Launch HN: YSplit (YC W19) – Automatically split and pay any bill
89 comments
My main issue with apps like these is that I don't trust you.
The convenience that you provide is not sufficient for me to give you not only access to a significant part of my financial information but nearly unrestricted access to my money. In addition to that, not only do you have access to it but any of the services that you might use. And I probably don't trust them either.
Furthermore, I'm also deeply skeptical of services that require you to top up an account and then use that balance. This is mainly because of the way these types of accounts are (ab)used in South East Asia. (eg. if you top up that account and use that balance to buy something, you wont ever be able to get a refund in money, it'll only ever be refunded to that account) Besides the fact that in many cases you have limited access to your own money.
With that said, given that I'm probably a bit more privacy conscious than an average user given I'm in tech I'm probably not your target market so my feedback might be nearly irrelevant.
Btw when I shared a house, I had an Excel sheet where I put the bills and rent as they came in. A few days before rent was due I'd remind everyone that the sheet has been updated and when everyone paid their share I'd pay all the bills. I definitely understand how your solution could be a selling point if you live with people you don't trust or are unreliable.
The convenience that you provide is not sufficient for me to give you not only access to a significant part of my financial information but nearly unrestricted access to my money. In addition to that, not only do you have access to it but any of the services that you might use. And I probably don't trust them either.
Furthermore, I'm also deeply skeptical of services that require you to top up an account and then use that balance. This is mainly because of the way these types of accounts are (ab)used in South East Asia. (eg. if you top up that account and use that balance to buy something, you wont ever be able to get a refund in money, it'll only ever be refunded to that account) Besides the fact that in many cases you have limited access to your own money.
With that said, given that I'm probably a bit more privacy conscious than an average user given I'm in tech I'm probably not your target market so my feedback might be nearly irrelevant.
Btw when I shared a house, I had an Excel sheet where I put the bills and rent as they came in. A few days before rent was due I'd remind everyone that the sheet has been updated and when everyone paid their share I'd pay all the bills. I definitely understand how your solution could be a selling point if you live with people you don't trust or are unreliable.
Appreciate the feedback! You are not required to top up your YSplit balance. You can link a debit/credit card to the app, and when your share is due, you can pay your share through that. The in-app balance is simply a budgeting feature that you can use to set money aside for your future bills.
In terms of your privacy concerns, while we've worked really hard to make our service secure and leverage trusted security storage providers, we know there'll still be some people who are not ok with sharing their bill account credentials. This is why we are very excited to be developing the YSplit card. You can essentially get a card and use it to split & pay the bills without handing over any account details. There'll be some limitations, most notably not seeing all your bill data in one place, but the splitting feature will work the same.
In terms of your privacy concerns, while we've worked really hard to make our service secure and leverage trusted security storage providers, we know there'll still be some people who are not ok with sharing their bill account credentials. This is why we are very excited to be developing the YSplit card. You can essentially get a card and use it to split & pay the bills without handing over any account details. There'll be some limitations, most notably not seeing all your bill data in one place, but the splitting feature will work the same.
I didn't mean privacy and security as in "you're gonna get hacked" but "you'll sell my data and know things you don't need to know".
You (and your providers) will not only know my spending but who I share a house/utilities/services with. And personally I place quite a high value on that data (as do others who trade it)
You (and your providers) will not only know my spending but who I share a house/utilities/services with. And personally I place quite a high value on that data (as do others who trade it)
Can confirm, as someone who works in the alternative data industry this service, if widely used, will create a dataset that can easily be sold for >$1M/year to hedge funds, credit agencies, etc.
I've seen quite a few companies that operate in this financial intermediary space and start off with strong privacy ideals, and then when they're getting traction and are raising a Series A/B can't resist adding a cool $5-10M ARR with near zero marginal cost by selling out.
I've seen quite a few companies that operate in this financial intermediary space and start off with strong privacy ideals, and then when they're getting traction and are raising a Series A/B can't resist adding a cool $5-10M ARR with near zero marginal cost by selling out.
I don’t see how this is a serious concern, even if they do it. I would just consider it part of the price of the service.
That's the entire point. I don't want to "pay" with my data and have no idea how it's being used. It's why I pretty much don't use any online services unless forced to.
