What are
/r/SimpleBanking's
favorite Products & Services?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
The most popular Services mentioned in /r/SimpleBanking:
Simple
Privacy.com
Notion
You Need A Budget
Stripe
N26
1Password
Pocketsmith
Acorns
Trustpilot
Schwab
Screencast.com
GnuCash
Figma
The most popular Android Apps mentioned in /r/SimpleBanking:
Simple - Better Banking
Mvelopes Budget App
The most popular reviews in /r/SimpleBanking:
Thought I'd share this Easter Egg before it's gone: https://www.simple.com/dumplings/recipe
Someone noticed that we were getting a lot of misdirected traffic for people searching for a "simple dumplings recipe," and decided to give the people what they wanted. I think it was t0m from the ops team who put this together.
You can also get a link to it if you reply "dumplings" to a text message from Simple. Emily, one of the backend engineers, added that.
There were a couple early ones, but they got dropped over the years. If you tried to set an insecure passphrase like "password," you'd get the error "passphrase is ridiculous." And if you choose an insecure PIN like 1234 or 1111, it would say "c'mon, dogg." I believe it was Toby who added both of those.
While layoffs and change is always scary, this sounds like a good thing IMO.
One of the biggest problem people I know have had recently is that simple just feels like they're stagnating. Slow development, and little to no improvements on existing features.
If you read through the article (and / or the blog post that this article is about), the main reason for this shakeup is
>[Simple] have been focused on growth instead of innovation. We have been acting like a bank instead of a technology company... The changes for the company are really about focusing on building our product as a lean organization
Which I, for one, am 100% behind.
I have had checks get rejected in the past, and receive a support message from them detailing why. This results in a mobile notification plus an email notification. You might want to double check your notification settings both in the Simple app and your phone's general notification settings to make sure the Simple app is allowed to send notifications. You might also want to take a look at their support pages to see what kinds of checks they can/cannot accept: https://www.simple.com/help/articles/deposits/checks-we-cant-process
As per their Depositing or Withdrawing Cash page (https://www.simple.com/help/articles/getting-started/cash?partner=compass):
> If you happen to need a lot of cash at once, a cash advance is your best bet. You can do these at most major banks, even if you're not a customer. (We recommend calling your local branch in advance to ask if they offer this service.) Just walk in, hand the teller your card and a piece of photo ID, and ask them to withdraw money from your card. You can get up to $5,000 per day; this limit includes any ATM withdrawals you've made that day.
I've made a Notion table here that is easier to filter and explore than the Google Docs sheet. My table also focuses on banks that were competing directly with Simple, instead of traditional banks like Chase or investing-oriented accounts like Stripe.
Anyone should be able to edit it and help and add things. Or let me know if I missed something or if you want something added.
My personal pick might end up being Oxygen, because I LOVE the virtual debit card thing, and their cards and app are pretty well designed.
I've made a Notion table here that is easier to filter and explore than the Google Docs sheet. My table also focuses on banks that were competing directly with Simple, instead of traditional banks like Chase or investing-oriented accounts like Stripe.
Anyone should be able to edit it and help and add things. Or let me know if I missed something or if you want something added.
According to Simple’s Check Hold support page:
> If you deposit a check greater than $5,000, or multiple checks totaling over $5,000 on the same day, the first $200 will be made available on the day of deposit, $4,800 will be made available the second business day after the day of deposit, and any remaining sum will be available by the seventh business day after the day of deposit.
> If, within the last six months, your account has been overdrawn on six or more banking days or overdrawn by $5,000 or more on two banking days, we may place a hold on the entire sum of any check or money order deposits. Funds will be available by the seventh business day after the day of deposit.
> We may also place holds on the entire sum of any check or money order deposits if you redeposit a check that’s been returned unpaid, or we have reasonable cause to doubt that we'll be able to collect the check funds from the paying bank. Funds will be available by the seventh business day after the day of deposit.
Not sure if any of those scenarios apply to you, but all of them end with the full funds available after no longer than 7 business days.
Here's an article on their site discussing the move process: https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-maintenance/move-to-bbva-compass
I messaged support yesterday and asked to be bumped up to the move and they said they could so that and I should be getting an email in the next few days.
I maintain a master list of 60+ US-based neobanks in Notion, so these are all alternatives to Simple! I too was a user and am disappointed to see them go!
The Neo List - check it out here
You'll also lose the budgeting features and potentially incur more fees.
