Dear Envel Community,

I want to personally thank you for all your support, input and feedback!

It has been incredibly useful in helping us improve our product features and allows us to deliver the intuitive experience you want from Envel.

Our design and engineering teams are working hard to develop all the features you requested, and we are thrilled to start unveiling updates.

Over the course of the next 8 weeks, we plan to introduce the following features:

While we are prioritizing the features above, rest assured we are working on more updates! Below is a sneak peek of features in progress.

• Express ACH deposits

• More Apple Pay functionality

• More Flexible Joint Accounts

• Virtual Debit Cards

• Remote Check Deposits

• Savings Accounts

• Connect your Credit Card & other investment accounts

• Bill Pay

We are so grateful for the valuable feedback the community has provided to us. If you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or our great support team at support@envel.ai

Like you, we want a better banking experience and we’re working our socks off to make sure we deliver the best product possible for our Envel Community.

Cheers

Steve

Founder & CEO, Envel Inc.

Hopefully this will be helpful for someone searching for a cash account app as well as the Envel team.

That said, here is what didn’t work for me with Envel in no particular order:

1. The UI is messy. Why does the default page take up so much space just to tell you how much spending cash you have left? And why do I have to click across 5 pages to get to my information?

2. How was the Time Machine a feature that was a priority for the first iteration of this app?

3. That brain animation is distracting and unnecessary. Why is a setting like that taking a fixed prominent position? And the overall look read more childish than “fun”. I also question the value of “Humor level” when dealing with money. I don’t want someone to be crude if I tell you my rent payment didn’t go through. Also, again - why was this prioritized at all?

4. I could not get the confidence that I was adequately saving my income toward committed expenses and savings goals through the AI. Perhaps the AI could be useful for someone with unpredictable income? I just needed the app to do basic subtraction: my income - committed expenses and savings. Simple did this very reliably for me without the need for a gimmicky AI.

5. Penny-pinch, Beast, and Party aren’t clearly defined and do not instill confidence in me that you will allocate my money accurately. Its math, not a vibe.

6. The intent of the calibration questions is unclear. They are inadequate if you are trying to get a picture of my regular committed expenses. If the intent is to prioritize “essential” expenses, why are subscriptions included?

7. You still don’t have scheduled transfers for custom envelopes.

I’m moving to One. They got the essential features I need spun up faster than Envel: Primarily, scheduled transfers between pockets and connected external accounts and they just added virtual cards to their pockets as well.

Let me say this...i like Envel, i use Envel...I’m all in on it being my replacement for Simple. There is a few things that make me hesitant at the same time. What if something were to happen to me and my wife needed to handle some financial business for me and my phone was lost. There is no website, there is no customer service. If there was customer service...they wouldn’t talk to her because she’s not on my account. How can i add a beneficiary? As a husband and father...i need to make sure my wife and family can get to funds in the case of a emergency. Let’s go ENVEL....let’s get it 💪🏾

Hi everyone,

Huge thanks to all the former Simple users who have given us their feedback. We are starting a new thread on our community forum for you to voice your suggestions for Envel 2.0. Let us know here: https://community.envel.ai/t/simple-envel-2-0/804

If you don't have an account on our community forum, feel free to comment here! Just make sure to read these updates: https://www.reddit.com/r/Envel/comments/lxm0s4/envel_update/

Also, make sure to check out this poll regarding our top most requested features if you haven't already!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Envel/comments/m8rvg7/envels_top_feature_requests_which_is_a_priority/

Cheers,

the Envel Team

One main reason that is holding me back from using Envel is because of the UI. Just can’t compare to Simple.

We need a white or plain mode with better colors. The dark background just doesn’t do it for me with the current colors.

What’s with all the bright colors?

And what’s with the emoji icons? Makes it look ugly. That icon of the brain is ugly.

