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Posted by u/brainsrgdropout 5 years ago
Azlo Is Closing Down
Just got the e-mail below. Odd decision given the massive pandemic growth and recent launch of Azlo Pro.

Who has suggestions for migration? THX

It is with regret that I share this news today: Our parent bank, BBVA US, has made the strategic decision to close Azlo. Transparency is incredibly important to me and the Azlo team, which is why we are sharing the news early. There will be no immediate changes to your account or to your service.

As founders and entrepreneurs ourselves, we know that there can be unexpected bumps on the entrepreneurial journey. We’re sorry that we won’t be alongside you—our inspiring community of entrepreneurs—as you grow and flourish.

We want to reiterate that Azlo’s service, and your account, is not going away today, and we will continue to support you during this period of transition. We understand that you will have questions for us. Please stay tuned for updates and news.

With admiration,

Cameron Peake, Founder and CEO The Azlo Team

jamilbk · 5 years ago
BBVA is closing Simple too. Lucky me, I use Azlo for my business and Simple for my personal :-(.

> We have an update for you about your banking relationship with Simple, a subsidiary of BBVA USA.

> BBVA USA has made the strategic decision to close Simple. There is no immediate impact to your accounts at Simple and nothing you need to do at this time. Since your deposits are already housed at BBVA USA, they will remain in FDIC insured accounts there, up to the applicable limits. In the future, your Simple account will become exclusively serviced by BBVA USA, but until then you can continue to access your account and your money through the Simple app or online at simple.com. You will receive additional information in the near future about the transition of your account servicing to BBVA USA.

> We want to assure you that we are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for you, and that we will provide ongoing transparent and open communication, so you know what to expect each step of the way.

> Our customer services agents will not be able to address questions about this announcement at this time. We will contact you proactively as we have more details. Please only contact customer support for your regular banking needs.

> Thank you for being a Simple customer, it's been an honor to serve you.

> — The Team at Simple

> What does it mean for me? You can continue to access your account and your money through the Simple app or online at simple.com and with your Simple Visa® Debit card. We will begin posting updates on the transition as we have them on simple.com.

> Does this affect my stimulus payment? No. Your stimulus, unemployment aid and any other deposits will continue to be deposited in your account as they are received. If you have not received your IRS payment please use the IRS Get My Payment tool for status.

arthurcolle · 5 years ago
I also have a Simple account. Over the last year I started using Chime more, and just had the Simple account because my happy US stimulus checks were getting deposited there.

I also use Mercury for my business stuff. So Chime + Mercury might be a good combo for you, depending on your needs.

tmcpro · 5 years ago
Take a look at banknovo.com for your business account. We'd be happy to have you
mrtrash757 · 5 years ago
I expect that your Azlo account (and mine) will move to BBVA and eventually PNC, like Simple (Personal Digital Bank owned by BBVA). See here: https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/07/bbva-says-that-it-is-shutt...

Azlo did a terrible job of letting us know to be honest, unless they don't know that if it will be part of BBVA or not.

Edit: I got this terrible canned response from Azlo.

"We're still working to understand exactly how this process will take place, and we're sorry that we don't have more to share at this time. That said, please rest assured that your account and experience will not be immediately impacted. We are still working out the timeline details with BBVA USA, but we expect this to be months, not weeks, and we will work with you as we learn how our closure will unfold.

We greatly appreciate your patience and please know that we're very sad about this; helping small businesses and entrepreneurs survive and thrive has brought us nothing but joy and fulfillment and we wish we could continue."

Guess I will be going elsewhere.

dpmdpm · 5 years ago
That's what I'm expecting too. I'm holding off on opening an account elsewhere for now, but yeah, would be nice to get clarity.
brainsrgdropout · 5 years ago
Yes, I'll wait to hear as well, but otherwise plan to move to Brex. Had a great experience with them in my first startup.
mrtrash757 · 5 years ago
I agree, I did message them also over this. I picked up a Bluevine account incase, but it might be time to switch to a traditional brick and mortar bank for me. If they do move us to BBVA and then PNC though, that would be great.
steadicat · 5 years ago
Bummed about this, but there seems to be a plethora of alternatives:

- Rho: https://rho.co/

- Mercury: https://mercury.com/

- Radius Bank: https://radiusbank.com/business/

- BlueVine: https://www.bluevine.com/

- Novo: https://banknovo.com

- Wave Money: https://www.waveapps.com/money

- Brex Cash: https://www.brex.com/product/cash-management-account/

- Wise: https://www.wise.us/

- Relay: https://relayfi.com

Now if only there were a clear way to choose one. If anyone has any tips, I'm all ears.

itsnot2020 · 5 years ago
I've been very happy with Mercury, possibly the most basic of offerings here compared to all the others but I haven't had any issues and they're constantly improving.
yukinon · 5 years ago
Genuinely curious since this is definitely outside of my wheelhouse, what are the reasons why a business might choose to go with one of these startups vs a larger bank, such as Wells Fargo? And at what point does the business outgrow these small startups?
ryanzan · 5 years ago
These "digital first" banks are a lot more nimble for small businesses, and have almost none of the same fees that you'd see at a larger bank. And for a lot of us that run remote businesses, we don't deal in cash and therefore, don't need access to brick-and-mortar branches (which for me, is one of the few redeeming qualities for a larger bank).