Look out for things like opt out $3 paper statements, $3 per use on out-of-network ATMs, $32 for overdrafts, $5-$10 for a new debit card, $3 if you withdraw from Savings more then 4x in a statement period, etc. More here:
How I described is exactly how funding schedules were intended to work for goals. Look at the support article: https://www.simple.com/company/goals-just-got-a-whole-lot-smarter
A funding schedule is supposed to align with a soure of income into your account but it doesn't have to.
All on track means is that you've scheduled a contribution that will complete the goal before it's due date. If after your scheduled transaction you aren't in line to meet your goal, that's when you'd have to catch up.
So this doesn't apply to you, but for all of the Android users, Simple lets anyone join the beta channel for app updates, just scroll down on the Simple app page in the Play Store.
As for joining feature tests, such as the shared accounts in the past, and the current beta of having a real checkbook, subscribe to their blog! https://www.simple.com/blog/categories/product-updates
In case you haven't heard, simple is shutting down. Most of the employees have been let go and the accounts will be adopted in to BBVA https://www.simple.com/blog/simple-is-closing
You're right they are incorporating Plaid! Good catch.
<string name="link_account_plaid_forced_body">"Trial deposits aren't required to link your account with %s. Instead, you're able to log in to your account from within the Simple app.<br><br>Learn more in this <a href=https://www.simple.com/help/articles/payments-and-transfers/external-accounts#linking-the-accounts>support article</a>."</string>
It resets monthly. https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-info/spend-limits
I believe those limits only apply to transfers initiated from within the Simple site/app. If you initiate the transfer from say your receiving bank, I don’t believe that counts towards Simple’s limit.
As always, customer support should have answers for you.
If you're using the Bill Pay offered by Simple where they either send a mailed check or an electronic payment the limit is $5,000 in payments per day.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/payments-and-transfers/sending-a-payment
This is what I’ve done. But, I would recommend keeping at least a small balance because they said in their FAQ that if there has been a Zero balance for 60 days on the day of migration then they will not migrate you to BBVA and they will close your account.
Edit: Unless of course you’re planning to get your tax return before the migration date or you’re planning to leave entirely.
- Call support. (Don't do the online support, it's backlogged.)
- You may have more luck requesting a cashiers' check. https://www.simple.com/help/articles/transactions/making-large-purchases-with-simple
Googling "simple bank wire transfer" brings up https://www.simple.com/help/articles/deposits/wire-transfers, which has an address and all the other details you need.
> Occasionally a fee-free ATM will say that it will charge you a fee. Don't worry—any ATM you find with the ATM finder shouldn't charge you, and if it does charge you in error, just let us know and we'll refund you.
Taken directly from the second question in the FAQ > When will my Simple Account transition to BBVA USA?
> The transition will happen in spring 2021. We are still determining the exact date—as soon as we know, we’ll update this page and send you an email.
Welcome to Simple. Like /u/electro1ight said, this doesn't have anything to do with Simple but more anti-fraud regulations imposed by the US Government.
Review https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-info/spend-limits, for example, to see your spending limits and some workarounds.
"Another unemployment"? Is this a Paycheck Protection Program loan?
If so, you're probably running afoul of https://www.simple.com/policies/deposit-account-agreement.
>No Business Usage. We reserve the right to close your consumer account if we determine that it is used for business purposes...
Changing banks to chase a fraction of a percent seems unwise and an effort in futility. Hopefully rates will go back up once the economy starts recovering from the ongoing pandemic...
How do your check deposits fail?
The one thing I was aware of was that after waiting 30 days some of the limits would be increased.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-info/spend-limits
To be aware of
While this might not help you out right now, in the future you can always go into the bank branch and ask they do a Cash Advance on your Simple debit card. That way it's a teller giving you the money.
Double check they don't charge a fee for this service, when I've done it at Chase its a free service.
From Simple Support Site: https://www.simple.com/help/articles/getting-started/cash
> If you happen to need a lot of cash at once, a cash advance is your best bet. You can do these at most major banks, even if you're not a customer. (We recommend calling your local branch in advance to ask if they offer this service.) Just walk in, hand the teller your card and a piece of photo ID, and ask them to withdraw money from your card. You can get up to $5,000 per day; this limit includes any ATM withdrawals you've made that day.
Technically shouldn't you be able to also make your initial deposit via any of these methods shown on their website?
It would make sense, especially if someone who has never had a bank account before wants to open a Simple account as their first bank. They should be able to do it via a direct deposit from an employer, or a money order, etc...
But I am not sure. Might be worth calling their support to ask.
