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Comment by Meekro | Hacker News Reader

Anyone remember Seed[1], the YC startup that tried to do programmable bank accounts years ago? They did eventually launch, and I have an account, but all the programmable stuff went away and we're left with basic business bank accounts rather than the original vision.

I wonder what happened there, and I hope Root can better stay on track!

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9066363

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Hey there. I'm Brian, the CEO of Seed. Thanks for remembering us and thank you for trying us out. :)

Long story short, we're still working on making the API available to our members. Plans changed along the way and we ended up releasing our mobile business bank account first, but our long term goal of offering a more open platform remains.

It's tough to do anything innovative within the US banking system due to regulations, partner challenges, risk, and other factors, but we're going to keep working at it.

Hey Brian, I'm glad to hear that you guys are still at it! Your original vision is exactly what I wanted. We got an account for our small business because paying contractors with a monthly cron job that initiates an ACH transfer is exactly the kind of nerdy thing we want to do. We're using it, and waiting for the API to come along.

I hope you guys succeed! Not many startup founders look at the tangled mess of regulations that is the financial sector and think, "now that's where I want to be!"

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