My point exactly: if that was a serious concern, Facebook would have no users.
> I would just consider it part of the price of the service.
reply
Which would make the service too expensive for me.
> Facebook
I don't use Facebook for the same reason.
But as I mentioned in the top level comment, this is a concern for me because I'm probably more privacy-conscious then an average user so I might not be exactly the type of user they're building for.
Which would make the service too expensive for me.
I don't use Facebook for the same reason.
But as I mentioned in the top level comment, this is a concern for me because I'm probably more privacy-conscious then an average user so I might not be exactly the type of user they're building for.
It could very well be a serious concern for you, but not a serious concern for most people. But then everyone has their own different serious concerns so if they're adjusting it here and there for everyone that would be a misallocation of efforts. So I think because of that it's more useful, at least for the developers of a product, to consider a larger set of users than a niche concern of a minority set of users.
Oh I see! From my experience, the companies that I've seen selling user data have no alternative revenue stream substantial enough to stop them from hemorrhaging money. They may also be giving most of their revenue back to their users or losing money every time their service is used. While building YSplit, we made sure it would make money every time it's used and that we would be able to upsell users on more features in the future. And the app is successfully achieving both at the moment.
If you truly intend to monetize that way, make a legally binding statement to never sell your users' data to anyone else. Otherwise I personally would never trust you, and honestly even then I'd be skeptical because I assume that legal contract would become void during an acquisition.
If I were to parse this comment in a lawyerly way, I'd conclude you didn't actually say whether your service does or does not sell users' financial data (or whether it plans to do so). Can you confirm for us your company's practices?
We do not sell any financial data and we do not intend on doing so in the future.
The fact that this is a VC-backed startup pretty much guarantees it will be doing nefarious things with its users' data somewhere down the line. Even if not intended right now.
This is an unfair comment because it's stated as a "pretty much" fact when it's simply your opinion.
Additionally, the fact that it's a "VC-backed startup" is irrelevant. Any company with any structure could be doing this.
Additionally, the fact that it's a "VC-backed startup" is irrelevant. Any company with any structure could be doing this.
Eh not really. Having VC backing means you have an extra incentive to do things that a bootstrapped company wouldn't, mainly to please your investors.
Well, either it's in the TOS or it's not. Simple. And if it is now, and it vanishes, well, you know what to do.
Either a business can thrive without selling user data, or it can’t. If it can’t, then eventually the data will fall in the hands of someone willing to sell it. It doesn’t matter if that someone is current management (perhaps under pressure from VCs) or future management (after inevitable acquisition or asset liquidation since the business is not viable).
Therefore it does not matter how current management feels about selling user data today, or whether they are vc-funded or bootstrapped. If they aren’t building a viable business, the data they are collecting will be sold eventually.
An interesting side use case you might want to consider:
My previous 2 apartments I lived in required paying rent by paper check, delivered to their office, which was very annoying. They didn't take any forms of electronic payment, and mailing a check is a pain for millenials like me who don't usually stock envelopes or stamps. However, they also didn't take checks written by anyone other than the leasee, so that could be something that might need to be negotiated.
My previous 2 apartments I lived in required paying rent by paper check, delivered to their office, which was very annoying. They didn't take any forms of electronic payment, and mailing a check is a pain for millenials like me who don't usually stock envelopes or stamps. However, they also didn't take checks written by anyone other than the leasee, so that could be something that might need to be negotiated.
So this isn't a feature we have advertised on our site yet but we do support check payments on YSplit. We collect the funds before and auto send the check to the landlord to arrive 1 day before the due date. Landlords are currently not complaining that the checks are sent from us but thanks for bringing up this edge case. Super helpful to know as we grow.
Relatedly, I had the same concern as the OP (not about security, but about privacy and selling my data), and I read the “security” page on your site and totally balked at how there was not one word about selling data.
I would drop that whole page, honestly. It’s written in a pretty technical way and didn’t make me feel any safer, and on top of that made me feel like you all were deflecting from the bigger and more immediate threat, data selling.
I would drop that whole page, honestly. It’s written in a pretty technical way and didn’t make me feel any safer, and on top of that made me feel like you all were deflecting from the bigger and more immediate threat, data selling.
