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Tally — Helping you pay and organize your credit cards
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@rrhoover working with founders as hardworking and ambitious as @jason_brown2 and @jasperplatz, going after a huge consumer pain point, is what makes the venture business such a thrill.
I really don't understand the trend of designing apps, especially important financial apps like this for iPhone first. If I'm going to be spending thousands of dollars potentially, I don't want to do it on an app on my phone.
@livejamie Totally get it. We did a bunch of testing and found ios was the best place to start. Its also a bit easier to nail the UI/UX + visual experience on iOS b/c there are fewer form factors. We'll work as hard as we can to get web/Android out the door.
@jason_brown2 Three cheers for new, more accessible tools for debt management! I understand the state-by-state approach but imagine there's an ILC in your future. Questions: Site states that if there is no benefit to a consumer opening a LOC with Tally, they can use its payment tools. I assume this is a basic algo to ensure that any extra cash goes to the costliest debt? Must consumers apply for a Tally LOC and be deemed as "already in an optimal credit position" to use the service? Or can consumers who simply don't have strong enough credit scores (can you comment on your threshold and what version of FICO used) also use the payment tools? Are the payment tools free at this point?
@kkdub As of now, we do require all users to qualify for and open a line of credit. The Tally line can save users a lot of money depending on their situation but there are lots of other benefits. For example if we detect you're about to miss a payment, or if you might be in danger of a costly overdraft on your checking account, we'll step in and make minimum payments for you. Because we don't charge any transfer fees, we think it's a much fairer option than paying for overdraft protection or trying to play the balance transfer game.
While you don't have to have a perfect credit score to qualify, right now you do need to have good or excellent credit. I can't share all the criteria that go into our model, but we do use FICO as an input.
As for the costs, downloading the app is free, and many of our users use the line in such a way that they never pay fees or interest to us. But, as described above, you do have to qualify for the line.
@jason_brown2 Sorry you had to answer this twice. In the FAQ & intro on the site, check the material addressing what Tally can do for me if it won't save me $. That's probably where I got the idea that one could use tools w/o formally having a lending relationship. Also should add somewhere that if people aren't approved for LOC, they won't be able to use the tool. The app v application is a distinction that few companies have successfully made _in app_. If this is the only hiccup, you're in great shape!
@jason_brown2 Still struggling with what is the real benefit of opening a Tally LOC? I'm assuming that Tally LOC customers are banked, have a "better" credit score, and have regular income that is sufficient to cover living expenses, debt payments, and minimum payments on credit card balances. They have access to funds that cost less than a Tally LOC. >>Do people with the $$ to pay for cc payments rack up fees because they...forget/don't bother to pay? How common is this? Stigma around it?
@kkdub sorry, I didn't see this before I responded above. To give you an idea there are $11B in late fees every year in the US or about 12 every second. It is a common misconception that only people with low credit have credit card balances. Check out blog.meettally.com for more information!
@jason_brown2 How often do people with good credit and credit card balances get late fees? That's the equation I'm getting at.
@jason_brown2 How does Tally maintain a payment account connection without storing usernames and passwords? Why is APR = interest rate for the LOC?
@kkdub like most modern finance apps, we with work with partners that provide secure connections to banks. Your credentials are securely transmitted via SSL without ever being stored by our system.
Why is APR = interest rate for the LOC? This is true because we don't charge any fees.
Depending on your credit history, your APR (which is the same as your interest rate) will be between 7.9% - 19.9% per year. And similar to credit card APRs, it will vary with the market based on the Prime Rate. (This information is accurate as of June 2017.)
@jason_brown2 The "no fee" part of the offering isa critical part of the message -- it's the one that I am most excited about. There ARE a zillion offerings that will refi your debt and relieve you of the evil credit card fees 👹 but they have their own "fees." Finserv biz must be profitable, but risk mgmt properly done allows it to be transparent in a way that few other industries can offer.
@jason_brown2 Probably want to say more about credentials or less on web page. Or you'll have a million of us like oooooh how did you do this mahgic tell us.
signed up last week & excited to see the official launch - especially after that intro video with Jocks Jams / EDM remix music!
Congrats on the launch Jasper and Jason! Super excited to try this out, what other features are you thinking about in the future? :)
I will give the very clear caveat that I am possibly not understanding this service correctly but this seems like a huge missed opportunity. This is just one more credit line with a tad more convenience and a nicer UI?
You check people's credit and see if you can offer a slightly better APR, ok. But 8-20%?? Anyone who can qualify for your 8% doesn't actually need your service (but could benefit from it), and 20% is just as likely to keep you in debt. And of course, those who actually need help paying off credit cards with a line of credit are getting rejected by Tally.