> Who can use Simple? > > We want to make Simple as widely available as possible. However, there are a few basic requirements. We can only offer accounts to permanent residents of the United States, over 18 years of age, with a Social Security number. You’ll also need access to a device that can run our mobile app—find all the details here.
Found here.
Hey! Me again. This is about your interactions on OUR website/apps. Good question! You'll notice the top of the Privacy Policy says:
"This policy applies to information we collect when you use our website and mobile application (collectively, “Services”) or otherwise interact with us as described below."
As this is language that is combed and scrutinized by lawyers and regulators, we definitely try to make it readable and understandable, but sometimes it's not. Please let me know or send us a message if you think there's a way it would be more understandable. As the person who wrote the email you received, I probably could have added that part to that bullet. Oops. :p
it's allegedly opening first half of this year. So hopefully by the end of June, which is before simple stops their bill pay.
I was wire framing a budgeting app.. came up a concept where you’d set the budget of a “pocket” on a regular cadence and would get a burn down chart to visualize it. Was thinking there could be a savings account that takes remainders at the end of the period into a savings account.
Design:
https://www.figma.com/file/YxLJiMbBsZWmfKw33snve3/Simple-Budget-Tracker?node-id=0%3A1
Would be down to brainstorm on design sometime!
All of the above. But Simple might be only useful to you if you want save more (i.e.: goals), its a great tool. If you don’t care about saving toward a specific goal, it might not be for you.
Having said that, I do believe that is the best banking app out there but you need to want to use the debit card... also, if the reason for using credit is the chargeback, Privacy.com allows you to receive 1% with Simple so best of both worlds...
This has my link on it but that just gives us both $5. Feel free to remove it. I've way to avoid this is using Privacy.com. They'll issue "virtual credit card numbers" for any site you want. I use a different card on every site. You can specify limits per day/month/year/one time use/etc. The extension does it online for you and there is an easy to use mobile app too. It's free... Just tie to your simple account and they make money off merchant charges (so it's no cost to you). I can't recommend it enough.
Join Privacy and we'll each get $5 to spend anywhere online! Make sure you use my link. https://privacy.com/join/3DRV4
Here's the original old email from their transition to simple.com, Nov 30, 2011:
> Hello there,
> As you might have heard, on November 8th we had some big news: we've launched to our first customers, and BankSimple became just Simple (see the blog link below). We couldn't be prouder of what our team has been able to achieve so far. But we know a lot of future customers are wondering when they’re going to be able to use Simple, and we want to be sure you know what to expect.
> You’ve been on the list a long time, and we’re thankful that you have stuck with us. Our first invite request was in February of 2010, and we’re bringing people on board generally in the order they requested the invite. Those of you who signed up most recently can expect to receive your invite by summer. Those of you who signed up earlier will receive their invite sooner.
> We have begun sending out invites, currently a few dozen at a time, and then we will escalate from there. If that seems a bit slow, it is deliberate. To get ready for a wider release, we are beginning with the core features of spending and depositing, and looking to our first customers for feedback before releasing the full product. We’ve been using the full product internally for a few months, but Simple presents key departures from how banking typically works and we want to make sure that you all love it as much as we do.
> Thanks so much, once again, for your support.
> Rachel > Customer Relations | Simple
> simple.com > twitter.com/simplify
> Here's the blog post about our recent launch and rebrand: > https://www.simple.com/blog/Simple/introducing-simple/
Think of expenses like a bucket. You stick money in there every payday. Your balance shows whatever is left. Then when that bill finally hits the account, it comes out of the expense bucket. Your Safe-to-Spend balance won’t change.
You should transfer enough money to the expense. Your Safe-to-Spend will go down. Then setup an auto expense for either the phone company or the Phone category. When the bill finally hits, it will automatically take from the expense. You don’t get double charged.
I love Expenses. It makes it so easy. Read more here
I just looked it up and Visa charges a 1% fee on international charges so I guess it didn’t have anything to do with an ATM.
All banks have limits, it's to cover your ass and theirs. Both have pretty comprehensive outlines of those limits available from a quick Google search:
https://www.sofi.com/money/limits/
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-info/spend-limits
My personal experience with Simple is needing to do a cash advance at a physical bank for a large cash withdrawal same day, back when I had terrible credit. Didn't get charged any fees, took about 5 minutes.
It says: We created an FDIC-insured checking account built to help you save money, and to support smart spending with built-in budgeting tools. The accounts are free and our customer service is kind, helpful and human (in other words, talking to us won’t inspire you to start a bank of your own out of frustration).
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-info/overdrafts
If you don't wish to open the link i'll paste you the meat of it.