Agree completely. When I was a student there were a bunch of these companies. One of my friends used one for he and his housemates to split their bills.
After a year, the company stopped paying the gas and electrical companies but didn't stop taking money from the students. The company then folded, closing their offices. My friends were left with bailiffs and debt collectors chasing them for the unpaid gas and electricity bills (about £2500 iirc) which they had to pay.
I would never recommend anyone insert middlemen in financial transactions if at all possible.
After a year, the company stopped paying the gas and electrical companies but didn't stop taking money from the students. The company then folded, closing their offices. My friends were left with bailiffs and debt collectors chasing them for the unpaid gas and electricity bills (about £2500 iirc) which they had to pay.
I would never recommend anyone insert middlemen in financial transactions if at all possible.
Same here. First of all that reliance on people giving you access to their accounts is super sketchy in my opinion. I used Mint for a long time until I realized how insane it is for them to be able to access my bank and investment accounts.
Good for them if they find people paying for their service but same as you, I don't see how this can't be solved with a spreadsheet.
I find services like these bothersome for a different reason. A major selling point is catering to people that have difficulty getting the cash together to front a utility bill or rent. For every app that exploits people's inability to manage their finances I wish we'd see an app that teaches financial literacy and responsibility.
Good for them if they find people paying for their service but same as you, I don't see how this can't be solved with a spreadsheet.
I find services like these bothersome for a different reason. A major selling point is catering to people that have difficulty getting the cash together to front a utility bill or rent. For every app that exploits people's inability to manage their finances I wish we'd see an app that teaches financial literacy and responsibility.
I understand that some apps try and exploit bad behaviours and these apps really annoy me to my core. They know who they are. However that is not the case with YSplit. We believe that the current process of one person managing the house finances for everyone is backwards. There is no incentive to do this and there is really only negatives that come with it. Everyone being responsible for their share of the bill teaches roommates to be more financially responsible than to allow one roommate to take care of it all and carry the burden. You nailed it when you mentioned the our biggest selling point helps those who struggle to get the cash together or front the payment. Roommates who normally relied on that one roommate are now learning how to budget better on a monthly basis for the utilities etc.
> I wish we'd see an app that teaches financial literacy and responsibility
I agree with you 100%. I'm not sure how feasible it is to build a business around it, though, since monetization techniques are likely to turn people off or harm the product. Bogleheads is an awesome existing resource, in case anyone's interested
I agree with you 100%. I'm not sure how feasible it is to build a business around it, though, since monetization techniques are likely to turn people off or harm the product. Bogleheads is an awesome existing resource, in case anyone's interested
I'm sure these are solid founders, but I have to ask: how on earth did this idea get into YC? What was the rationale for thinking this would be a great portfolio company; splitting bills? I'm sure it was a lot of work to set up 5,000 major providers but... why???
https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/
https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/
Why not? There is already an established company in this space, so surely the market is not zero.
https://www.splitwise.com/
https://www.splitwise.com/
Part of the reasoning "could/should" be that not everything can be a venture backed business.
The question often asked is "assuming this takes off, how big can it get"? The 2nd question should be "is this an important problem to solve".
Understanding that we don't have all the information at this early stage. Remember, we were asking ourselves how ridiculous AirBnB seemed at the beginning, or Twitter, etc etc.
I will admit, my initial reaction was "why"? The US has Venmo. Why haven't they done this, or do they, or if they don't, why not?
Is this an important problem to solve? I'm not sure why it is. I've managed this sort of bill splitting back in my early 20s where we had a house of 8 people. We set-up a bank acount, and when a bill came due, I posted the bill, and a spreadsheet of what everyone owed. They then put money into the account, and I would pay the bill.
How big was the pain? Minor. The founder states they "don't like talking to friends about money"... harden up! Your friends are living in the house, they can't expect you to pay for their living expenses.
Do I trust this company? No, AND I don't trust the providers either.
Do I think there is an opportunity for them to pivot into something better but stay along the same problem space? Yes. No idea what that is...
The question often asked is "assuming this takes off, how big can it get"? The 2nd question should be "is this an important problem to solve".
Understanding that we don't have all the information at this early stage. Remember, we were asking ourselves how ridiculous AirBnB seemed at the beginning, or Twitter, etc etc.
