Simple Finance Technology Corp. Raises $2.9m Series A for BankSimple

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Simple Finance Technology Corp., the makers of BankSimple (https://banksimple.com), a service for those who wish banking were easy, announced the close of a $2.9 million Series "A" round of financing.  First Round Capital, IA Ventures and Village Ventures led the round, with support from Jerry Neumann, SV Angel, Nauiokas Park and several, as yet, unannounced angel investors.

BankSimple was born out of its founders' frustration with the difficulty of banking. "Banks trap their customers with overly complicated and fee heavy products," said CEO Josh Reich. "Most people want to simply earn more interest, pay less for borrowing and avoid bureaucracy."

With BankSimple's Safe to Spend™ balance, it is easy for customers to understand how much money is available to spend, taking into account upcoming bills, the frequency of their deposits and any savings goals. BankSimple lets customers build their own savings targets and helps customers track their progress and learn how to reach their goals faster.

By partnering with select banks to operate treasury and regulatory compliance, BankSimple is able to offer FDIC insured products and is free to focus on providing customers with the best experience possible. Says Reich, "We're not a bank. We're better."

Said Roger Ehrenberg, managing partner at IA Ventures, "Large banks are unable to innovate or compete on customer service because they are bound by legacy technology. As a result, banks market their products based on headline interest rates, but consumers are losing more to fees and charges than they're gaining on interest. There is a total lack of differentiation in banking on the offerings that actually matter to customers. BankSimple aims to change this."

This round of financing is a critical step toward the public launch of BankSimple. In the coming months, the company will finalize plans with its partner financial institutions. Following this, BankSimple will begin inviting customers to test the service. Said Reich, "With over 20,000 people already waiting to join, our goal is to provide them nothing less than an unparalleled level of personal customer service. Once we provide the best possible experience to everyone, then we'll open the service to everyone."

The company is led by Josh Reich, a data scientist with expertise in both marketing and financial service analytics. Chief Financial Officer, Shamir Karkal was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, where he specialized in the banking and payments industry. Chief Technology & Product officer, Alex Payne was an early employee at Twitter, where he built the Twitter developer platform. He also has experience as an information security contractor in the military and intelligence sector.

About BankSimple

BankSimple partners with chartered banks to provide FDIC insured products and gives customers a simple, worry-free banking experience.  Customers receive a BankSimple-branded debit card that enables access to the nation's largest network of fee-free ATMs. The BankSimple service includes intuitive online and mobile interfaces, free online bill payment, fast and painless money transfers and responsive customer service via the phone and web and an open API for third-party developers. BankSimple is supported by leading investors, including First Round Capital, IA Ventures and Village Ventures.  For more information, visit us at banksimple.com or follow us on Twitter at @banksimple.

For more information, contact: Joshua Reich, 718 855 8231

SOURCE Simple Finance Technology Corp.