Protected Goals

What is a Protected Goals Account?

A Protected Goals Account is designed for your savings and stashes away your money in a separate high-yield checking account so it's safe from accidental spending.

A Savings Goal is automatically created when you open a Protected Goals Account, and that's where interest credits are deposited at the end of the month. Your Savings Goal cannot be deleted. If you'd like another Protected Goal, you can also open an Emergency Fund to establish a buffer of funds that's there when you need it most!

Your Savings Goal and your Emergency Fund are both a part of your overall Protected Goals account.

How do I get started?

First, if you're not a Simple customer, open an account here. Then, you can open a Protected Goals Account.

How to open a Protected Goals Account

If you do not yet have a Protected Goals Account, you can enroll into a Protected Goals Account from the Goals tab. From there:

Click on Start a Savings Goal. Choose your funding method. Review a summary of the account and when you are ready, hit Create Savings Goal. Because this is a new account, we'll ask some basic questions about how the account is to be used. Once created, you'll find your Savings Goal created under the new Protected Goals Account.

You can set up an Emergency Fund in addition to your Savings Goal by navigating to the Goals tab, selecting 'Add', and tapping 'Emergency Fund' from the list of suggested Goals.

How do I fund my Protected Goals Account?

You can choose to deposit directly into the main Simple Account via check, external account transfer, or direct deposit. If you're looking to transfer a larger sum, a wire transfer might be a good option to look into. Then, you can transfer the funds directly into your Savings Goal to take advantage of this higher interest rate.

If you already have funds in Simple today, you can choose to transfer those funds from Safe-to-Spend or another Goal into your Savings Goal.

Transferring in and out of a Protected Goal

There are a few ways to transfer funds in and out of your Protected Goals. You can tranfer funds from each Protected Goal or:

Click Move Money at the top of the screen. Click Transfer to or from Savings Goal (or Emergency Fund). A screen will pop up prompting you to move money from your Safe-to-Spend to your selected Protected Goal. Click the blue arrows to change the direction of the transfer. Click on Safe-to-Spend to transfer funds to or from a Goal or Expense instead. Enter the amount to transfer you'd like to transfer. Click Transfer. That's it!

Where can I find my Protected Goals Account balance and activity?

You can locate your Protected Goals Account balance by tapping Show under Protected Goals at the top of your screen. We’ve got the balance hidden (to encourage continuing to save).

If you'd like to find the balance in a specific protected Goal click on Goals. Protected Goals will have a lock next to them.

You can access a detailed list of the transfers in and out of your Protected Goals Account account via the Goal in the mobile app or you can search for transactions labeled as "Protected Goal Account Transfer" in your activity.

How to open a Protected Goals Account

If you do not yet have a Protected Goals Account, you can enroll into a Protected Goals Account from the Goals tab. From there:

Tap on Savings Goal. Choose your funding method. Review a summary of the account and when you are ready, hit Create Savings Goal. Because this is a new account, we'll ask some basic questions about how the account is to be used. Once created, you'll find your Savings Goal created under the new Protected Goals Account.

You can set up an Emergency Fund in addition to your Savings Goal by navigating to the Goals page, selecting Add, and tapping Emergency Fund from the list of suggested Goals.

How do I fund my Protected Goals Account?

You can choose to deposit directly into the main Simple Account via check, external account transfer, or direct deposit. If you're looking to transfer a larger sum, a wire transfer might be a good option to look into. Then, you can transfer the funds directly into your Savings Goal to take advantage of this higher interest rate.

If you already have funds in Simple today, you can choose to transfer those funds from Safe-to-Spend or another Goal into your Savings Goal.

How to transfer funds in and out of a Protected Goal

Tap the menu icon in the upper-left corner or swipe right to open the navigation menu. Tap Move Money. Tap Transfer to or from a Goal or Expense Tap Choose location and choose your Savings Goal (or Emergency Fund if you have one). Optional: tap the blue arrow to change the direction of the transfer. Optional: tap Safe-to-Spend to transfer funds to or from a Goal or Expense rather than your Safe-to-Spend. Enter the amount you'd like to transer. Tap the blue arrow to the right of the amount. That's it!

You can also tap on your Protected Goals from the Goals tab and transfer funds in or out like this:

Where can I find my Protected Goals Account balance and activity?

You can locate your Protected Goals Account balance by swiping right to bring up the navigation menu and tapping Goals.

