Banking and Finance

Online Banking Review | Simple Bank

Francesca
July 27, 2021

About Simple Bank

Simple Bank is an American challenge bank launched in 2009. As its name "Simple Bank" suggests, its premise is that banking should be, well, simple. The bank partnered with BBVA USA to provide FDIC-insured online checking and saving accounts to US and Permanent Citizens and is part of the STAR network. One of Simple’s main advantages is that it combines products with virtually no fees and competitive interest rates. Moreover, it provides exceedingly good customer care! If you are interested in modern money management tools, it might be your choice.


Simple Bank
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Simple Bank Account Pros & Cons

Based on reviews and comments from its users, Simple Bank has its own beneficence and weakness as listed below:

Pros:

  • Little to no fees

Simple Bank cares about its clients very well: a Simple card carries 0 maintenance fee and 0 overdraft fee. You don’t need to pay for a debit card, not even for a replacement.

  • Trackable spending through push phone notifications

Just like other prestigious online banks, Simple Bank also provides excellent customer care. It can even mail checks for you.

Cons

  • A low-interest rate on savings under $2,000

While Simple offers a competitive interest rate for savings above $2,000, its interest rate for savings balances under $2,000 isn’t competitive with what’s offered by other online banks.

  • No checkbooks

Sadly, Simple Bank does not offer an option to write your own checks. To make sure it arrived on time, you would have to request it to mail the check to a certain location in advance. 

Simple Bank Bonus

Simple Bank is offering a bonus up to $400 when you open a new Simple account. Depositing $10,000 by 15 days after enrollment and maintaining the amount by 5/31/2020 earns you a $200 bonus; doubling the amount will bring you a $400 bonus. Balances in your Simple Account earn 0.01% APY!


Accounts & APY

Checking Account

Simple Bank only offers checking accounts. A Simple account works just like a standard checking account. Your account can accept wires and direct deposits , and it supports pre-authorized withdrawals and interbank transfers through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network.

While Simple Bank is still working on its APY set mark, it claims to offer high-yield checking accounts with up to 1.55% APY.


Minimum Checking/Saving account Requirement

Minimum balance is what one would care while considering opening up an account on an online platform. The promise of it was enticing: no fees, no minimum balance, built-in budgeting and savings tool


Fees 

Overdraft Fee

Good news: Simple Bank does not charge overdraft fees! The Bank wants to minimize overdrafts, so transactions larger than your account balance will be declined or returned. A negative balance does not lead to overdraft fees. 

Wire Transfer Fee

Currently, Simple Bank is not able to send wires. However, you can transfer funds electronically by linking an external account. You can also use a third-party payment service to wire funds. Although unable to send, a Simple account can receive both domestic and international wires with no charge. 

Foreign Transaction Fees

When using Simple Bank to make international transfers, you may incur Visa's International Service Assessment (ISA) fee, which is 1% of the transaction amount. For example, a transaction for $125 may incur a fee of $1.25.



Customer Service 

Extraordinary customer service comes with a Simple card. Simple Bank wants its clients to enjoy not only quality banking accounts but also pleasant user experience. If you have any questions about accounts or services, feel free to call the customer service. The customer service number is 1 (888) 248-0632.


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