Here is biggest problem and biggest opportunity (as far as I can tell). Tally, just like any other credit line/card, checks your fico score and gives you a credit line based on your score or rejects you outright if its too low (or debt too high). Those who need it get only a slightly better condition, and those who need it the most don't get approved at all. If a person is in debt and will only get more into debt if given more credit, you shouldn't give him a credit line, understood. But how do you asses that? If you asses it by the credit score and debt ratio you are once again only going to help those who don't really need your service if their doing ok enough. But you still have to do risk management, you don't want to give more credit to those who are going to spend it or default on it. And here lies the missed opportunity, ignore the score and the debt ratio, and go by payment history alone. A person with a lot of debt, low score, and high debt ratio but with 100% or near 100% payment history (never a late/missed payment) is low risk. They have proven they will pay on time for years on end but their score and debt ratio does not reflect that. A person's payment history is far more indicative of their risk level than their score or debt ratio (#RequestForService). If I am wrong about this and you have the data please tell me.
Any in case, I might be missing some aspects of Tally here, and I have little doubt it will be successful, but I don't see this as a service actually trying to help folks get out of debt. It seems like a slightly more convenient way to pay off credit cards for those who can probably manage with just a little more self discipline and planning. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
With a different context from where i'm looking it is a pretty neat service with a better approach than other "pay down cc" type of credit lines, and I do wish you the best.
@jaymutzafi thank you for your honest feedback and yes you are correct, Tally is only for people with good and excellent credit. However, it is a common misconception that credit card debt is primarily a concern for people with lower credit scores. The fact is that the vast majority of credit card balances in the US are held by people with good and excellent credit. It isn’t talked about because credit card debt has a lot of stigmas attached, and these individuals feel a lot of anxiety when dealing with their cards. Check out our blog post on the subject for more information. We are first serving this group of users, and we’ll consider expanding our offering in the future.
Tally isn’t just about consolidation though, and our loan works differently than the majority that you’re used to seeing. We agree that if you just hand someone a check with a lump sum of money that can lead to more problems. That is why you can only use the Tally line to payback credit cards, and it’s important that it’s a revolving line so you only borrow what you need, you’re encouraged to repay as much as you can, and you can reuse your line if a need arises in the future.
Beyond our financially optimized payment algorithm, Tally is also helping with well timed behavioral suggestions. Our suggestions are designed to help our users pay back balances significantly faster.
We hear your concerns however, and will work on ways to open Tally up to even more users.
@jason_brown2 Thanks for the reply Jason. I definitely think the use as only to pay CC is important, I assumed this was the case here, which both serves the intended purpose and reduces risk.
I do hope you think bigger and further than this down the line, as I'm sure you are aware, the credit system is far from optimal and i keep hoping to see someone tackle the problem in a clever and new way. As someone who has both been at times a cc debt holder with poor credit and a cc debt holder with excellent credit, i know that the difference is far more indicative of how the system works than one's behavior, and random circumstances might throw you into one or another.
I understand starting with the low hanging fruit but I do hope you go beyond it. Anything that helps people with this is good in my book.
Thanks @jaymutzafi! I totally hear where you're coming from. I'm glad that it sounds like we both share the same vision to make all credit card users less stressed and better off financially.
We are a young company, so this is where we’re starting but we have big dreams for Tally. We’ll work as hard as we can to bring the vision to life. We don’t want to disappoint you.
@jason_brown2 Absolutely! I'm delighted to hear we share this vision. I hope my original comment didn't come off too negative, I am definitely rooting for you.
@jason_brown2 Great points made by Jay. Are you guys underwriting the loans yourself? Or who is the partner bank?
Absolutely love this and could not be more excited for the future ahead for Tally! Such a special product and team!
Huge fan of @jason_brown2 and the team at Tally for 2 years of hard work, foundational infrastructure and regulatory work to bring this ambitious service to consumers! So excited to support a service bringing peace of mind to millions with anxiety over credit card debt.
I've been looking for something like this for years! Honestly quite surprised other financial products don't really tackle this.
BUT it says its not available in my state! (Maryland) Why is that? Are the regulations around this too different from state to state?
Hi @thomas_howard1 regulations differ widely state by state. At Tally, we made a decision early on to remain independent and get our lending licenses state by state vs. "renting a charter." While we realize this is a slower route, we felt it was important that we have complete control over our user's experiences.