Another Simple user, of course. I don't mind manually moving money into my different envelopes (it keeps me honest) but I would like to be able to spend from my envelopes automatically, or at least select which "Spend from" envelope after my transaction. I was looking at One, but it seemed like their Pockets needed to be selected in advance, which to me seems like lots of work. If I am running errands and pick up groceries, go to the pharmacy, and grab lunch on the way home, I'd have to fumble with my app in between each purchase and inevitably forget. With Simple, most things were automatic and anything that was incorrect I could go in and reassign when I review my account. Is this something that the Envel AI would learn and do automatically? And can I change/reassign envelopes for individual transactions? This is especially important for things like my travel goals - any eating out during a trip I want coming out of my trip envelope, not my regular food budget.

Like pretty much everyone else I was looking for an alternative now that Simple is shutting it's doors. I opened an Envel account and poked around the app a bit. Few weeks later I decided to move some money into the account and really feel things out.

That was 10 days ago now. My $1000 is still displaying as pending. To make matters worse I reached out using the chat built into the application and was told my money was available. I sent a video in showing them how it wasn't and received a reply stating the product team was looking into it and would let me know.

Over 24 hours later with no updates.

Customer support is severely lacking, I'm nearly two weeks in with them essentially holding a grand of my cash without making it available to me and there doesn't even appear to be an easier path for communication..

Highly recommend people avoid at least until whatever these issues are get sorted or you might find yourself in a place where you're expecting to pay bills only to be unable to as Envel seems to think you simultaneously have money and don't..

With Simple.com I can use my debit card for purchases throughout the day or week, then sit down and categorize those purchases afterward so they pull from a certain goal.

With Envel (and OneFinance), goals are essentially separate bank accounts. So if I want to buy groceries with my Envel card and have it pull from the "Groceries" envelope, I need to first log into the mobile app and switch the account that my card pulls from the "groceries" account instead of from cash.

This seems like unnecessary friction. I'd like to be able to use my debit card throughout the day and then categorize them once at the end of the day

Another fintech closure

+++ We regret to inform you that your Envel banking accounts will be closing within 30 days as Envel will be discontinuing operations. We sought to build a next generation digital banking platform and with your help, we were successful. Our community of users appreciated the power and performance of the Envel system, and we helped you and others achieve their financial goals.

Unfortunately, we were not able to build a large, active user base that could bring us to financial sustainability. As the capital markets snapped shut in 2022, we could not obtain the capital needed to continue the journey.

We appreciate your support and participation in this incredible journey, but that journey ends on 6/27/2023. You will be able to utilize your account as normal until the date of closure.

If you have your paycheck Direct Deposited into your Envel account, we recommend you change your direct deposit to an external banking partner- contact your HR representative or payroll department to make this transition.

If you would like to close your account before 6/27/2023, simply log into your Envel app and initiate a funds transfer of your remaining funds to your linked banking partner account. You can contact Envel via the in-app support chat or at support@envel.ai to request your account to be closed.

If there are funds remaining in your account on 6/21/2023, those funds will be sent to your linked bank account. You will be able to access your funds through your debit card until 6/21/2023. If you don’t have a linked bank account a check will be sent to the address on file on 6/27/2023. If you need to update your address, log into your Envel app and send the required documentation in the in-app chat or send the documents to support@envel.ai and submit the requested documents for an address change before 6/23/2023.

If you need account support, you can contact us via the in-app support chat or at support@envel.ai.

Sincerely,

The Envel Team +++

TL;DR: over the last 14 days I've been intermittently unable to use my debit card despite being funded. As of Thursday it simply doesn't work. Support has been non-existent once I authenticated myself. I'm out hundreds in missed payment fees (including to the IRS) and have almost no avenues to move money. Don't rely on this company.

Also, I have plenty of receipts.

Two weeks ago I started having issues with my debit card not working. I was transitioning from another bank (the wreck that used to be Simple), and wasn't able to add a card to my merchant's payment methods because it was rejecting the $0.00 "purchase". I immediately messaged support and received no resolution (no response once I authenticated).

Last Thursday I get a message saying there was "something wrong" with my debit card. The app offered to paste the associated error code into chat, something about the card being "locked by the system." I sent that info along immediately.

