Comments on: Mint Wins TechCrunch 40

By: JoeDuck

JoeDuck — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:21:26 +0000

I see a nice advantage in knowing about where money comes in and goes out, which is very hard to track without a unified system. However I agree with both of you that the security issues may outweight the benefits if you give them account access. What I may do is enter my own general data for house value, assets, etc and then just see what types of “money optimizing” deals come up from mortgage places, etc. This is an area where the stakes are high for a small decrease in your equity line rates, etc, so I’m happy to look at a lot of offers for bettering my cards, equity line, etc.

By: FoolsGold

FoolsGold — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:45:35 +0000

Frankly, I don’t see the advantage of any unified financial portal. I’d rather have some control over access and keep everything electronically separated under separate webaddresses and separate passwords. If that means I will miss out on their unified service and presentation of data,,, so be it!

By: mitesh rami

mitesh rami — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:05:21 +0000

financial companies are coming up so fast and there is lots and lots of competetion around. it will be quite dificult for mint. it will be nice if they can provide some form of “insurance” to guarantee the protection of assets..

By: FoolsGold

FoolsGold — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 07:09:22 +0000

I’ve no idea just what it is that Mint claims to do that it needs to have its customer’s bank account passwords but perhaps its some sort of automatic shifting of deposits to chase so-called ‘optimal returns’.

If that is the business plan it will fail as an online business just the same as those things fail in the real world of telephone boiler rooms.

The banks take the view that the depositor is responsible for the personnel they hire to take a deposit to the bank and that therefore it is the depositor who is responsible for the integrity of his computer and the guarding of his passwords.

Insurance policy to protect against unauthorized intrusion? Unlikely. Too many targets of such unauthorized intrusion get hit hard even when they know the bad guys are knocking at their doors all the time. I’d sure wonder how foolish and how liquid that insurance company was!