Can my account become overdrawn? If so, what happens? It's possible, but rare. Our accounts are designed to minimize overdrafts, so transactions that are greater than your account balance will typically be declined or returned.
We will not charge an overdraft fee if you do end up with a negative balance in your account. (For more information, check out our schedule of fees.)
Of course, it’s still important that you bring your account out of the negative as quickly as possible. Check out the Getting Money Into Simple article for an overview of the different ways to deposit funds.
There are a few extra facts to keep in mind if you happen to have a Shared account with a negative balance. You can find all these details in our Shared Account Ownership article.
It seriously sounds like you need to seek a mental health professional for whatever it is you're struggling with... No one is fighting with you, Simple Bank did nothing wrong and yes, they are open during business hours and I've called them 4 separate times and have always had exceptional customer service...
"Give us a call at 888-248-0632. Calling is best for urgent issues that need immediate attention—our phone lines are open from 6 am to 4 pm PT (9 am to 7 pm ET) on business days, and from 7 am to 2 pm PT (10 am to 5 pm ET) on Saturdays. Our phone lines are closed on holidays and Sundays."
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-info/contact-us
Photo check deposit limit varies depending upon how long you've had an account and your history
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/deposits/photo-check-deposit
I would call them back. It sounds like there may have been a misunderstanding. Simple is definitely covered with Visa's Zero Liability Policy. I would ask them why you aren't covered.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/transactions/fraud-protection
I tried my best to find where I read about this (probably on this reddit), but I couldn't (perhaps deleted?). When they launched Funding Schedules, they did mention that there were a couple of improvements in the pipeline to Goals: https://www.simple.com/company/goals-just-got-a-whole-lot-smarter Perhaps /u/jdigittl might want to confirm this? :D
Hmm, odd. My card is still active in Google pay on my watch and phone.
Edit: The support page is still up. I would suggest opening a ticket in the app.
After searching for the bank, you will get a message saying the institution cannot be found. There is a ‘next’ button just below that. Hit next, and you can enter your information manually.
Here is a link with some more specific guidance.
Dude... This is the first step for the account sharing stuff!
Not to mention android pay supports BBVA so android pay support likely is not far off.
Here is a link to the deposit rules. I've found that Simple has tremendous documentation in laying out their policies, please explore them for more questions.
In general, once the check is accepted, you get $200 immediately, then wait 2 days to get the rest. According to that link, the only limit is that if a check is over $5,000, or if you deposit over $5,000 from various checks in one day, then the 2 day wait may be extended.
Since you mention that you just moved to the US, I'll point out that they say that "International checks are held for 45 calendar days." I'm guessing this policy is true for most banks.
I was able to dispute with a different problem that I've had with Simple and was a good success. You probably should renew everything you have and probably consider using Privacy.com if your card information was stolen. Let's just say my dispute was way way more than OP amount.
I created an app called Budge It to keep the expenses and goals feature from Simple. It uses Plaid to get your transaction history and balance. It's in an open beta on Android at the moment. There is a monthly subscription of $1.99 for one linked bank account to cover the cost of the Plaid connection. You can get it on the Google Play Store and redeem this promo code for an extended trial, BUDGE1T0PENBETA
​
My wife and I moved to Ally and it's been ok so far. I don't open their app much since I use Budge It to see most of what I would need an app for
A Fidelity cash management account is a good option, as well as a Charles Schwab checking account. They are both very similar. I've personally moved to Fidelity.
Links:
I was concerned with the same, but when I looked at the vendors I use for autopay, every one I have that accepts credit allows discover. Those that don't allow discover, don't allow any and only accept ACH debits.
So for now appears maybe it's less an issue than it used to be.
I've also considered using privacy.com should I require a Visa for a specific merchant and link it back to the account for funding.
I have a privacy.com account but have never really used it. The 1password partnership was encouraging news, but privacy.com's account deletion process seems to be unnecessarily difficult. Gives an impression of shadiness...
Definitely! But I still like having an alternative in case I don't want to use credit.
I use privacy.com and they generate VISA cards on the fly. When charges hit just acts as a pass-thru and immediately charges your debit. Is there a service like that we could use?
Does venmo, paypal, or anyone else do that? I think paypal requires a balance for it to work... not sure.
This seems to be the only feature One is missing for me.
I checked Envil and SoFi and Qube and Douugh and I feel like these are all missing something major that I loved about Simple.
In One, each pocket has it's own ACH information but not debit card info.
I've seen another thread where they say virtual cards per pocket are coming, but who knows when.
I have expenses like Audible that require a card and don't connect with PayPal.