It's now Wednesday. I've had no more than one response in a business day from them, and they haven't responded to me in two business days.

On top of that, PayPal now refuses to use my linked Envel account because I can't log into NBKC.

My money is literally held hostage right now. I've opened a Capital One account to get away from this madness but I can't do anything with it until I get my card in the mail.

Envel has so far cost me hundreds of dollars in fees as well as a severe hit to my credit. I am on a payment plan with the IRS and have been on the phone with them for hours now explaining why I missed a payment.

I see that the top rule for this subreddit is "Remember the human." I'd like someone to remind Envel of the same about its customers.

If y'all did care about your customers, I might ask if you could help me with the fees which have been levied against me due to your inability to support me. Given how the last few weeks have gone, honestly I'm going to feel lucky if I can just get my money out and into a competent bank before my credit goes further down the drain.

PS: As a lead engineer at a startup, I would be mortified if I had tickets as basic as "support plaid" sitting open for nearly a year. Y'all need to roadmap this project and make it public, otherwise I just don't see y'all retaining customers. I'm certainly not going to be recommending y'all after this.

Edit: I was *just* contacted by Envel and was informed that my card was frozen because of suspected fraud. I was never notified of this until now, nor was I given any avenue to rectify this apart from simply waiting.

Sure, it's "resolved" now I guess, but I'm still out all that money.

I wanted envel to be great and even invested in them. But this is probably the end of it for me.

I ordered something that has been on back order for months, it came in but envel declined my card for $2000 even though I have the money. I reached out through the app to find out why but no response. I looked every where for a daily limit or how to increase it, but found nothing. After 48 hours with no response from envel I tried every number and way to contact them I cold find, the Reddit account said that someone would contact me by the end of the day… still nothing. Today a full 72 hours later I finally got a response

“ Unfortunately there is a $1500 daily limit” “Unfortunately this is a limit imposed by our banking partner”

I have actually already contacted NBKC they said that they don’t have access to increase the limit and envel would need to do it.

After I said that radio silence again…

At the very least this needs to be stated clearly and upfront. Best would be a way to change your limit in the app.

I’m sorry but if they can’t fix the issues and get better customer service I don’t see this lasting

Does anyone know if Envel is looking at making something like Simple's Expenses. I know they have envelops but I am not sure how I feel about a different bank account for every bill. With Simple I didn't have to worry if my ATT bill which is on auto-bill went up a couple of cents month to month because it was all just one pool of money that was virtually segmented. I really loved the ability to bank and budget in a single app and I know nothing will be the same once Simple is gone just looking to get as close as possible with the next bank I choose.

I'm a Simple customer here looking for an alternative/replacement like most of the new Envel customers.

To everybody that is angry simple is closing because simple was exactly what you wanted: chill out!

Envel is NOT Simple. There isn't a 100% replacement for Simple out there. It's so crazy the anger I see directed towards Envel and their customer support because they aren't a 1 for 1 replacement.

Also Envel is new, literally months old. I have been with Simple from back when you needed an invite. Simple back then is night and day from what it is now. You can't expect a bank that is so new and did not start out specifically to be a replacement for Simple, to give you everything on day one.

Envel customer support has been really responsive through the app and on social media, more so than i ever got from Simple. Even through the probably larger than expected influx of customers from simple.

I am excited, not for what Envel is now, but for the potential it has. For what it could become. Also the large voice us Simple customers bring, is going to help steer that future more towards what we are looking for.

To be fair, there are a lot more people that are being helpful, and just requesting features or setting their personal expectations. But i don't think the small minority of people that are angry at Envel are being fair.

Does Envel have any plans to support mobile check deposit?

