Via Silicon Prairie News SmartyPig, an online social savings platform, today announced a pair of big changes. The Des Moines-based company will go by a new name, Social Money Systems. It also will offer a new product, GoalSaver, which is a customizable, social savings, transaction-focused platform for banks that utilizes a bank’s brand and regulatory and compliance systems [...]
Archive for the ‘banks’ Category
Credit Card Apr Rates, Dubious Credit Card Offers, and Loaning Money To Family
January 4th, 2012 
Nichelle From the blog Consumerist, here are three recent posts that you may want to read. It is time to pay off that credit card debt as the average credit card APR is about 15%. If you have lower credit score and are surprised that you received a credit card offer, don’t be flattered. It is [...]
Posted in advice, banks, credit cards, money, personal finance 
Tags: consumerist, credit cards, lending money 
No Comments »Blink: Bank Of America Helps Small Businesses Be ‘Outliers’
November 16th, 2011 Nichelle Banks have been pretty stingy with loaning to small businesses, but Bank of America plans to help in a “Outliers” way by hiring Malcolm Gladwell. From Raw Story: Bank of America announced today that they had contracted with author and New Yorker scribe Malcolm Gladwell to headline a series of lectures designed to attract small [...]
Posted in banks, business advice, entrepreneurs Tags: banks, BOA, malcom gladwell, outliers, small business 1 Comment »Gauging The Middle Class With Debit Card Fees
October 3rd, 2011 Nichelle As I hear the news of Bank of America’s new $5 fee for debit card purchases, it got me thinking about the class hierarchy of credit and debit cards. Credit Cards: If you have a great credit score, pay off your bill monthly, you can get a “wonder card” with low interest, reward points and [...]
Eight Least Evil Banks
July 19th, 2011 Nichelle CNN.com has a list of the “eight least evil” banks. I doubt Capital One and PNC qualify to be on the list, but most credit unions around the US are pretty good. Will ING Direct stay on the list after the merger with Capital One goes through? I wonder…
Girl Power: ING Getting Real About Financial Empowerment
June 29th, 2011 Nichelle From the Forbes Woman blog: The ING Foundation has designed a program aimed at reaching girls to teach financial literacy. Through the ING-Girls Inc. Investment Challenge, girls are given a direct investing experience with a stake in its outcome. The program launched in 2008 after a survey conducted with Essence magazine about black women and their spending habits [...]
Is BankSimple The Tumblr Of Online Banking?
June 22nd, 2011 Nichelle Reading this article about BankSimple in Fast Company: BankSimple plans to one-up them all by offering checking accounts, debit cards, and more. The twist: Rather than handling cash, it partners with “back-end” banks, so employees can prioritize user satisfaction. “Our core brand value is ‘Don’t suck,’ ” Reich says. At first glance, BankSimple’s sparse, elegant [...]
Capital One To Buy ING Direct USA
June 16th, 2011 Nichelle From the New York Times: Capital One Financial says it’s buying ING Direct USA in a deal valued at $9 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Netherlands-based ING Groep will receive $6.2 billion in cash and $2.8 billion in the form of about 56 million shares in Capital One, based on a share price [...]
BillShrink Offers Online Bank Deals
June 14th, 2011 Nichelle I have been fan of BillShrink since I saw them demo at Finovate two years ago. BillShrink helps consumers find the best deals on mobile phone plans, credit cards and even cable service. Now, they are featured in a New York Times article about their new service, Statement Rewards. Under the program, online bank statements [...]
Banks To Limit Debit Card Purchases
March 11th, 2011 Nichelle Further evidence that banks are evil, some banks want to limit debit card purchase because they won’t make as much money on them any more. From an article on CNN Money: Declined! Your debit card may soon be denied for purchases greater than $100 — or even as little as $50. JPMorgan Chase, one of [...]
Piggymojo Partners With Brooklyn Credit Union
March 9th, 2011 Nichelle Brooklynites! This is great news! Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union, a nonprofit, low‐income designated credit union, will offer the Piggymojo solution to new and existing account holders to boost savings balances. Piggymojo uses goal visualization, social commitments, and mobile and online technology to help consumers quantify and enjoy the act of not buying. Research shows [...]
BankSimple: NYC-Based Online Bank
July 17th, 2010 Nichelle I heard about Bank Simple last fall. The website is a simple, stripped-down site that lets you bank. From NYConvergence: This fall, BankSimple plans to serve an initial 10,000 customers, giving members a single card that functions like a debit card, while being linked to a small credit line. Customers can get cash from 50,000 [...]
How To Choose The Right Bank For Your Small Business
March 26th, 2010 Nichelle clipped from www.inc.com Before you start shopping around for a financial institution, consider why you need one in the first place. Are you looking for specialized services, such as investment help or a small business loan? You can search online for local banks that specialize in equipment loans or small business working capital Consider also [...]
Ally Bank Is Hosting A Financial Tune Up and Tweetup This Thursday
March 24th, 2010 Nichelle I just heard about this today on Twitter. Ally Bank is hosting a Tweetup at Stitch (247 W. 37th St) and a Financial Tune-Up at New York Times (620 Eighth Avenue – 15th Floor) tomorrow, March 25th. The Tweetup: Stitch from 5:45pm – 6:30pm The Tune-up: 6:30PM-8:30PM Ally Bank is looking for friends in New [...]
ING Direct Cafe Seminars in New York City
March 3rd, 2010 Nichelle First, I want to say that I love ING Direct! I have an account with them. My mom does. My friend who is a lawyer does too. I would attend these seminars in March but I will be away at SXSW. In the Café: Money Consciousness & Your Temperament with Jay Sanders CPA/PFS, CFP® and [...]
