Simple online bank is closing, its parent company announced in an email to customers on Thursday. BBVA USA, which acquired Simple in 2014 for $ 117 million, said it would transition Simple’s customers to BBVA accounts, but did not provide details on when the change would occur. BBVA USA was acquired by PNC Bank, based in Pittsburgh, in November.
In user email, with which many have shared The Verge, BBVA said that the decision to close Simple was strategic and said that customers do not need to take any immediate action.
There is no immediate impact on your Simple accounts and nothing you need to do right now. Since your deposits are already hosted at BBVA USA, they will remain in accounts insured by the FDIC there, up to the applicable limits. In the future, your Simple account will become an exclusive service of BBVA USA, but until then you can continue to access your account and your money through the Simple application or online at Simple.com.
Stimulus payments and other direct deposits will not be affected, according to the note to customers. “We will provide continuous, transparent and open communication, so you know what to expect every step of the way,” wrote the company. More details will come in the future, according to the emails.
At the time of BBVA’s acquisition, Simple had about 100,000 users. When it was launched in 2010, Simple quickly accumulated a waiting list of 125,000 people attracted by the optimized online experience that Simple promised. When Google Wallet was closed in 2016, Google recommended Simples as a possible replacement.
BBVA said in a statement on Thursday that it was closing Simple as part of the PNC acquisition, as it was “accelerating some changes and interrupting work on others”. Once the acquisition is completed, Simple’s former customers will become PNC customers, the company said.