I will admit, my initial reaction was "why"? The US has Venmo. Why haven't they done this, or do they, or if they don't, why not?
Is this an important problem to solve? I'm not sure why it is. I've managed this sort of bill splitting back in my early 20s where we had a house of 8 people. We set-up a bank acount, and when a bill came due, I posted the bill, and a spreadsheet of what everyone owed. They then put money into the account, and I would pay the bill.
How big was the pain? Minor. The founder states they "don't like talking to friends about money"... harden up! Your friends are living in the house, they can't expect you to pay for their living expenses.
Do I trust this company? No, AND I don't trust the providers either.
Do I think there is an opportunity for them to pivot into something better but stay along the same problem space? Yes. No idea what that is...
Regarding:
> The 2nd question should be "is this an important problem to solve".
This is an idealist point of view that I used to share for a long time while I very much bought into the overarching vision that startups change the world.
In fact, that question is completely unimportant. The only important question is: "Can we profit from this?"
Building new things is unimportant. Building important things is unimportant. Building things that work exceedingly well is unimportant. Building things that generate a return on investment is the only thing that matters.
Startups are businesses that have accepted money from others. That money has to be returned. At the very least the company has to work towards trying to return it. Startups that have a higher likelihood of returning that money (preferably in multiples) get funded. It's as simple as that.
> The 2nd question should be "is this an important problem to solve".
This is an idealist point of view that I used to share for a long time while I very much bought into the overarching vision that startups change the world.
In fact, that question is completely unimportant. The only important question is: "Can we profit from this?"
Building new things is unimportant. Building important things is unimportant. Building things that work exceedingly well is unimportant. Building things that generate a return on investment is the only thing that matters.
Startups are businesses that have accepted money from others. That money has to be returned. At the very least the company has to work towards trying to return it. Startups that have a higher likelihood of returning that money (preferably in multiples) get funded. It's as simple as that.
This is a valid point of view but would make me question using the service even more.
It doesn’t seem like a good look when the more important question to a company is “can we profit” rather than “can we make the world a better place”.
It doesn’t seem like a good look when the more important question to a company is “can we profit” rather than “can we make the world a better place”.
I think you'd have a difficult time finding a for-profit organization where "can we profit" is not the more important question.
I agree. If a business can’t make a profit, it’s hardly a business at all. I don’t know that the question is so important as to outweigh the moral consequences of making that profit though. I suspect that to some people it is _just_ as important or more important to feel that they are having a positive impact.
For example, I can see a business going without profit for some time if they are trying to align incentives with their consumers. I cannot see that happening indefinitely though.
I think (but could be wrong) that given the choice to sell cigarettes and make a profit or run another type of business and _maybe_ make a profit, most entrepreneurs would choose the path that is more likely to benefit the world than the one that will generate the most profit.
For example, I can see a business going without profit for some time if they are trying to align incentives with their consumers. I cannot see that happening indefinitely though.
I think (but could be wrong) that given the choice to sell cigarettes and make a profit or run another type of business and _maybe_ make a profit, most entrepreneurs would choose the path that is more likely to benefit the world than the one that will generate the most profit.
Simple: anything that gets access to people's money and/or financial history is immensely valuable.
That's why there are so many of those micro-savings apps that round up your purchases or whatever. They can keep nudging you to give them more and more.
That's why there are so many of those micro-savings apps that round up your purchases or whatever. They can keep nudging you to give them more and more.
You didn't mention keeping customers' personal financial data private during your pitch, so I'm guessing that's not a big selling point of your service?
To me, "splitting the bill" occurs mostly in restaurants, which (as far as I can tell) isn't what this does. It would certainly be a pain in the butt problem ("Steve had the lasagna, and we agreed to go halfsies on the apps"). Tie it into the restaurant's billing?
This kind of thing is what I'd call "sharing expenses". And it's surely a fine thing to have an app for: less hard than trying to account for the details of a restaurant bill, but still an impressive achievement.
I know I'm just (ahem) splitting hairs here, but to me "splitting the bill" that doesn't cover what I think of as the most common case seems like it's going to confuse people.
This kind of thing is what I'd call "sharing expenses". And it's surely a fine thing to have an app for: less hard than trying to account for the details of a restaurant bill, but still an impressive achievement.