Your Protected Goals Account balance will be listed here. Tap on Protected Goals to see a breakdown of your current interest rate, as well as a complete list of transfers in and out of your Protected Goals Account.

How to open a Protected Goals Account

If you do not yet have a Protected Goals Account, you can enroll into a Protected Goals Account from the Goals tab. From there:

Tap on Start a Savings Goal. Choose your funding method. Review a summary of the account and when you are ready, hit Create Savings Goal. Because this is a new account, we'll ask some basic questions about how the account is to be used. Once created, you'll find your Savings Goal created under the new Protected Goals Account.

You can set up an Emergency Fund in addition to your Savings Goal by navigating to the Goals tab, tapping Add and then Emergency Fund from the list of suggested Goals.

How do I fund my Protected Goals Account?

You can choose to deposit directly into the main Simple Account via check, external account transfer, or direct deposit. If you're looking to transfer a larger sum, a wire transfer might be a good option to look into. Then, you can transfer the funds directly into your Savings Goal to take advantage of this higher interest rate.

If you already have funds in Simple today, you can choose to transfer those funds from Safe-to-Spend or another Goal into your Savings Goal.

Transferring in and out of a Protected Goal

Tap the menu icon in the upper-left corner or swipe right to open the navigation menu. Tap Move Money. Click Transfer to or from Savings Goal (or Emergency Fund). A screen will promot you to transfer money from your Safe-to-Spend into your Protected Goal. If you're trying to move money out of the Protected Goal, tap the arrow to change the direction of the transfer. Tap on Safe-to-Spend if you wish to move money out of an existing goal or Expense (rather than your Safe-to-Spend). Enter the amount you'd like to transer. Tap the arrow to the right of the amount. That's it!

You can also tap on your Protected Goals from the Goals tab and transfer funds in or out that way.

Where can I find my Protected Goals Account balance and activity?

You can locate your Protected Goals Account balance by swiping right to bring up the navigation menu and tapping Goals.

Your Protected Goals Account balance will be listed here. Tap on Protected Goals to see a breakdown of your current interest rate, as well as a complete list of transfers in and out of your Protected Goals Account.

Other FAQs



How is the interest calculated?

Interest is calculated by applying a daily periodic rate to the daily collected balance in the account each day. In other words, it's how much interest you're earning daily. At the end of the month, the interest is credited to your Savings Goal in your account. Head here for more info on interest.

When is the interest credited?

Your daily interest calculations are added together and credited to your Savings Goal at the end of each month.

What does Annual Percentage Yield (APY) mean?

APY is the actual percentage a customer will earn in a year, taking into account compounding interest. The more frequently compounding occurs, the higher the APY. Everyone has to calculate APY the same way, so it allows customers to compare accounts to determine which one will pay more interest over time.

Is my Protected Goals Account balance a part of my Simple Account balance?

No, your Protected Goals Account and Simple Account are separate accounts. Therefore, the funds in each account are separate too. If you need to use the money in your Protected Goals Account, you can transfer funds out of your Savings Goal or your Emergency Fund back into your Simple Account at any time. There aren't any limits on transfers from your Protected Goals. Imagine you have $100 in your Simple Account and $300 in your Protected Goals Account (the $300 could be in your Emergency Fund or your Savings Goal). If you attempt a $125 debit card purchase using your Simple debit card, the transaction will be declined. You would need to transfer at least $25.00 from your Protected Goals Account to your Simple Account and attempt the debit purchase again.

What makes an Emergency Fund Goal different from a Savings Goal?



Emergency fund goals allow you to save for emergencies slowly. When you create an Emergency Fund, we'll automatically transfer money, every day, from your Safe-to-Spend to the Emergency Fund. These automatic contributions will not cause you to overdraft; if your Safe-to-Spend isn't enough to cover the daily contributions, the Emergency Fund will be automatically paused until your Safe-to-Spend increases (when your Safe-to-Spend does increase, the daily contributions will automatically start again).

These daily transfers will, however, cause both your Safe-to-Spend and your available balance to decrease. If you have bills or other automated payments coming out of your Simple account, it's a good idea to keep a close eye on your available balance. You always have the option of pausing your Emergency Fund, which will stop the daily contributions until you unpause it.

You can also edit the Emergency Fund to fund using your Funding Schedule or manually transfer funds in and out of your Emergency Fund at any time.

