Simple banking
Years ago, I signed up with Simple Bank to manage my money. The premise was implementing a system similar to the envelope concept in the banking app with a very simple UI. They eventually went completely under in 2021 (we moved our banking in 2017 or so to our current credit union). I love credit unions, in particular the physical presence and their overall mission to provide great service with general lack of greed compared to the big banks. See, for example BECU’s Loan Reprice Program where they lower your interest rate on an existing auto loan as your credit score improves.
The app experience could be so much more. While BECU has developed an envelope type system recently in their app, it is only for their savings accounts (where as Simple Bank built this straight into their checking app so transactions could be detucted from designated envelopes).
I reflected on Simple Bank these passed few days and looked around to see if there is anyhting out there that has picked up on this concept. I came accross Envelope which is one of the many virtual banks that focuses on an app experience and works through a partner bank for the actual “banking” part of their busines (FDIC insurance, joint accounts etc).
I like what I’m seeing so far based on what I’ve read on their site and reviews. I think it would be a fun way to have family financial discussions (certainly not a fun topic neither I nor my wife). The ability to collaborate in real time at the time of a transaction in a shared account unlocks so much financial health. My one reservation is that these types of companies come and go. How long will they last? What happens when PE managers take over? Could I build the same level of trust that I have built with my credit union? And let’s not forget that moving finances over is a hard task.
I think what I really want is for my credit union to just copy these folks. Even keep it super simple: give me the ability to designate envelopes and allocate transactions against those envelopes with minimal UI friction. Invest in the tech and incentivize budgeting, awareness, healthy financial habits. I should really take screenshots of their current method and post a follow up comparing against what Simple Bank used to do.