I've never heard of privacy.com, but someone mentioned that could be workaround?
Note, I don't use a joint account.
You're getting downvotes, but you may be right.
At work, we use Stripe to handle payments, and they have this to say:
>Saved payment method details can continue to work even if the physical card has been replaced by the issuing bank. Stripe works with card networks and automatically attempts to update saved card details whenever a customer receives a new card (e.g., replacing an expired card or one that was reported lost or stolen). This allows your customers to continue using your service without interruption and reduces the need for you to collect new card details whenever a card is replaced.
It's likely Redbox's payment processor offers a similar integration.
For online payments, I use an app called Privacy that lets you make dummy cards/one-time use cards and it’s connected to my Simple account. It’s only for online payments though.
Thank you for putting this together. Been spending a lot of my spare time trying to find an alternative.
Didn’t see Acorns on the list in the spreadsheet.
- https://www.acorns.com/
I am still vetting them personally but it could be good for the collective to do their research.
OP I'm glad you got this worked out. I also purchased a home a few years ago with Simple as my primary bank, though I did end up moving funds out via ACH to another bank which supported outgoing wires.
For future readers with this dilemma, one possible option to consider would be to ask the title company if they would accept the funds early, via regular check. Presumably they could hold them for a period of time sufficient to guarantee them.
Also FYI, I saw that Simple posted a blog post today about their wait times and staffing up customer support.
Simple cannot do wires OUT, they say this https://www.simple.com/help/articles/deposits/wire-transfers
While this does not help the OP, anyone in the future needing to send OUT a wire needs to move the money into another account that can. Then they can wire it.
I went thru this a few months ago. I knew I needed to wire money so while house hunting I transfered (ACH) a higher estimate of my closing funds to local credit union. Then I did the wire from there. On closing day they didn't have the final estimate until 1 hour before closing, however the lender and closing company agreed for me to send MORE than what the estimate was and then the closing company cut me a check for the overage.
https://www.simple.com/policies/deposit-account-agreement
>No Business Usage. We reserve the right to close your consumer account if we determine that it is used for business purposes (meaning that the account is not used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes). Your account may be considered a business account if, among other reasons, it fits into one or more of the following examples: your account has a business name; deposits include credit card drafts; your account has over 100 withdrawals per month; deposits regularly contain over $2,500 in cash; or your account has over 10 deposits per month.
It doesn't cost money like a credit card cash advance. This is one method that Simple support recommended to me (link below). I needed more that $5k to close my loan so I won't the ACH -> non-simoke account -> wire method I suggested above. I let the mortgage company know the situation and they didn't care that the funds were being transfered from another account. They just wanted to make sure that I actually had the money in my Simple account to start.
It' not a data breach. Should not call it as such as it spreads misinformation.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-maintenance/suspicious-card-declines
> We have seen an increase in debit card declines from a small number of targeted merchants and have been actively investigating and responding to the situation. We currently have no evidence of a data breach. Our analysis currently points to attempts to guess card data by leveraging certain merchants’ processes. We continue to implement measures to block these attempts and these targeted merchants. The vast majority of attempts are declined and blocked. In a very small number of cases where data was successfully and randomly guessed, we’re immediately reaching out to customers, working to order new cards, and will be proactively initiating the transaction dispute on behalf of affected customers.
>If you opened your Simple account before May 20, 2020, the info below might not apply to you yet—we’ll let you know when the updates show up in your account.
From the blog post. :( https://www.simple.com/blog/managing-expenses-with-simple
Yeah, new changes are coming for the Expenses btw, I don't know if you saw it already, it's in the subreddit but you can find it here, I'm excited btw. https://www.simple.com/blog/managing-expenses-with-simple?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1431585&utm_content=1985029&ajs_event=mclk&userId=a2c0c71a658b8a9a939bf76486e2d946
Hey /u/pinzonjorge, this community is for the company Simple and their banking solution. I'll leave this up for now as someone may be able to point you in the right direction to get your question answered.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/goals/protected-goals
>A Protected Goals Account is designed for your savings and stashes away your money in a separate high-yield checking account so it's safe from accidental spending.
Reg D does not apply.
>I don't really understand this Goals thing. It sounds confusing honestly. Does putting money in a Goal (Protected Goal? Savings Goal? Emergency Fund?) prevent me from spending that money, withdrawing from ATM, or doing an ACH debit?
No. It merely affects the "safe to spend" balance displayed, so you can better budget.
>Does each Goal listed above have its own account number? If not, if I pull money out, which Goal does it take money from first? Which Goal would be next?
