It’s been a little while since we checked out what Mint had to offer, but it looks like they are progressing quite well. One of the things that really makes them stand out is their ability to connect to your bank and download new transactions. Up until now they have supported (in the U.S.) 2,520 banks, 1,621 credit cards, and starting next week on May 6th they’ll have 2,381 investment accounts added to the list.
That’s right, not only will they keep track of your bank accounts and credit cards, but now they’ll also manage any brokerage, IRA, 401K, and 529 assets that you have. There’s no doubt that a lot of people were waiting for them to start supporting investment accounts, and I expect that this will attract a lot of new users.
I do have to give credit where credit is due, however. When we previously checked out Mint I was skeptical about how secure their system was, and whether they would be able to withstand the test of time. Well, the site has been up and running since September 2007 without any publicly disclosed vulnerabilities having been found. Bravo!
Am I still a little weary? Sure, but they definitely have to be winning over the confidence of the users. What about you? Is taking your finances online something you foresee doing now or in the future?
Mint Homepage [via TechCrunch]
Thanks to Omar for the tip!
Mint uses Yodlee for grabbing your data, that’s why that part is secure. Yodlee is used by almost all the banks that allow you to aggregate data.
The big problem with Mint is that they grok your data so it’s not completely secure as they say. Their CEO never answers the real questions put to him on their security. A track record of 7-8 months isn’t much, what have they been doing with your data in that time?
Mint puts a pretty front-end on what Yodlee already does. I’d suggest going directly to yodlee.com and signing up for an account. Now they have been vetted by the test of time.
It’s obvious that they will be doing something with your data since the service is free. They are obviously using it to recommend things that can save you money. Anyone worried about what their data would be used for probably wouldn’t use any online service for managing their finances, but that’s just my speculation.
I used it for awhile, and actually really liked it. Easy to set up, great interface, really nice to have all of your information in one place.
I just couldn’t get used to the idea of having all of my personal information on an external server that I had no control over. In a moment of paranoia I deleted my account.
I love Mint – I was a beta user. The frustrating thing is that my bank switched to using visual logins – you know, you have to have a picture you’ve selected as yours – for security, and now Mint hasn’t supported my bank for months. They keep saying they’ll have a solution “soon” – meanwhile, my Mint account is useless.
Too bad it’s only available for the US. It’ll probably take years before I’d have a chance using it. It looks really nice.
I would really like to use mint to consolidate all of my accounts in to one place but I just can’t do it. I use GNUCash to keep track of my credit cards and bank accounts, and I use the XRStockGain widget (Yahoo widgets) to keep an eye on my stocks. I keep my GNUCash info encrypted on my home computer where I know it is safe. If mint ever gets hacked a lot of people are going to be in a world of hurt.
@Change:
Sorry to hear that. Live in Panama so I might as well wait for a long time…..if ever.
Thanks for that info.
I was kinda the same way, but I only had an account for a day.
After that I figured I should just stick with an old fashioned spreadsheet.
One of my banks use the visual login as well, but they’ve done that ever since I’ve had an account with them. Unfortunately I would have to pay $10 a month if I wanted downloadable access through them, and so I said forget.
It’s nice, but I don’t think you should be too disappointed. Most finance apps do everything that it does and more.
Yeah, that’s my worry as well. If you just kept purchase information on there I don’t think it would be bad, but it’s the fact that they store login credentials and stuff like that.
Not in the Netherlands
Banks hardly support any app and the apps that do support banks are ugly and plain terrible software compared to what’s available to the North American market..