I became a member of Simple about a year and a half ago. Almost instantly, I was blown away. "Finally someone combined a talented startup with a bank!" Their feature set was light years ahead of competitors, including:
- Push notifications for every purchase; this allowed me to catch someone using my card instantly and shut it down
- One button press to disable/enable debit card
- Advanced meta data around transactions, including percentage allocated to tip
- Maps showing purchases
Now, almost a year and a half later, I've moved my primary checking back to my old Capital One 360 account.
Simple is missing 3rd party integrations
Capital One 360 integrates directly with a lot of the tools I use, including Betterment. They even offer users the ability to generate tokens for specific apps. Simple has yet to implement any integrations for any tools I've seen or use.
Missing Apple Pay support
Capital One integrated Apple Pay almost immediately out the door. Simple has yet to do so (but they claim they are working on it). For a bank that prides itself on being ahead of the curve, this is disappointing.
More bugs, less features
Simple was bullet proof the first 6 months I used it, but then bugs started creeping in. At one point, I issued a check to someone and the check never went out. I received no notification, although the money was returned to my account. Their customer service is fantastic, but that only goes so far.
They've also stagnated when it comes to new features (like the aforementioned Apple Pay). Aside from an updated Goals, nothing has changed much since when I first signed up.
Capital One Wallet
The new Capital One Wallet app is great. It has push notifications for all transactions, including credit cards and debit. It has Touch ID on iOS and it feels snappy.
Conclusion
Basically, Capital One stepped up their game. This is a cautionary tale for any startup trying to take on the dominant, big players: you may disrupt them at first, but if they respond, you better be ready to match their innovation. How could Simple have kept me using their service? Aside from fixing the above, here's my wishlist:
- Authenticated API - let me (or other tools) access my bank data so I can make savings tools, visualizations, etc. Read-only access alone would make me happy.
- Custom rules - let me save 20% of every paycheck; let me move 5% of all incoming money to an external account; IFTTT like rules would be powerful.
- Proxy numbers - allow me to use single-use or obfuscated card numbers for questionable merchants
I dig the Simple team and wish them the best, but Capital One 360 offers me almost all the features they have and more.