I already have a checking account. The website interface works. Its not trendy glossy HTML5, but that's ok because my money isn't handed over to a third party who gets to profit off its interest on my behalf. What problem are you solving? The user interface for bank's sites are not good? So you are a different user interface and all I have to do is put my money in a black box? Who is funding these startups, wow. I have no confusion over the terms of my checking account, its already simple.
There's a whole bunch of problems we're solving. More, really, than fits in an HN comment.
You're right that user experience is a primary concern for us. The interface that most people have their financial data is extremely poor. This makes answering questions about your financial life slow and clumsy, if it's even possible given the tools your bank provides. That keeps a lot of people from making the right financial decisions to stay debt-free and grow their savings.
To your point about your checking account: many checking accounts don't actually have simple terms. Increasingly, they're full of hidden fees and complex conditions.
More broadly, we're doing what we're doing because many banks aren't investing in design, technology, and customer service. Instead, they're investing in new ways to squeeze as much money as they can out of their customers without innovating. We're here to continuously experiment and improve. That may mean that we're not the right banking solution for everyone, but we think a lot of people are going to like what we've built.
Ok fair. With Simple I can have a nifty way to view my expenses and have no hidden fees. The cost to me is nothing out of pocket, but I have to let Simple manage my money. I can see being more useful than a prepaid visa card for (college)kids, but it seems rather limiting to compete with standard checking accounts.
>I can see being more useful than a prepaid visa card for (college)kids, but it seems rather limiting to compete with standard checking accounts.
I'm not sure if your ability "to see" anything is relevant, but your characterization seems extremely shortsighted. Do you honestly believe that innovative startups of this kind launch with one set of features and never make improvements or add features later? I can think of lots of ways a company could innovate in the banking world, so I guess they are only limited by imagination.
I retract my comment about who would invest in this company. Yes I agree innovation is needed in the banking world, and I don't know anything beyond the website. So right now there is too much missing information about their first product to speculate.