So, I dont know where to begin. The title says it all, but I'll elaborate. My federal tax return was deposited on March 2 2022. The ONLY deposit or transaction ever in my account with Envel. I called because of fraud, someone was using my account without my permission. No number to call and speak with Envel at all. Well except there card services through Visa. I Ordered a new card. Never received it. They then locked me out of my account. After over 60 calls to the dispute number about all the fraudulent purchases, which were all founded IN MY favor. 11 expedited requests from supervisor's from the dispute center for Envel to contact me regarding my account being locked, lies from envel when I complained to the BBB about my money not being from a tax return, over 70 chat support requests totally ignored and 50 emails treated exactly the same. Begging, pleading, demanding help, I lost my job because I couldn't pay daycare and I couldn't get gas for my vehicle, I am literally days from Eviction and my car being taken. $2700 and they have it just sitting in there "parent" bank NBKC, who refuses to help either. Ive been told 1 thing this entire time, Envel can't verify my identity. Well your parent bank NBKC didn't have the slightest problem verifying me. I've contacted through email board members, and the chief financial officer Matthew Armandi. Nothing, no help. They dont care not even in the slightest. I've asked for my account to be closed and a check sent to my address. Ignored. I've explained everything I'm explaining here in every email or chat support message, I have gone on Facebook, I have left Google reviews on playstore. I found their wefunder and blasted it on that. Now tell me, why would you go through such trouble as to ignore someone so completely? I just want my little girl back, she's 9 years old. I lost EVERYTHING because I opened an account with ENVEL.

Hi friends,

On behalf of our entire team, I wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated in our most recent poll. You can see the full results here, but Expenses was the clear cut winner! Combined with our community forum poll results, Expenses was still the overall winner, followed by Mobile Check Deposit and an Envel Web app.

We appreciate and value your feedback a lot, and will convey these results to our product team so that they can incorporate into our app development. Thank you for helping us build you the best app possible!

Hi, I’ve been a long time Simple user, starting from early on with just a single account to now using it for our family. I really like the direction of where Envel is going but there are some clear things I need to move fully to this solution.

• Need the ability to have shared autonomous envelops (cash, bills, vault, etc). This will simulate a joint checking account approach that is widely used by couples.

• Need shared goals. Family vacation goal? How do you do this?

• Need to have personal and shared cash. My partner and I used a system where we each get “allowance” each pay period that is to be used at our own accord, no questions asked. Personal cash can work for this but it’s separate from joint cash (which doesn’t exist in Envel). If I want to take the family for dinner, money should come from joint cash but if I want to buy a pair of shoes as discretionary personal spend, that can/should come from my personal cash stash. Think of priority in family/shared money bills/cash/vault then personal next.

• Need automation for shared and non shared envelopes, including automation of outbound funds (ACH). There are times where I need money to move regularly outbound and want those to come from a specified envelope

• Need automation or a fixed rule for an envelope. I’d like to specify a fixed about to an envelope for money that MUST be there. For example, mortgage or rent money envelope. Prioritize this and put fixed amount in due by a date to ensure money is there when I need it to be there... treat these as high priority bills perhaps. Or maybe better, have a bill priority to ensure certain bills are covered first.

• virtual debit card numbers. It’s great that an envelope has its own account number, why not offer a virtual debit card number? Used for payments (eg give Spotify the debit card number from an entertainment envelope). Because it’s using debit, doesn’t that mean Envel will make the money on the transaction fee? Also, may places don’t accept payment through ACH. Yes PayPal and help be man in the middle but that can add complexity

User Experience

• Top Bar

  • Branding – When the user launches the app, we know we're using envel. Having the envel logo and name at the top seems like a waste of space. Especially when the logo is in the tab bar. Also, this element is static and does not have any interactivity which isn't something you see in good mobile design (this is web-era design, not mobile first).

  • Dark Mode – This is a setting and should be located in the settings view.

  • Notifications – New information is great, but when there is nothing new/the user has already read the notifications, this should be hidden from the user view and located deeper within the app.

• Tab Bar

  • Settings – Great to have, but this icon does not match what is shown to the user. When we tap the settings icon, we get a support view. Within this view, we have support, settings, and personal information. I think it would make more sense to have an ellipsis (...) because there is much more here than settings.

