Simple, which provides financial services primarily through online and mobile channels, plans to launch two mobile person-to-person payments systems.
Simple, formerly called BankSimple, is not a bankit deposits its customers funds with a partner, The Bancorp Bank. Simple's customers use a smartphone to deposit checks, pay bills and manage budgets. Simple offers prepaid card that works at more than 50,000 ATMs, and it recently
Its next features will be Instant Simple-to-Simple, a P2P feature that lets Simple customers exchange funds with each other; and MoneyDrop, a Bluetooth-enabled wireless P2P system for iPhone owners.
Our broader [consumer to consumer] approach and MoneyDrop are two unique features, though we plan to launch them together in the coming months, says Krista Berlincourt, a Simple spokesperson, in an email.
The Instant Simple-to-Simple system is designed to enable transfers via Simples app by setting up connections with other Simple customers. MoneyDrop uses Bluetooth Low Energy to enable consumers to connect with other account holders in close proximity. MoneyDrop will be an instant funds transfer system for the iPhone 4S and newer models.
Were excited about its potential to replace cash for Simple customerswithout running to an ATM, youll be able to pay your friend back for dinner while youre still at the table, or pay your roommate back for the Internet bill while youre both chilling on the couch," Berlincourt says.
Bluetooth Low Energy, a longer-range alternative to Near Field Communication, is growing in popularity as a payments technology.
Simples MoneyDrop is similar in some ways to