It won't take money out of the goals. Your "safe to spend" balance shown will be at zero.
https://www.simple.com/policies/deposit-account-agreement
>Dormant Account. An account will be considered dormant if, for one year or more in the case of transactional accounts (two years or more for an account maintained in Florida): no customer initiated transaction activity has been conducted on the account, no correspondence regarding the account has been received by us, and no account owner has otherwise indicated an interest in the account. Recurring ACH credits (i.e., Direct Deposit) are considered to be automatic and, therefore, are not considered to be customer-initiated transactions for this purpose.
Normally once you've used the account and you're "established" they will release the full funds of a check next business day after the deposit. I am not sure what their limit is for this though, I don't recall depositing large checks into Simple.
See: https://www.simple.com/help/articles/deposits/check-holds
From what I can tell they've always had it like this. Your goals and expenses are "allocated" funds. I wrap that in quotes because I'm pretty sure they aren't literal accounts that money are going into, it's a representation of how your money should be budgeted, but all from one account.
Say you have STS $100, Phone $50, and Internet $50. You actually have $200 in your account, but Simple is representing it as $50 allocated to Phone, $50 allocated to Internet, and $100 remainder in STS.
If you then go swipe your card on a non-phone and non-internet purchase for $125, your STS will go to $0 (instead of negative) and the extra $25 will be pulled from your "Expenses" pool and you are now $25 Overspent.
It very clearly states that once you overspend your STS, both in a header on the main screen and in an even bigger header on the Expenses screen. They tell you exactly how much you're now overspent and once you bring in $25 of funds to your STS you will be "caught up" with your STS still at $0, but your Overspent at $0 as well.
I understand your perspective where it could appear that you have money in all these Expenses but it's literally just a view of what it has "allocated" and they tell you in a giant banner how much $ you need to bring into your STS for these numbers to be true.
They explain it clearly in the second paragraph of "How It Works" in their docs here: https://www.simple.com/help/articles/getting-started/safe-to-spend
Simple should be able to send you one, it will come from BBVA. This might take a few days. You can also purchase a Money Order with your debit card at a Walmart for a small fee.
If you need a larger sum than an ATM will allow to withdrawal you can do a cash advance at a bank up to 5k then buy the Money Order or a Cashiers check at the bank that you did the cash advance at.
> If you happen to need a lot of cash at once, a cash advance is your best bet. You can do these at most major banks, even if you're not a customer. (We recommend calling your local branch in advance to ask if they offer this service.) Just walk in, hand the teller your card and a piece of photo ID, and ask them to withdraw money from your card. You can get up to $5,000 per day; this limit includes any ATM withdrawals you've made that day.
Their website says they may be able to issue a cashiers check. It might be worth a shot to contact customer support
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/transactions/making-large-purchases-with-simple
What's the protected goal rate, now? The "savings goal" in my account says 1.75 but their post in October says 2.02 - 2.15. At 1.75, I'm leaving my money elsewhere but at 2.15 I'll move it here...it's also worth noting that if I were to set up an "emergency fund" it says I can earn up to 1.9
Also, you can still only have one "protected goal" right?
Simple does not state what the transfer limit is for transferring money from another bank into Simple. Support article says to contact Simple and they can tell you.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-info/spend-limits
They do say so on their web site.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/deposits/check-holds
Additional holds up to five business days may apply; if any of your check deposits are subject to an additional hold, we'll be in touch with more information when the hold is placed.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/transactions/making-large-purchases-with-simple
- You can write a paper check for any amount.
- You can initiate the transfer from the external institution for any amount.
- You can request a cashier's check for any amount.
Transfers initiated on the Simple end have a limit, but I believe it's variable.
They used to have amazing search and reporting on Bancorp, but killed it with the move to BBVA: https://web.archive.org/web/20170106185749/https://www.simple.com/help/articles/search-and-reports/search
That's when and why I stopped using my Simple debit card in favor of a credit card.
incorrect, pin transactions only put “up to” $50 of your own money at risk if you inform the bank you believe your card and pin are compromised. within 2 days (but you should do so immediately if you can). this is also spelled out in your contract with Simple & BBVA.
non-pin transactions have $0 at risk due to the Visa network policies. ironically you are better off not using a pin even though its technically more secure. 🤷♂️
you should of course read all of the terms of the contract you signed but section 14 is the area you are looking for.
>In order to avoid cluttering your activity feed, we’ll wait until the total amount of Round Up funds equals at least $5
The support article seems to be saying that you need to have a Protected Account in order to see/enable the feature:
>There aren’t any specific account requirements, but you must have both a Checking and Protected Goal Account.
