Subscribe
Sign in
Debitize
p/debitizeControl your credit. Master your money.
Start new thread
Liran Amrany

Debitize - Credit card perks without credit card debt

by•

Debitize is a personal finance app that lets you use any existing credit card like a debit card so you can earn rewards and build credit without the worries of debt, interest, or late fees. Debitize works by automatically withdrawing funds to cover your purchases every day - like a debit card - and pays your credit card bill, in full and on time.

Add a comment

Replies

Best
Liran Amrany
Maker
Hey PHers! I’m Liran, co-founder and CEO of Debitize. Debitize automates good personal finance habits, starting with credit cards. With Debitize, you can use any credit card like a debit card so you can build credit and earn rewards without worrying about interest and late fees. What separates us from other apps are: 1) Action, not advice. We don’t just send you notifications – if you spend $25, we’ll withdraw $25 to make sure your balance is covered 2) Automated daily withdrawals and bill payments – so you stay on top of your spending and never miss a bill 3) Compatible with your existing checking account and most major credit cards – so you can use what’s already in your wallet We’re super excited to be on Product Hunt today, and while Debitize is already free, we’d like to offer all of you free lifetime access to our Credit Optimizer feature (which will eventually become a premium feature). With Credit Optimizer, we automatically pay down your balance to 1% of your credit limit right before your issuer reports your “utilization,” the 2nd largest component of your credit score. Check out Credit Karma's credit score simulator to see what impact this might have you on your score - we've seen some users increase their score by 30-70 points! Would love to hear your thoughts!
Nathan Baschez
@liranamrany congrats!! Awesome to see how far you've come!
Liran Amrany
Maker
@nbashaw Thanks Nathan!
Brad Kovach
@liranamrany Is the Credit Optimizer feature a line of credit, or will it withdraw from my checking to accomplish this feature?
@liranamrany Which countries and/or banks are supported right now? That's not addressed in the FAQ.
Liran Amrany
Maker
@bradkovach We do not provide any line of credit. We'll withdraw funds from your checking account - either daily automated withdrawals or manual withdrawals when you tell us to - and then make the payment to your credit card right before your statement date for Credit Optimzer, plus another automated payment to your credit card before your due date for any remaining balance.
Ryan Waite
This is really useful, another tool I can use with Mint! If you don't mind me asking, though, what is the revenue model for this company?
Jake Stanley
@waiteonryan I'd imagine they're earning interest on the money transferred daily from your checking account and sitting in your Debitize Reserve Account before your bill is paid each month. Probably a good trade for most users.
Liran Amrany
Maker
@jakeastanley @waiteonryan Thanks for checking us out Ryan! We're not monetizing yet, but plans are to earn the float as Jake mentions, plus affiliate marketing (targeted offers for other financial products - like Mint but hopefully better. We're likely to eventually charge for some features as well, including the Credit Optimize one I described above
Ryan Waite
@jakeastanley @liranamrany thanks for the prompt answers :) I'll have to check out the Credit Optimize feature. That is an impressive and really useful feature; I don't think a lot of people realize that if you pay 100% of your credit balance before the next statement that your credit score actually wouldn't be as high as if you left 1% on the balance. That's pretty genius!
Liran Amrany
Maker
@abe_storey @jakeastanley @waiteonryan Thanks Abe, that's awesome to hear!
Mark Progano
Fun Fact, I've been using this for about 3 months and it's been keeping my credit card paid off and my credit happy. Love this app.
Liran Amrany
Maker
@mprogano Thanks for the shout out! Glad you are enjoying your experience with Debitize!
@mprogano Sounds like you're not carrying a balance. If that's the case, why are you using your credit card at all? Online purchases?
Liran Amrany
Maker
@dereksilva @mprogano Derek, our view is that there's no reason to use debit cards except for the peace of mind that comes with knowing your purchases are paid off - that's why we created Debitize. With credit cards, you can build credit, earn rewards, get better security, purchase protection, extended warranties, and more. Even if you're not carrying a balance (like most of our users), credit is still the way to go.
