Banks love fees. ATM fees. Overdraft fees. "Monthly maintenance" fees.
That's right, most banks charge you a fee simply because your bank account exists. Toss that in with frustrating, automated customer service platforms and you may be tempted to write off this banking BS altogether. If you're exasperated with banking the traditional way, there's a new company on the market that aims to solve some of the most common complaints about big banks: It's called Simple.
Simple (formerly BankSimple) has slowly rolled out to the public over the past year, and aims to reinvent the entire banking experience with — you guessed it — a simpler approach. The platform isn't a bank; rather, it's an alternative bank account available online or via mobile app, partnered with FDIC-insured Bancorp, as well as Visa. Simple's mission is, well, simple: It seeks to create better, more humanized banking — without the slew of fees and charges that big banks tend to sneak in under the radar.
See also: Can the Internet Replace Big Banks?
The approach seems to be working. In a little over a year since public launch, Simple accrued 65,000 users, processed more than $1.5 billion in annual transactions and partnered with platforms including Venmo and Dropbox to improve transactions. The platform comes complete with a Simple Visa card (which functions like a regular debit card), mobile apps (available for iOS and Android), 55,000+ fee-free ATMs nationwide and a beautiful, modern web interface. Most notably, Simple offers friendly and easily accessible customer service in the form of live chat or phone support — and you'll get an actual human being responding to your questions.
If you're currently using Simple, or recently requested an invite (the platform is currently available on an invite-only basis), we've put together a brief rundown on some of the most useful features and how to best organize your financial goals.
There are a few restrictions on who can sign up: Users must be permanent residents of the U.S., 18 or older and have a valid Social Security number. In addition, Simple requires that you own a mobile device capable of running the mobile app (iOS 5.0 or higher, or Android OS 2.3.3 or higher).
Once you receive the invite, complete the sign-up process by entering some personal information and depositing funds (Simple recommends an optional minimum of $100-$500; no initial deposit is required). Simple can also be linked to your existing finance or budgeting apps, such as Mint or PayPal.
Image: Simple
Funds with Simple are held by its partner bank, The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC, and insured to at least the FDIC maximum ($250,000). To learn more about Simple's mission, policies and security measures visit the FAQ page.
One of the truly helpful features of Simple is Safe-to-Spend. This feature deducts upcoming expenses — rent, utilities, monthly bills, pending transactions, etc. — so that you always have an accurate idea of how much actual spending money is in your account.
Image: Simple
Safe-to-Spend is particularly helpful when it comes to budgeting, calculating pending expenses and removing the element of surprise when your roommate finally cashes that huge check you wrote four months ago. Even if you're unsure about the exact amount of a certain expense (food or gas every month, for example), Simple Reports can help you preemptively estimate these costs for accurate planning and budgeting. Removing the mental math aspect makes keeping track of your finances easier than ever — which brings us to another of Simple's helpful products: Goals.
Goals is a Simple feature introduced in order to "enrich and improve your financial life."
According to the Simple blog, the theory behind Goals flips the thought process behind credit cards on its head. Instead of spending money you don't have, Goals enables you to plan ahead , making saving fun and effortless by setting aside a little bit of money at a time.
Image: Simple
To get started with Goals, input an amount and a date ($1,200 for that March 15th trip to Miami, or $10,000 for a down payment on an apartment next fall), and an initial (optional) contribution. Then, every day, a little bit of your "Safe-to-Spend" money will automatically go toward your goal. The amount adjusts based on your spending habits, and if your goal-date becomes unrealistic, Simple will move it back for you. Goals can be adjusted, paused and resumed whenever you want.
Goals aims to bring banking into the 21st century. As Simple puts it, "It’s 2013. Your account is on a computer. You shouldn’t have to get out a calculator just to figure out if you can afford a new pair of shoes or a nice dinner out."
And it works. Simple writes in its blog, "We see that daily spend variability decreases by 30% for customers who use Goals. Less fluctuation means more savings over time, and therefore more financial security." In an email to Mashable, Simple said users typically keep nearly 35% of their total account balance in Goals; a sharp contrast to the 5% national personal savings average.
See also: Big Banks Fear Losing Consumers to Mobile Wallets
New features are in the works, too, including Simple-to-Simple transfers, a product that enables customers to instantly transfer money (fee-free, of course) to other Simple users, and MoneyDrop, an "instant funds transfer system" for iPhone users that functions as a cash-replacement platform. "Think the ease of sharing over AirDrop, but with money and on your mobile," writes Simple.
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Image: Simple