Want smarter insights in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get only what matters to enterprise AI, data, and security leaders. Subscribe Now
Everyone’s heard the horror stories of early twenty-somethings plunged into debt by their first credit cards, unable to manage their spending and pay their bills on time, irreparably damaging their credit. A new service called iBankUp, launched today by payment startup Plastyc, hopes to stop this problem in its tracks by giving young people the web-based tools they need to keep a firmer grip on their finances.
iBankUp is actually an online bank account that comes with its own prepaid Visa-branded card — a full-on alternative to debit cards and other credit cards. This is meant to negate the overdraft fees and other penalties levied on checking accounts at traditional banks. On top of that, this account registers every transaction you make via your card in real time. A lot of younger bankers get tripped up by pending payments and deposits that get held by banks without their knowledge. iBankUp wants to encourage responsibility by letting its users know exactly how much they have at their disposal at any given time.
Users interested in trying iBankUp can sign up for an account using their social security numbers — even if their credit ratings are already damaged. The Visa-branded card is accepted by 60,000 retailers. The account’s balance can be checked anywhere from any browser, even mobile phones. Users can set up direct deposits from employers, and can transfer money to and from family and friends, just like they could before. The service even provides what it calls an “online checkbook” that allows users to pay people who prefer paper checks, like landlords, for instance.
So far, iBankUp appears to be a break away from banking as we know it. No other service has feasibly offered a bank account without the usual curbs and fees charged by brand-name financial institutions. It’s interesting that PlastyC chose to market primarily to young people — especially, considering how attractive such a service might seem to a more general audience in today’s economic environment (it’s not just young people living paycheck to paycheck anymore).
That said, the service does seem to require some web-savvy, appealing to the same audience as web-based account tracking services like Wesabe and Mint. The question now is whether iBankUp will sync with these popular sites, also geared toward helping young people visualize their spending and save more. If it doesn’t already, then you can bet it will soon.
Founded in 2006 and based in New York, Plastyc says its goal is to provide ways for Generation Y to efficiently make payments. The company is funded by its founders, as well as private individuals hailing from Google, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Nokia and Sybase. Solborn Venture Investments and ActiveStarts principal Eric Di Benedetto have also contributed.