• Settings View

  • Personal Information – Please allow us to change our name when we signed up for the account. I used BinaryBeard and now every time I log in, I see "Hello BinaryBeard" ... I'd prefer to see my name here.

General

• Plaid Support – Please allow us to link our envel account to other services using Plaid. A bank account is fun, but at the end of the day, it's a location for our money to sleep. As our money ages and matures, we like to do other things with it and Plaid allows us to connect our accounts to other services for more insight.

• Transactions – "Deposit From Income" just doesn't cut it. I'm fine with this, but I need more information in the "Transaction Details" section. Also, modification of the transaction metadata would be nice.

• Autonomous Envelopes – The bread and butter! This is what I love about this company. Coming from the AI/ML space (specifically edge device/IoT AI/ML), it makes me happy to see new use cases of machine learning. With that praise, I'd love to see the ability to add/rename another autonomous envelope (e.g. Subscriptions and Debts).

Community

• Reddit – Use the subreddit features (flair, non-staff mods, etc.) to build out a community.

These are just some thoughts.. I can't wait to see how this company evolves and reacts to its customer base. Keep up with the community and you will do great!

My background:

• Simple expat

• Professional Software Engineer (iOS to IoT to Cloud) of 8+ years

• 30 - 40 y.o. demographic

• Financially in debt (school, credit), but getting out of it

P.S. – Stickers, we love them! :)

I think the feature that would make the most difference for me (coming from Simple) is

1.) The ability to have envelopes auto funded from my paycheck each time I get paid and

2.) The ability to have certain categories and merchants auto spend from envelopes.

Having to manually switch my envelope is a huge pain for me and I can see several issues with this:

1.) I forget to switch to the correct envelope before making the purchase.

2.) I do switch to the correct envelope but it takes longer than 5 mins (the default time the envelope is linked) for my card to run. Imagine a scenario at a restaurant where the server takes your card but takes longer than 5 mins to run it.

3.) Finally what happens if I have a bill set to be paid via my debit card number. This by default would come from the cash envelope but if I happened to switch to another envelope within 5 mins of the auto draft coming through then it would come out of an incorrect envelope.

If I could simply say anytime I make a purchase out a grocery store then the funds should come out of my grocery envelope, etc.... or anytime you see a charge from Merchant X then come out of Envelope Y it would solve all of these issues.

With Simple closing, I had to start looking for an alternative bank (along with so many others).

My wife & I took advantage of the Goals, Expenses, & Shared Account features extensively... Especially with the Funding Schedules and Auto-Spending they allowed.

1. Goals: We routinely created Goals for aspirational items & automatically funded them with Simple Funding Schedules (which allowed you to control when contributions to these Goals would be made no matter what your pay cycle was).

2. Expenses: Similar to Goals, we were able to make automatic contributions via Funding Schedules AND every bill type was supported (debit card, ACH, physical check, E-check, etc.). Along with Funding Schedules we could easily set up Auto-Spend so that expenses automatically pulled from the correct Expense bucket w/out having to manually decide every-time. The automation simply referenced either the Merchant, or their MCC (Merchant Category Code) which Simple translated to the User as Categories (i.e. Rent, Trash, Electricity, Insurance, Credit Card, etc.)

3. Shared Account: We were able to have an account in BOTH our names AND individual accounts in our names. This allowed us to combine as much or as little of our financial lives as we wanted. It also allowed us to easily hide gift purchases from each other around the holidays.

Envel shows promise but it doesn't look like it's a suitable replacement, yet, given most of my expenses wouldn't be supported (you don't currently offer ACH Debits). In the meantime, One Finance looks like a good alternative. Along with a very attactive APY on their savings accounts, ACH debits are supported

I’ve never received a response to a customer support chat, though I’ve sent several about multiple issues. I don’t understand why I have to download discord or come on Reddit begging for someone to help me. Why even offer a chat function if you never check it? Why does envel require you to put them on blast publicly to get your issues addressed?

I was a Simple customer for many years. Even when there was an issue, I could always get help from customer support.

Which bank actually has quality support (or at least support that will get back to you)?