

I've built three companies now and _it is really hard_! Balancing up-time,
product development, customer support, and bug fixing is difficult. I'm sure
interfacing with legacy banking systems made it even worse. If it were down
all the time (the way Reddit was during their major growth phase) then I would
agree, _that is an issue_. But they are not and were not - insignificant
downtime is not something to criticize, there are other more constructive
things to criticize about the product _which is consistently evolving anyway_.

It upsets me to see people on HN get up on their soapbox and say demoralizing
things about trivial issues (that are part of the life of a growing product)
of little startups that are doing well, continuously improving, and _doing
their best_.

------
angryasian
I have a simple account, and I don't find it hard to budget money or track,
nor really use the bank interface to do much than paybills.

I really found it as an unnecessary layer.

------
medecau
BBVA client here.

This is surprising to say the least. The BBVA online banking is a prime
example of a forgotten service to their clients. The .pt website will often
output errors in Spanish.

Not sure if I should expect the tech to trickle into existing services, one
can hope. It seems to be a nice deal for BBVA to expand to the Americas and
for Simple to get in Europe.

------
notJim
If you're in need of a new bank, Schwab is pretty great on a couple of fronts
(and hilariously awful on others.)

The good:

1) They have great customer support. You call and get a super-nice, helpful
real genuine person in Colorado or Arizona, 24/7\. 2) They refund all your ATM
fees from any ATM anywhere (this is maybe mostly a big deal in New York where
cash only is still a major thing) 3) If you have an IRA with them, they have a
suite of index funds which are well-regarded, and which you can trade for
free.

The bad:

1) Their website is pretty awful, but also totally usable. 2) They have some
restriction for their checking like you have to sign up with $5k or direct
deposit or get an IRA or something, I don't remember. This didn't matter to me
though, because I needed an IRA and use direct deposit anyway.

~~~
ramLlama
Schwab has been the only bank I have ever dealt with, and I have no intention
of moving away. They are a professionally run outfit with focus on all the
right things.

As mentioned, the customer service is stellar. I have never had to be on hold
much more than a few minutes and the person on the other end has always been
engaged and knowledgeable, all the while remaining totally professional. I
think this image of them was cemented for me when I found that their hold
"music" was that Friday's jobs report!

The website is not great on the usability front and some things are placed in
questionable locations. The search functionality is also frustrating and
obtuse many times. The same is true of the mobile app. However, they are
functionally more than sufficient and work perfectly fine. And, worst case,
you can always just call them or do the online chat.

I think they are on the more expensive side as a brokerage, but their
integration there is satisfactory (that being said, I am not an active
investor)

They also don't nickel and dime you on things. I was amazed when I found out
that other banks charge for getting extra checks and a checkbook. Admittedly,
checks are in less and less use these days, but you still need them sometimes.
Schwab offers unlimited checks for free. Spare debit cards may be charged, but
I am not sure. I have not lost my debit card (yet!)

The bank side is located in Reno, NV, so any checks have to be mailed there.
However, this isn't entirely true. Schwab does have physical locations to
serve their brokerage clients and since the Checking account requires a
brokerage account (although it doesn't require it to be funded), you can still
use their physical locations to deposit and withdraw money, and then move it
around online or on the app.

~~~
notJim
> The bank side is located in Reno, NV, so any checks have to be mailed

You can use the smartphone app to deposit checks just by taking a photo now,
actually.

~~~
ramLlama
That's true, and I completely forgot that you can do that. In fact, that's how
I last deposited a check!

------
rrbrambley
Wow. I closed my Bank of America account and have been depending on Simple
alone for a while now. I was really looking forward to seeing Simple flourish
on their own, but hey, congrats to them! Let's hope for the best here.

------
mrbill
By the time I finally got a Simple/BankSimple invite, the online features and
offerings from my local/regional bank (Frost, for those of you in TX) matched
"close enough" to what Simple was offering at the time that there wasn't any
advantage to moving everything over and leaving a bank I've been with for 18
years. Sure, the UI's not as pretty, but that's not everything.

I still have the account, and like my USAA one, transfer money into it every
month as a secondary emergency fund in case something happens with my Frost
account and I get locked out over a weekend.