@jason_brown2 ah ok, do the regulations only apply to the line of credit? It would be super useful to just see some actionable insights around optimizing my cards on their own!
@thomas_howard1 yes, the regulations apply to the line of credit which is required for now, but love the feedback. We have some other things in the works!
I think it's an interesting service and people who are looking to pay down debt can benefit from lower interest rates. Design is beautiful and didn't run into any glaring onboarding issues, but I wish I would have known pre signing up (and maybe I missed it) that the only way the app is functional is by actually opening a line of credit.
So you're aware, at that point I had to email support to delete my account because it didn't provide and further value to me. And even though I've built an app that asks users for banking credentials, I was honestly a bit terrified to provide my login + my credit card numbers.
I'd be keen to hear how onboarding goes with cold users, it seems like there's a relatively big challenge of getting someone to:
1) Provide all of their credit & debit card numbers
2) Provide all of their bank logins
3) Open up a line of credit
Hi @alexcohenbirch,
We’re sorry it wasn’t clear up front that you need a Tally credit line. We’ve tried to make it clear before you enter any information but it sounds like we can improve that experience.
The Tally line isn’t just for consolidation though; it allows us to do things like guarantee that our users will never pay a credit card late fee (there are $11B in late fees every year in the US). The best part is it doesn’t negatively impact your credit. In fact many of our users report that Tally improves their credit score which is a win win.
We understand that we ask for a lot of personal information. Security is our number one priority. Usernames and passwords are never stored, your information is transmitted using SSL and all personal information is encrypted using bank-level security. We built the product with security in its DNA. But yes, users do need to trust us which is a challenge in many businesses.
I can’t share our conversion metrics, for obvious reasons, but generally people are willing to share information to gain the benefits of Tally.
@jason_brown2 Understood. It may have just been my skimming/misinterpretation of the product. There's definitely a big market for debt pay and I think you guys have one of the more compelling products versus a generic savings app which either moves money into a savings account or recommends a 0% balance transfer card.
Which leads me to a few other questions:
1) How long does it typically take someone to pay off their debt? If it's sub 13 months and your target market is near prime + consumers, what's the advantage of Tally vs a 0% introductory card and a good debt payoff plan?
2) In the event of a breach and fraudulent charges due to me inputting my physical card numbers, does using Tally void me of fraudulent protection from my bank? I know with usernames/passwords it typically does.
I don't mean to be overly negative, so I will say, the design is absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks @rrhoover! After two years of heads down engineering we’re excited to launch.
Tally makes it easy to stay on top of your credit cards. Instead of charts or advice, Tally actually does the hard work for you. You scan your cards. We give you a line of credit which allows us to help you save money on interest, avoid credit card late fees, or pay down balances faster.
Keep using your cards and getting all the perks and rewards. We’ll take care of the rest.
I’ll be here throughout the day, so please ask questions and provide feedback. We love hearing from hunters!
Best,
Jason, CEO and co-founder of Tally
@jason_brown2 @rrhoover really nice work, can´t wait to try it out! I guess currently only available in US ?
@jason_brown2 So, I'm assuming you give us a new (better) interest rate, correct? How is this rate determined?
@evanlaclark Yes, most people get a better interest rate than their credit card and the APR is mostly determined by your FICO score. We first run a soft credit check to see if your credit card companies are over charging you. If we can find you a lower rate, then you can decide to open the line of credit. Try it out and let me know how it goes!
@jiaqip @rrhoover At Tally, we made a decision early on to remain independent and get our lending licenses state by state. While we know this is the slower route, we believe in the long run it will allow us to better serve our customers since we won’t be beholden to an established bank.
We currently have licenses in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin with a lot more coming online in 2017!!
i'm confused. is this like prism: a place to streamline bill paying? or what are the competitive advantages?
Congrats on the launch @jason_brown2 and @jasperplatz!
I'm a big believer in the long term vision of automating personal finance in the same way that wealth management is being automated today. The personal finance space suffers from no shortages of problems to solve in the short term - how did you end up deciding on the initial offering for Tally?
Thanks @asibehar! I’m glad you also share our vision of a fully automated financial life. We decided to start with the biggest, hardest problem first. There are 170 million people who use credit cards and many folks find it stressful to stay on top of them. Plus there are $11B in late fees (12 every single second) and the APRs are way too high. Ultimately we believe that credit cards should be more like a passport and not such a burden. We were excited to try to fill that emotional need.
This is great idea and flawless implementation. Would be great if you re-visit every user and lower interest rate if they started > 8%. But over all, I think this is a great disruption in the credit cards industry!
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