Stephen Lang
Been using Debitize for a couple months now, one of my favorite life hacks. I think it has great value in terms of automating a task I'd rather not spend time on. And it's great to see someone reinforcing good behavior and combating the annoying manipulation game from credit card companies. Viva la revolucion! ✌️
Liran Amrany
Maker
@stephen_lang Thanks Stephen, glad you are enjoying Debitize! We like to say we're helping you beat the banks at their own game.
Jenny
I've been using debitize for about 4 months now, and couldn't be happier with it! Debitize is now the first website I check when I get up in the morning, and gives me more peace of mind financially - I'm more aware of my spending habits, and bill pay is completely automated. This is the perfect tool for everyone, but especially anyone with a history or fear of abusing their credit cards!
Liran Amrany
Maker
@jennybc89 Thanks for the kind words! So happy we've been able to help!
Abe Storey
This is really smart. I've noticed debit cards have become the norm for my demographic (18-24). Personally, I want the points + benefits, but not the hassle of a credit card. This has the potential to eradicate that hassle
jamesbeuerlein
I've been using this service for months. The customer service is top notch and the reward money they've helped me earn has helped pay for daycare for my son. I haven't found a downside yet to this service.
Ezinne'
Congrats Liran!!! Good to see the progress.
John Edgar
Awesome!
Tom Pryor
Love it. I have two Chase accounts, one for credit, one for debit (my wife's), but it only lets me add one. Is it possible to add two?
Liran Amrany
Maker
@tom_pryor Hi Tom, unfortunately for the time being while you can connect multiple accounts from one login, we don't let you connect multiple logins at the same bank. Working on it!
Siegfried Puchbauer
Awesome, I've been playing this game for a while to keep my utilization low. Looking forward to automate that!
Liran Amrany
Maker
@ziegfri3d Thanks for the note Siegfried, would love to hear your feedback once you're on board!
Charley Ma
Congrats on being hunted! What else do you guys have planned on the roadmap for exciting feature? :)
Liran Amrany
Maker
@charleyma hey Charlie, next up will be a native mobile app in early 2017. We'd also like to improve the logic around making credit card payments for users who carry multiple balances, and we're working to decrease the time from purchase to debit. Longer term, we hope to help you manage your entire budget, including setting aside funds and paying bills for your rent or mortgage, student loans, utilities, etc.
Joshua Dance
I don't quite get what you guys do. How does this affect my credit score?
Mark Progano
@joshdance they take money from your checking account and apply to your credit card every time your bill comes up as well as you to pay it at strategic times and carry a credit
Liran Amrany
Maker
@joshdance Hi Joshua, the 2 largest components of your credit score are your payment history (35%) and your utilization (30%). Your utilizaiton is basically a percentage of your credit line that you use. You want to be positive but generally as low as possible, and our Credit Optimizer feature automatically pays you down to 1% of your credit line before most banks report your utilization to the credit bureaus. You can test this out yourself by going to Credit Karma (if you have an account), going to their score simulator, and lowering your utilization to 1%
Liran Amrany
Maker
@joshdance Also - should mention that even without Credit Optimizer, we're helping people use credit cards responsibly, which is the fastest and easiest way to build credit. Especially if you are among the people that have sworn off credit in favor of debit, Debitize lets you use your credit card with the same peace of mind and convenience of debit so you can start to build credit.
Abhishek Syal
What abouut some people wanting to just cover their minimum balance? Does it also have automation features to manage your "debit" account withdrawals - so that I do have some cash remaining in my debit?
Liran Amrany
Maker
@abhishek_syal thanks abhishek, we do let you carry a balance month to month on your card, and are working on improving our data on minimum payments. On your second question, we let you set a min balance for your checking account that we won't draw you below.
Muds
Great idea for recovery of money.