BankSimple Issues First Cards, Looks to Change Banking Industry

BankSimple, an ambitious startup looking to reinvent banking online, is opening its online branch to employees and issuing its first bank cards for testing in New York, Portland and San Francisco.

The newly issued cards, which double as ATM and credit cards, represent an important milestone in BankSimple’s cautious maturation process.

BankSimple is not a bank. Rather, FDIC-insured banks manage the money. But BankSimple is a hybrid provider of online and social banking services and a distributer of physical bank cards for purchases and ATM withdrawals.

Founded in 2009, the startup has remained relatively stealthy. Mashable got an inside look at the startup’s plans in July 2010. Co-founder Alex Payne, an early Twitter employee, told us at the time that the startup’s focus was on “worry-free” money management and unrivaled customer service.

When it opens to bankers, likely sometime later this year, BankSimple’s draw will be fee-free ATM withdrawals, predictive money management, Zappos-style customer support and simplified money transfers between you and your social network friends.

“While we are thrilled to have our cards in-hand, we will be taking the necessary time to ensure that our systems are rock-solid and that our card fulfillment operations can handle the demand,” BankSimple VP of product marketing Adam Erlebacher says. “It is critical that we get this right from the very beginning.”

Some 50,000 people have already requested to join BankSimple’s bank of the future. They’ll have to wait a bit longer, as friends and family will get priority access after the employee-testing phase is completed.

“The last many months have taught us greater patience,” Erlebacher says. “It is difficult to change an industry. But we’re leaning into it and can’t wait to show you what we’re building.”