However I will say... that the Achilles heel for these newer digital banks is customer service. If they're going to lean into doing everything on the internet, they need to be investing heavily into live customer support. That's been an issue for me with several banks in the past.

itsnot2020 · 5 years ago
I have business accounts with Chase, SVB and Mercury and Mercury is definitely the best experience for what I need. I'm sure you could outgrow its services pretty easily but for now it's perfect.

Plus I like all these challengers snapping at the incumbents, have you seen the SVB app and website, even Chase put them to shame.

brainsrgdropout · 5 years ago
Of the internet-only flavor, I only have experience with Axos, Azlo, and Brex... Huh, four letter banks.

Axos was super slow with set up such that half way through the process I applied to Azlo and got approved in a couple days and went with them instead. Bye.

Brex I used with my first startup beginning in 2018 (having migrated from SVB) and I loved it. There used to be a higher bar for getting an account but looks like they got rid of the $10K minimum. The rewards were pretty good and dunno if they still have it open bc pandemic but the Brex Oval Room (members only club) in South Park was a dope place to work and hang.

Based on prior experience, I'm leaning towards giving Brex a go again unless one of you can convince me otherwise.

steadicat · 5 years ago
I just signed up for Brex. The application process was fast and smooth. A couple things to note:

- It looks like they use Radius Bank under the hood

- There is no Plaid support (this is almost a dealbreaker for me, as I want to use accounting tools like YNAB)

pklicnik · 5 years ago
For folks interested, one alternative is Relay. Check it out here: https://relayfi.com/

You can sign up for an account using this link: https://app.relayfi.com/register?referralcode=Hackernews

cm2012 · 5 years ago
Novo Bank is another good one: https://banknovo.com/
pcj-github · 5 years ago
Feedback on novo seems pretty horrible https://investorjunkie.com/reviews/novo/. Anyone have a god or bad experience to share?
chaoxu · 5 years ago
What, I just got Azlo account a week ago.

Good thing I've applied for an account with Mercury. Waiting through the long verification process...

But this definitely get me to think twice about using fintech banks. It could get closed down due to an acquisition of their parent bank.

jbkim · 5 years ago
Hello! Jason here from Mercury's customer onboarding team. I'm sorry to hear the verification process may be taking some time. I'd love to take a look to see where things are at, and help move thing along, if you'd be able to share your company name/email address (feel free to email us at onboarding@mercury.com). Thank you!
chaoxu · 5 years ago
Thank you! I've sent you an email.
wharlow9 · 5 years ago
You should check out Novo (banknovo.com). Our application process takes <24 hours if you have all your business docs. If you finished your application today or tomorrow, we could have your account opened by Monday.
brainsrgdropout · 5 years ago
I guess we trade upfront convenience/less friction for potential catastrophic collapse on the back end. Depending on your biz it may or may not be worth it although most new founders have few brick and mortar options.
whalesalad · 5 years ago
I am a happy customer of Mercury (https://mercury.com)
chrisgoman · 5 years ago
Mercury is not approving all applicants for some unknown reason and they can NOT tell me why
immad · 5 years ago
(I am the ceo of Mercury)

Sometimes a bank compliance team can not legally say why a bank applicant is not approved. In those situations we can also not tell an applicant that, that is the case.

Though that is pretty rare, if you email me your company name/email I can take a look to see if I can provide more insight. We generally try to accept everyone we can legally accept if they are not in a prohibited industry etc.

plumeria · 5 years ago
Yes, happened to us as well.
tylercubell · 5 years ago
What's stopping Mercury or Brex's partner bank from pulling the carpet out from under them too? The bank I switched away from to join Azlo is archaic and frustrating to deal with but I'm having second thoughts creating an account with another banking startup if it might close a few years later. I now have to inconvenience my clients and ask them to update the ACH information they have on file. I have no idea if there will be problems getting my money out either. I never expected this from a bank.

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franciscassel · 5 years ago
Alternatives I've seen mentioned on Twitter threads today: https://mercury.com/https://www.brex.com/
tmcpro · 5 years ago
Also take a look at Novo.

[0] https://banknovo.com