From the Simple Support site:
>When will I receive my wire?
>
>Domestic wires take 1-2 business days, depending on when the wire is sent. International wires can take several business days longer, depending on how many banks and timezones they pass through.
>
>The wire will typically post to your account the day it's received and processed by our partner bank (wires are only received and processed on business days). Wires can post throughout the day, generally between 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT) and 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT).
​
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/deposits/wire-transfers
> I don't see how they can make money with free accounts for people who use it like that, and they don't seem to want people using it like a full-fledged bank account either.
Banks make money by investing your deposit as well as all the fee's they charge you. In this case Simple doesn't do this much: https://www.simple.com/policies/simple-checking-truth-in-savings-disclosure
Seems pretty simple here: https://www.simple.com/policies/simple-privacy-policy
As they are owned by BBVA they don't have any real locations they may not make money. BBVA maybe using Simple to write off taxes
> This is an opinion not a fact. It is a reasonable assumption without proof.
I think I may be misunderstanding you, but I believe that you may be having an interaction between normal goals, and the emergency fund goals. There are two relevant support articles -- this one about goals, and this one about protected goals.
What I suspect is happening is that you are transferring money into your emergency fund because you have a sufficient available balance, but you have overspent the goals in your main account. To be clear: overspent goals is not an overdraft -- the goals are just a visual display to help you keep track of your money.
Let me illustrate. Imagine on Monday, this is your account:
- Account Balance: $100
- Awesome Vacation Goal: $90
- Safe-to-Spend: $10
- Protected Goal Account Balance: $50
- Emergency Fund Goal: $50
And imagine that you have contributions scheduled for Tuesday to move both $20 into Awesome Vacation, and $20 into Emergency Fund. Because you have an account balance of $100 what will happen on Tuesday is your account will look like this:
- Account Balance: $80
- Awesome Vacation Goal: $90 (paused)
- Safe-to-Spend: $0 (over-spent by $30)
- Protected Goal Account Balance: $70
- Emergency Fund Goal: $70 (still contributing on same schedule)
See what happened there? The emergency fund kept getting contributions since you had available balance. But the other goal was overspent (causing safe-to-spend to be at $0), and your other goal was paused.
Disclosure: I am a former Simple employee, although this functionality wasn't my specialty, so it is possible I am mis-diagnosing this. Also, I just wanted to let you know how much, as an employee, I appreciated the Reddit community. This sub-reddit's passion for Simple's product was a big inspiration to us. Although I no longer work there, it is a great company and I am rooting them on, and hope to stay active here in the sub.
This article might help:
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/payments-and-transfers/payments-and-safe-to-spend
I’m still new to Simple and figuring out how to use it. I really like it. Before I was living paycheck to paycheck. I’ve learned how to budget my money better and set goals. I hope it works for you as much as it has for me.
Usually disputes like these tend to be resolved quickly. Their site says most are resolved within 90 days and fraud disputes (like yours) are prioritized: https://www.simple.com/help/articles/transactions/dispute-transaction
As far as I have read, there is no limit to transfers in or out of the Protected Goals Account.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/goals/protected-goals >If you need to use the money in a Protected Goal, you can transfer out of your Savings Goal or your Emergency Fund back into your Simple Account Safe-to-Spend any time. There aren't any limits on transfers from your Protected Goals.
https://www.simple.com/policies/bbva-compass-protected-goals-truth-in-savings-disclosure-2 >There are no limits to the number of transfers you may make to or from a Protected Goals Account, and transfers between your Protected Goals Account and your primary Deposit Account are instantaneous.
If you're trying to delete an external account and it wont remove the account:
Per Simple Support Page >Note: external accounts can't be deleted until 60 business days after the latest transfer.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/payments-and-transfers/linking-an-external-account
If it is actually a protected Savings Goal, then it looks like you are understanding how it works correctly.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/goals/protected-goals#
​
You should actually have to transfer funds out of your Savings Goal to move funds from it, you can't assign a transaction to the Savings Goal, so there won't be a record to find in the goal itself. If you moved funds from it manually, those should be titled "Protected Goal Account Transfer" in your transaction history.
It’s a separate account inside of Simple. You can transfer money from it directly to your main checking account if you need to. Here is Simple’s Support Page for it.
Honestly there's valid arguments for why it's not wise to use Simple as your primary bank account. Those arguments may not matter for a lot of people... but these are software bugs and I'd ask you have you contacted support about your mobile deposit problems?
