We all like the idea of setting aside a nice chunk of money in a savings account and putting it to work for us, but it’s a bit easier said than done — if you want the best rates, you have to choose from one of hundreds of CDs and savings account products offered by various banks, each of which has its own rates and restrictions. BillShrink, the startup that targets a variety of verticals to help users save money, is launching a new service today that looks to help make this decision much easier.
If you’ve used any of BillShrink’s other services before — which include cost cutters for cell phone plans, gas stations, and credit cards — you’ll be right at home here. To get started, BillShrink asks you where you’re currently keeping your money, as well as the amount that’s in your account. It doesn’t ask for your bank credentials (people tend to be far more hestitant to give these up than they are for their phone bills), but it does automatically look up details like your current APY which isn’t unique to the user. Hit submit, and BillShrink will present a list of its top matches, taking into account each product’s interest rates and any restrictions that might be involved.
And BillShrink goes far beyond just a basic listing. You can futher refine your results by specifying which features you want (for example, you might want to be able to withdraw money at ATMs, or get paper statements without an extra fee). You can also specify how long you’re willing to keep your money in an illiquid state, and if you enter your employer and region you can turn up special offers from smaller banks and credit unions.
As with BillShrink’s other services, the new savings feature has a clean, intuitive interface. That said there is still some room for improvement — I think the site could do a better job at holding the user’s hand through the process. While BillShrink does a good job offering contextual explanations (say, how it calculated the fees associated with a given product), it doesn’t attempt to educate the user, so there’s a chance some users won’t know what some of the terms mean.
BillShrink isn’t the first player here — BankRate.com has been a leader for quite a while, and Mint also offers a savings component that looks at savings accounts and CDs. But co-founder Samir Kothari says that BillShrink differs in a few key respects. For one, the site doesn’t offer any sponsored listings (both Mint and BankRate always show their sponsored products at the very top of the list, so you may not immediately notice the products that would give you the best returns). He also says that BillShrink’s customization options are more precise than what you’ll find on the other sites.
BillShrink has been having a very strong year, with 1000% growth since the beginning of the year (they’re now up to over 650,000 monthly visitors) and some major marketing love from T-Mobile).
Love to see BillShrink start to take on Mint (Intuit) to provide some more healthy competition in the personal finance space.
They’re missing http://SmartyPig.com one of the best online savings accounts available.
Add SmartyPig guys!
That would be cool. I never got around to trying Mint, but since Intuit bought them, I am completely unmotivated. Some competition would be nice… another option… and BillShrink has a great product already.
I suppose the 1000% growth has been greatly aided by the global recession, but nonetheless its still an amazing effort, especially considering the well established competition!
Looked great until they started being not so subtle about trying to datamine your information in return for returning search results in which they didn’t need specific information.
If they didn’t require the whole give us your info and signup and jump through hoops when we already have everything we need to help you then I’d say this was a great service, as it is I gave it false information until it told me it in fact couldn’t tell me anything and left me alone.
I realize that the above comes off as paranoid but since that’s obvious what they’re doing they could at least be upfront about admitting that they’re databasing this info (most likely to sell, they have to make money somehow) which would make them on par with every other one of these “free” services.
Right. A throw-away email address = super information to sell. They have to make money somehow? Uh, I thought the lead-gen model they have (like so many other comparison/decision making engine) is pretty obvious — but guess not.
Whats really obvious is of course, your idea: let’s sell random email address for $0.00001 each instead of a quantified and qualified potential customer for $100.
Come on.
Gotta admit the requiring putting in an email to see result is annoying. Doesnt look like it forces activation though so you can just put whatever you want and see result.
Hi Kaos,
We’re not data mining the information in order to sell email addresses. We ask for email address in order to better serve users. If users want, they can receive alerts on changing rates, plans, and any potential future savings. We hate spam too so we won’t send emails you don’t request. Even if a user opts-in for the alerts, they may not hear from us for awhile unless real changes has affected their personal recommendation.
BillShrink makes money only if you save money. If you find you can save money by changing to a different credit card, savings account, or cell phone plan, BillShrink sometimes — but not always — gets a fee from the retailer when you switch. However, these fees never impact the way results are presented to you. If you still have questions though, please do feel free to follow up with us at (billshrink.com/contact) and we’d be happy to answer any questions you have.
Hi Kaos,
BillShrink doesn’t data mine or sell email addresses. We request a user email address in order to better serve them. If a user want, they can receive alerts when there are better rates, plans, or specific saving opportunities. Like everyone, we hate spam and won’t send emails unless requested. You should also know that although changes to rate happen frequently, they will only occasionally affect your recommendations, so even if a user opts-into receiving alerts, they won’t be contacted by BillShrink often.
BillShrink also only makes money if you save money. If a user can find potential savings from their result, BillShrink sometimes — but not always — gets a fee from the retailer when you switch. However, these fees never impact the way results are presented to you. If you still have questions about BillShrink, please do feel free to contact us (billshrink.com/contact) and we’d be happy to follow up.
I don’t like secrets, especially when it gets personal. I don’t think there would be much problem if they openly tell people their intentions.
Is it normal that when I try this feature it quotes everything in British pounds and not dollars? Apparently they claim I can open up a savings account in £ with Bank of America…..
Sorry, me again. This site is also falsely quoting 1 year CDs with 3 percent APY through Bank of America. When you actually click on the link, you find out it’s not a 1 year CD but a 120 month CD. Seems like this site has a lot of kinks to work out before it can become operational.
Nice models for people travelling a lot, if there is a nice company apps this would be nice!
I don’t like answering all of the questions. Would much prefer just to use a site like http://www.BestCashCow.com to see and compare rates. It just seems easier.
No email address necessary to use our savings tool. We also don’t force our sponsored results at the top. We always put the consumer first.
http://www.myba...ker.com/savings
We also just launched our new interactive bank finder, but TechCrunch has a way of not noticing us. I guess since we’re not taking VC money and not in Silicon Valley, we don’t get any love.
http://www.myba...acker.com/banks
Tired the new savings feature. Suggested I move my money to AIG. Right.
Mr. Kincaid,
Your article says, “both Mint and BankRate always show their sponsored products at the very top of the list, so you may not immediately notice the products that would give you the best returns…”
But this is incorrect. Mint.com does indicate, in the interest of transparency, which offers are sponsored, but our sorting is always in order of the most value/savings to you, and it cannot be changed. Simply go use the product here and you’ll see very quickly:
http://www.mint...m/credit-cards/
Thank you,
Jason M. Putorti
Lead Designer, mint.com
Where are these ridiculous numbers of traffic coming from? It says only 201K and not 650K on http://www.quan.../billshrink.com
With $10MM in funding these guys are doing NOTHING impressive! Before you quote ridiculous numbers like 1000% why don’t you ask to see some revenue numbers??