Twitter's Alex Payne joins online banking start-up

Alex Payne is joining BankSimple

Alex Payne, one of micro-blogging site Twitter's first staffers in 2007, has jumped ship to join BankSimple, an online banking start-up as co-founder, and chief product and technology officer.

The online bank is led by Josh Reich, the New York-based founder of data specialist i2pi, and Shamir Karkal. Alex Payne, who will serve as chief product and technology officer wrote on his blog that his role is to essentially "make sure we build something that's simple, beautiful, and works really, really well."

Said Reich: "Alex has a very strong design aesthetic that really speaks to us and the site. To win in banking, we need extensive technical skill. He's the right fit for us."

An online banking start-up to take advantage of other banking failures?

BankSimple plans to take advantage of consumers disillusionment with the current banking sector. BankSimple says it is "an easy, intuitive, and social bank for people who appreciate simple online services. Unlike other banks, we don't trap you with confusing products nor do we charge any hidden fees. No overdraft fees. We use sophisticated analytics to help you better manage your finances by providing you a individualized service, catered to your needs and goals."

Alex Payne summarised on his blog: "Millions of people [...] need a better bank." And asks consumers to "imagine, for a moment, a bank that doesn't suck."

BankSimple will try and succeed where other banks have failed, both in Europe and in the US, by offering a "better choice," using technology that doesn't impose overdrafts, minimum balances or monthly fees. Transactions using BankSimple will be online or via smartphone.

"We built BankSimple because we were disappointed with our banks and wanted something better. At our previous banks, simple things like paying bills, transferring money and keeping track of balances were a pain. They gave us complicated features to 'help' us manage our money, but they made them hard to use - perhaps because they earn so much from overdraft fees."

Customers have a single account for checking, savings and credit, all from one card. The service also includes financial analysis tools and lets users import historical data from Mint, Wesabe, Quicken and Yodlee.

"It's a different sort of problem than Twitter, and it's going to be a very different sort of company. But I feel ready to take on the challenge that BankSimple presents, and I'm joining on with two brilliant people who've put a ton of thought into building a better bank.

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