I haven't had a problem with their site going down in some time; if you look at https://status.simple.com/history you can see they are not perfect.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-info/spend-limits
The limits are locked; (except international card limit). That's a wise reason.
Copied and pasted from ally.com's Contact section
Bank 1-877-247-2559 Open 24/7
I admit I also have a Ally account; I opened the simple account because my ally account is a joint account. Wanted to keep some money to myself while still being able to ensure she had enough
Been with them for over 6 years; I have nothing negative to say about them. They support checks; they support sending wires. Great customer service; if you need a limit increased they are there for you.
Try and get your limits increased at Simple...
Ref: https://www.simple.com/help/articles/account-info/spend-limits
Transaction Type Daily Limit International Daily Limit1
Monthly Limit
Card Transactions $6,000 $1,000
Payments $5,000 - $18,000
ATM Withdrawal $500 $500
Cash Advance2 $5,000 $1,000
Cumulative Total3 $8,000
That usually has to do with when it's received and processed. My ACH direct deposits post early in the morning, but wires are processed in only two batches each day, so if you miss the first one then it will likely be the second one.
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/deposits/wire-transfers#
If you look at the FUNDS AVAILABILITY DISCLOSURE the hold could be for any number of reasons and they are letting you know why. However the notice by mail is a bit strange instead of a Support message.
Maybe try calling back and speak with a Supv or sending a Support Message.
Hello everyone! Please use the below link to submit a new request to the Simple team. This will allow them to see how badly this feature is wanted. As much as I would love for the teams at Simple to read this Subreddit and get involved, submitting a new support message will always be more beneficial!
https://bank.simple.com/support/messages/new
If you don't have an account with Simple yet, please click here to get started!
Hello everyone! Please use the below link to submit a new request to the Simple team. This will allow them to see how badly this feature is wanted. As much as I would love for the teams at Simple to read this Subreddit and get involved, submitting a new support message will always be more beneficial!
https://bank.simple.com/support/messages/new
If you don't have an account with Simple yet, please click here to get started!
It happened to me too. My parents wrote me a check and I'm a Jr. so it appeared to be the same. I had to let them know if wasn't me! I think someone is literally looking at the check and approving it or denying it.
Yes, it is written but it says from a "personal account" so you might be able to let them know it's a business account and see what happens.
"We cannot accept checks that are written from another personal account you own. If you'd like to move money from another personal bank account to Simple, check out External Accounts."
https://www.simple.com/help/articles/deposits/deposit-requirements
Free isn't really an option for a budgeting products. If using Plaid, it can cost upwards of $5 to set up a new user, then $1.50/month to get their transactions. Then there's website hosting, developer payroll, tech support, etc.
If your bank supports transaction downloads, you can use a free tool like GnuCash:
https://www.gnucash.org/ It's not automated, but you can set up recurring transactions.
Sigh.
- Josh Reich being gone is going to be so much better for Simple. After that big acquisition pay day do you think he was still engaged (the other founding members left)? Having fresh blood (especially from Amazon) is going to be way better - give the new guy time.
- Due to removal of bill pay
- This is how every bank works, look at literally any bank or credit union.
- Maybe to support longer hours in the future? Good point though.
- Wrong. They said no one was using bill pay. I for one never used it, and i bet that only a loud minority did - similar to samsung pay.
- Just use privacy.com if you are that paranoid.
- or just use your card? or use prism? or square cash, venmo, etc.
- I can't relate to that experience. support with simple has been great every time i've ever needed to call.
- agreed. they should do more here. but clearly, i am not as paranoid as you.
- why do you think they are doing business accounts? have they ever said anything about this? (honestly curious)
I have accounts with Simple and Sofi. I'm happy with both, but I feel like I need both.
About a month ago, there was a post here on reddit from a guy who had Sofi Money canceled out of the blue after months of using it with no problems. He was told that they had a huge backlog of account verifications to get through and they just reviewed his. So I'm not sure if my relatively new Sofi account is actually safe and I want a backup. Other than that, I'm happy with it - free checks, linked brokerage account, decent app.
All 3 banks (Sofi, Simple, Ally) will link to Privacy.com. I don't know if you use this, but it's super important for me.
I'm staying on Simple because of the shear inability to find the high number of fee-free atms around me, the easy mobile check deposit, and it's compatibility with Privacy.com.. I live in that small of a town that not even a bank that's other than simple is supported around me.
DAS is pretty nice, I'm on the fence on using it
I've also been trying out Budge It which is a very similar concept and gives you a pretty chart. I believe it has a cheaper monthly cost than DAS as well.
both great contenders