~~~
ixmatus
Frost's UI/UX is no where near Simple's, IMHO. My girlfriend was using Frost
for a long time, saw me using Simple, and wanted to switch over immediately -
super happy since. Since then every mobile banking app I've had to use (ATFCU,
Chase, Citi, and BofA) is ridiculous. Bad design, limited functionality, no
concept of UX (BofA's mobile app at least has it together but their webapp is
stupid).

~~~
mrbill
I fully agree that Frost's UI/UX is nowhere near Simple's, but it lets me do
what I need to do online, and I can deposit checks via my Android phone now.
Good enough.

------
1dundundun
I know I should be happy for them but I'm sad. It's rare to find a company in
the bank/personal finance space executing at such a high level consistently.
Also, I have never seen a great company in this space continue to be great
post acquisition.

Commerce Bank and Mint have been mentioned already. I'll also add Outright
which was a great little app acquired by Godaddy.

Nature of the beast I suppose...

------
Arubis
As a Simple user, I want them to stay exactly the same, as the contrast they
offer to almost everything else out there is outstanding.

But as an outside observer, I hope they grow like crazy. The amount that the
banking industry needs to be shaken up to the point of near-destruction
(preferably without the taxpayers having to bail them out) cannot be
understated.

------
untog
I recall reading (and no, I can't find a source now, sorry) that Simple had a
lot of trouble initially because they weren't a bank in many of the ways that
you need to be a bank in order to work with other banks.

So hopefully this will give them the 'establishment' they need along with the
independence to keep innovating. Hopefully.

------
domdip
This could be a great move for Simple. It could allow them to execute really
quickly on the core product and user experience, while giving them access and
expertise to backend banking support. Staying independent meant the latter was
more challenging than any engineering/product problem they could want to
solve.

------
kolev
I got excited when I got my invitation long ago, but it came out to be an
expensive service for me - expensive, as to use it, I had to part with my 1.5%
cash back (which totals to over $1K per year) from my PayPal Debit Card. Same
with other similar services like Moven, Serve, GoBank, and the rest.

------
pmorici
I don't see why anyone would use Simple for Banking. They don't pay any great
interest rates at least not that they advertise and their features are
equivalent to what you can get with CapitalOne360 formerly ingDirect but those
guys will pay you interest on your deposits.

~~~
fossuser
Do you get good interest rates anywhere? Last time I checked at banks I think
checking accounts had .06% and even a long term CD was around 0.9%.

I'd be better off just playing the market at that point (or using something
like betterment/wealthfront to hold most money).

Simple is nice because the interface/app are solid and they have incredible
customer service. The only other thing I'd want from them is a decent rewards
credit card.

~~~
donpdonp
Credit Unions in my area (Portland, Or) have checking accounts that pay
1.0%-1.5%. No interest from Simple is the main reason I don't use them.

~~~
sneak
Based on your average monthly balances in checking, is this really more than a
few thousand a year? To me, the Simple app is worth at least that.

~~~
shitlord
If you have 120k with an interest rate of 1.0%, you are basically losing out
on about $3.33 a day. In one year, you end up losing out on the amount of
money you would need to buy a nice UHD monitor. It's simply not worth it, IMO.

~~~
sneak
Who keeps $120k sitting in checking earning 1%? That's underwater against
inflation.

I am baffled by anyone who peaks their checking account beyond 30-40k.

------
macinjosh
I have had Simple for a couple years now and really love it. This makes me
sad. BBVA and other international and even national banks like them are the
scum of the earth. Already in the process of closing my account.

So. Sad.

------
fournm
This isn't actually surprising, to me. I'm indirectly with BBVA through
SmartyPig, which is pretty in line with Simple as well.

Good deal to the Simple team, I hope this works out for everyone involved
well.

------
treenyc
I love simple. I just wish they would address concern related to how they
invest my money. For example, I would prefer that they give their customer the
options to invest our money for things that that we approve. For example, I
want my money to be invest in local communities instead of building nuclear
power plants.

Of course, if you want your money to build nuclear power plant and move large
scale jobs abroad, then I support that as well. The point is to give us option
on where our money get invested. I have called simple.com a few times, and it
looks like it is something that they are not thinking about right now. I hope
with the new investment they would start thinking about the larger pictures of
how the money they collect is invested.

~~~
ceejayoz
I've never heard of a bank offering such a thing, and it sounds like a
horrendous nightmare to manage.

~~~
treenyc
I guess you are right, because it has NEVER being done and it is really hard
to do, we shouldn't do it.

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fiatjaf
Banks don't have incentive to build nice interfaces for their users, because
they're a State-guaranteed oligopolized cartel.

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magentaplacenta
For a company so invested in disrupting banks, it's sad to see them going to a
massive global conglomerate.

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jackson1989
Let's hope they don't go down the toilet like ING direct did after Capital One
acquired them.

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sneak
Shame it wasn't by Coinbase.

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kin
Love Simple. Congrats to the team, well deserved. Please keep it simple!

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pothibo
A 150yrs old financing business acquires Simple, an innovative financing
business.

Now, you want to make me believe that Simple will stay innovative and that
this acquisition is best for the user?

Yeah, right.

~~~
onethree
despite being 150 years old, from what I've heard about BBVA, they seem to be
making a real push to be innovative. They've fairly recently moved all of
their staff onto Google Apps which is an interesting move.

The way I see it, someone has looked at their online/mobile banking, and said
"what can we do better here? what are other people in the industry doing?" and
seen the way Simple operates, and the general satisfaction of their customers.

It'll be interesting to see what happens from here

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pyrrhotech
Ouch

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rjf90
Simple is a great example of how someone can go into an old, broken industry,
make a company that would not be considered a tech startup, and still scale
rapidly and change the industry. Bravo!

~~~
iends
How have they changed the industry?