I know I'm just (ahem) splitting hairs here, but to me "splitting the bill" that doesn't cover what I think of as the most common case seems like it's going to confuse people.
Hey, our thought exactly! Not sure if you saw in the post, but we are also developing a YSplit card that can split one-time payments e.g, restaurant bills, takeout, vacation & more. When the card is used, it charges everyone their portion. It's a physical or virtual card and is currently in beta. Let me know if you are interested in trying it out!
Don't most restaurants already split it for you, at least for smaller parties? All I frequent do, down to splitting apps even.
There are a lot of people here talking about splitting rent and bills; and the common method seems ridiculous. Messaging out every time you need a bill paid and tracking in a spreadsheet is a recipe for disaster - not getting paid etc.
When I was house sharing (uk) the 'head tenant' would have a second bank account used only for the house. All tenants set a standing order into that account for rent+bills+house items, plus an initial float. After a few months adjust if overspending/underspending. So long as everything is split equally, or those that aren't (ie bigger rooms) are fixed month to month, this is the lowest hassle.
When I was house sharing (uk) the 'head tenant' would have a second bank account used only for the house. All tenants set a standing order into that account for rent+bills+house items, plus an initial float. After a few months adjust if overspending/underspending. So long as everything is split equally, or those that aren't (ie bigger rooms) are fixed month to month, this is the lowest hassle.
I used Ysplit before they launched and it was a great experience. While they do ask for a lot of account permissions it was probably necessary to execute on the automatic payment split features and not having to venmo request my roommates every month was totally worth it.
What happens if one of four roommates doesn't pay their portion of the rent? Do you still make the payment?
I ask because the City of Berkeley for example tells their landlords to never accept multiple rent checks because it makes things complicated if only part of the rent is paid.
I ask because the City of Berkeley for example tells their landlords to never accept multiple rent checks because it makes things complicated if only part of the rent is paid.
It's more than just Berkeley.
The risk, on the landlord's part, of accepting a partial amount of rent is that you're altering the terms of the lease on the fly. If it persists you wave your ability to enforce the original agreement as you now have a history of acceptance of an alternative agreement.
There's also the discrimination aspect of it. If a landlord accepts partials from one tenant but not another, there's potential they'll have to explain themselves in court.
The risk, on the landlord's part, of accepting a partial amount of rent is that you're altering the terms of the lease on the fly. If it persists you wave your ability to enforce the original agreement as you now have a history of acceptance of an alternative agreement.
There's also the discrimination aspect of it. If a landlord accepts partials from one tenant but not another, there's potential they'll have to explain themselves in court.
Yeah, many cities do it, Berkeley just happens to be one I know of because I manage a property there.
The biggest risk is legal -- if you cash two of three checks for example, have you accepted partial rent? Can you evict for non-payment or did you just accept payment? Will the two people who paid fight the eviction? Can you evict just one tenant?
So many thorny issues you just don't want to deal with. So much simpler to say, "give me one check, it's either on time or not".
The biggest risk is legal -- if you cash two of three checks for example, have you accepted partial rent? Can you evict for non-payment or did you just accept payment? Will the two people who paid fight the eviction? Can you evict just one tenant?
So many thorny issues you just don't want to deal with. So much simpler to say, "give me one check, it's either on time or not".
We wait for everyone to pay their portion before making the payments to the merchant/landlord. I hadn't heard about the City of Berkeley doing that, thanks for sharing!
We wait for everyone to pay their portion before making the payments to the merchant/landlord.
That seems very high risk. Back when I lived in shared houses I'd prefer to pay and then be reimbursed by whoever missed their share than have the rent paid late. Could users set up a discretionary fund that's used to cover missed payments from their friends?
That seems very high risk. Back when I lived in shared houses I'd prefer to pay and then be reimbursed by whoever missed their share than have the rent paid late. Could users set up a discretionary fund that's used to cover missed payments from their friends?
That's a great idea! We could maybe set up an optional deposit in the app to be used if someone forgets to pay their share. To deal with this in the app at the moment, we have a tonne of useful notifications reminding everyone to pay their share and an autopay option. But I definitely think your suggestion will come in handy as we scale.
