Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Simple's New Pause Feature Puts Consumers In Charge

A new feature, rolled out by Portland-based mobile banking developer Simple, has provided an interesting twist on payment cards: it lets users of the firm's bank card pause, on demand, ability to make purchases on the card. Simple said the new feature allows users to temporarily block usage of their card, if they have misplaced or lost their card, or think that their card information has been compromised.

The new feature is unique in that users can--through their smartphone--turn ability to make purchases, on demand. Normally, bank customers have had to go through a huge hassle of calling up a company, cancelling their existing card, and waiting days or even a week or two for a replacement.

Simple said the new feature is now available in its iPhone application, through a feature called "Block Card". The feature is also available via Simple's web app.

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