Or allow me to pay extra to cover someone else and then get refunded or get a credit towards my next bill or something. So I get a notification the day before rent is due telling me someone didn't pay yet, and then I can just pay for them so the bill isn't late.
Or you can get into the credit business and just pay the bill and charge that person a fee or interest. :)
Or you can get into the credit business and just pay the bill and charge that person a fee or interest. :)
> Or you can get into the credit business and just pay the bill and charge that person a fee or interest.
This. I'm not in the category of sharing bills with roommates anymore, but do remember it well and it was a pain.
I'd rather deal with a tech company that can provide better customer service and float for me than a utility bill that loses my info or doesn't do auto-pay correctly.
So if your value proposition is:
- never miss a bill again (Ysplit pays up front for it)[0]
- never deal with customer service for a utility again
Then I think people would pay for that convenience.
[0] - you could do the reverse and have people pay up front and give a discount, then use that float for finances. See -> Venmo.
This. I'm not in the category of sharing bills with roommates anymore, but do remember it well and it was a pain.
I'd rather deal with a tech company that can provide better customer service and float for me than a utility bill that loses my info or doesn't do auto-pay correctly.
So if your value proposition is:
- never miss a bill again (Ysplit pays up front for it)[0]
- never deal with customer service for a utility again
Then I think people would pay for that convenience.
[0] - you could do the reverse and have people pay up front and give a discount, then use that float for finances. See -> Venmo.
I've shared houses for a decade, and splitting the bill has never been an issue. Getting the money was.
If I understand it correctly, this could eventually help with that, since all parties register a card once, then you just request the money every time it's necessary.
If I understand it correctly, this could eventually help with that, since all parties register a card once, then you just request the money every time it's necessary.
That's how it works right now :) Everyone adds their payment method, and we charge everyone their share when the bill is due then we pay for the bill automatically.
It’s shocking to me that PayPal/Venmo/cash app can’t do this trivially already.
Good to see another solution here
Good to see another solution here
I believe Mint used to have this and they discontinued for some reason -- re paying utility bills
It does sound simple, but as soon as I think about situations where bills get split, it becomes immediately horrible.
I haven't tried it yet, but Venmo allows you to split certain payments, like ones made on Seamless for example.
https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/217532327-Splitting...
https://help.venmo.com/hc/en-us/articles/217532327-Splitting...
American Express Send and Split works with Venmo and PayPal.
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/services/amex-peer-to-pee...
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/services/amex-peer-to-pee...
I for one use Splitwise. Worked for me for 5 years and counting!
That's awesome, I used Splitwise in the past, and it was great for keeping track of how much everyone owed me! YSplit, however, removes the need of ever tracking 'I Owe Yous'. We charge everyone their portion when the bill is due, then pay for the bill automatically every month.
I would assume non-payment mostly comes from inability to pay, not unwillingness to bother paying, so I guess the question is "what happens when you bill someone and they can't pay". My guess is that you have some internal collection mechanism to go after the non-payer, but the parent account is still left without the money. Which to me is the actual problem that someone in this space needs to solve.
The IOUs are the draw of Splitwise for me. Planning group vacations it sometimes helps for people to be able to pay back at different times or on different schedules. When you're dealing with a trusted group of people this works very well.
been using splitwise for last 5 years or so. For me, issue was not auto-debit but to stick to a mutual app which other people also use and familiar with. I am nomadic and often meet new people so when it comes to tracking bills others already have used or atleast heard about splitwise app and we always find the common ground.. splitwise. I guess network effects does play a crucial role here in bill-splitting apps (social factor).
Congratulations! By coincidence, your startup reminds me of the use case of smart contracts. I always tell people that smart contracts are cool because you can program money however you like. One of the examples is payment splitter.
Recently, I coded up the payment splitter smart contract.
https://mamba.black/documentation/payment-splitter/
Yours is bill splitter. But technically, you can code up the bill splitter as a smart contract too.
That's all. I wish you success. Who knows my story is useful for you. I don't know. Maybe a few years later, you want to expand your service to cryptocurrencies. :)
Recently, I coded up the payment splitter smart contract.
https://mamba.black/documentation/payment-splitter/
Yours is bill splitter. But technically, you can code up the bill splitter as a smart contract too.
That's all. I wish you success. Who knows my story is useful for you. I don't know. Maybe a few years later, you want to expand your service to cryptocurrencies. :)
That's great, thanks for sharing!
IME paying for rent and some utilities via cards (including debit) come with 3–5% additional fees — are you passing those costs directly to users?
Great question! For rent payments, we do not make the payments with a YSplit card. We either send a check to the landlord or pay with an FBO account. Most utility providers don't charge that fee, but we don't pass the fee onto the user when they do.
Seems like a smarter version of Venmo. Good luck
This reminds me of PayDivvy - may be worth seeing what they did and reaching out to the founders to see if they have any recommendations.
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/paydivvy
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/paydivvy
How do you plan to make money? I'm assuming by fronting the payment, YSplit accumulates rewards/points?
That's right! We also have premium options in the app that costs $6.99/mo. We actually don't front bill payments since we charge everyone their portion before the bill is due.
I tried a couple of searches and skimmed through your homepage and blog, but I couldn't find any information about the premium options. Could you share a link?
Hey, here's a screenshot of the premium options in the app: https://imgur.com/oRusB3M
To summarize, it's up to 5% cashback, make multiple YSplit virtual cards and splitting rent via check. Paying & splitting recurring bills is completely free.
To summarize, it's up to 5% cashback, make multiple YSplit virtual cards and splitting rent via check. Paying & splitting recurring bills is completely free.
What happens when somebody doesn’t pay their share of the bill?
It looks they charge providers. The incentive makes sense since providers will probably have to do less dunning/collections for money if it's been pooled from multiple people.
I've used YSplit in my house for about 2 years. It's a really great fix for an uncomfortable problem.
Must be getting hugged... the site loads a blank page at the moment.
[deleted]
Hey, I've resolved this issue. Try again :) There was something wrong with the way I posted the link.
I guess a lot of people have been using Revolut's split bill.
What is this, the 90s?
I'll be sure to install it on my Palm Pilot
I'll be sure to install it on my Palm Pilot
So.. a clone of billmonk (rip) or splitwise but also dipping your hands in the cookie jar?
I think WePay started with this model. Wonder why they pivoted.
Wish you luck, though, sounds like you already have traction.
Wish you luck, though, sounds like you already have traction.
While sharing an apartment with my co-founders during an internship, I was responsible for paying the gas, wifi & rent bills upfront and having everyone Venmo me back. Tracking how much I was owed and getting everyone to pay me back took up a fair amount of time, and I didn't particularly like talking about money with my friends. Fronting the bill also messed up with the budgeting I've set up with my bank, and often I would have to front thousands for our rent payment.
We released the first version of the YSplit app a year and a half ago to fix these problems. On the YSplit app, you can link your bill accounts (e.g. Power, Internet, Streaming services, etc..) and invite the people you split the bills with. We use our bill pay partners (Finovera) and in-house scrappers to verify the details, establish a connection then add a YSplit virtual card to the account. When you have a due bill, we charge everyone their share the bills in the app, and then we pay the bill with the YSplit virtual card. We've also added the ability to see a PDF copy of your bill in the app and an in-app balance that you can use to set money aside for future bills. Since releasing the app, we've grown the no. of billers we support to 5,000, covering every major utility provider in each state and the most popular subscriptions (e.g. Netflix, Spotify, HBO).
Apart from automating recurring bill splitting & paying, we are developing features like the YSplit card, a Visa virtual/physical card that automatically splits one-time payments, e.g. groceries, takeout, house supplies, night out and more. The card can also be used for splitting recurring bills and is a good option for people who'd rather not share their bill account credentials.
The hard part of developing this product has been making sure we are always synced to your latest bills and that they are always paid on time. Luckily, bills have very predictable patterns, so we've been able to build a system that can identify and alert us of bills that are likely to become overdue. It was also tough designing a UX that clearly shows how the app works at every stage since most people are used to P2P payments.
We make money from interchange fees and premium options we offer in the app. YSplit premium enables cashback, rent payment splitting via check, and the ability to make multiple YSplit cards.
YSplit is live and being used to pay & split bills by thousands of roommates and friends. Head over to https://www.ysplit.com to download the app and try it out. We are looking forward to hearing your feedback & ideas.