Beam is a company that promises to launch a high interest account (2-4% APY) that we have covered previously. It looks like they plan to launch a closed private beta at the end of this month, they sent out the following e-mail to current users:
Dear Beam-liever,
We are pleased to inform you that you are one of the Top 30,000 on the Beam waitlist based on your current position as of March 16, 2018. As you may know, Top 10 on the Beam’s waitlist will be awarded with a 7% APY interest reward for the first 100 days from our initial launch date.
So when’s our “launch date”? Beginning end of this month (March), Beam will begin its phased rollout for its Private Beta, a feature-limited version of Beam. In order to ensure that we have an accurate count of who will be awarded with the Top 10 honor, we want to clarify the following rules:
First, the effective Evaluation Date for the Top 10 position will be March 27, 2018 at 3pm PDT / 6pm EST. We will promptly tabulate the results based on your position at the Evaluation Date, not before or after.
Second, we’ve recently upgraded our waitlist system to require email verification for all waitlisters. You must verify your email to authenticate your spot on the waitlist. To do so, re-enter your email address on Beam’s Home page to request a copy of the verification email to be sent to you, which will contain instructions for next steps. Failing to verify your email may put your Private Beta spot at risk.
So how much more can I move up the list if I refer just one more friend to the waitlist? Often thousands of spots, but it can depend on where you are on the waitlist. Remember to check on details of your waitlist position on your status page, where you can also find out more about the impact of each referral.
The Top 10 honorees will receive an email about next steps shortly after the Evaluation Date, including a public announcement on our very own Beam Journal. If you have any questions about the aforementioned process, feel free to reach out to us by replying to this email.
Have a great weekend!
Beam Team
I wanted to check my current position on Beam, so I entered my e-mail and it just keeps loading so it doesn’t look like the site is actually functioning properly. If you haven’t heard of Beam before and want to know more, I’d recommend reading our review found here. If they can offer a base savings rate of 2% they will be the best basic savings account rate available. How good the 4% rate is will depend on what the requirement is.
did you get in on this yet
anyone have data points on the Beam launch? It’s available in the app store now
The APPLE app store only, so far, from the email they sent this week. Android is yet to come, some unspecified number of weeks (edit: months) in the future.
Found a new post on their blog with more details: https://blog.meetbeam.com/beam-me-up-scotty-f387ac08873b
“64% of our community on the Beam waitlist use an iOS/iPhone device, which is why we have decided to launch the iOS app first. If you’re an Android user, don’t worry: You won’t lose your spot in line. Though you will be passed over for the moment, as soon as the Android app is released in a few months, you will be taken off of the waitlist in the same order as the iOS users.”
That’s a really lame amount of delay between platforms.
But it is interesting to note that their screenshots in the Apple app store make it appear to be possible to receive 4.6% interest.
I don’t have a smart phone so I sent a message to Beam asking if the bank will be accessible from the web. Alyson from Beam Financial emailed and said:
As of now, Beam is smart phone-only, since our services are only offered through the app. But later in the future, we may develop a web-accessible page as well. Once we do, you will be the first to know! 🙂
Have a great day.
Beam Team
That’s disappointing. I hope that won’t be as much “later in the future” as with Robinhood.
If you really want to use them, once their app is released so you can see the minimum OS requirements, you could probably pick up a cheap used smartphone to just use on your home WiFi for it.
where does one obtain a cheap used smartphone
Ebay or Swappa.
Or wait till Black Friday and get the cheapest new prepaid smartphone at Best Buy (you don’t have to activate it on the prepaid service). Mine was about $25 a couple years ago, doing that.
Beam sent out an email saying they might start Trial Accounts where you can deposit a max of $400:
Dear Beam-liever,
As you may have heard earlier, we will begin to roll out Beam’s Private Beta in a few weeks. Since this Private Beta rollout process will be phased and may take some time to get to you, we are contemplating providing our community the ability to opt-in to a Trial Account earlier while they wait for their Private Beta access. This will NOT change your position on the waitlist for the Private Beta, but will enable you to try out the Beam experience earlier. Oh, and of course, it’s free just like Beam.
The Trial Account will function the same as the Private Beta, but is one where you can only deposit up to $400, try out to see if Beam really “works”, and earn a 2 – 4% APY for your balance. The funds will be insured by Evolve Bank & Trust; member FDIC. To qualify to immediately download the Trial Account, you’re required to have been a “referrer”, i.e. have invited at least ONE friend to the Beam waitlist who has verified his/her email.
Since the decision is not yet final on whether to offer a Trial Account, we would like to first poll our community to see if there would be demand for something like this.
Would you be interested in getting access to a Trial Account sooner? Please let us know by taking this short, 30-second survey:
https://goo.gl/forms/VsG41nHQtgrAveMx1
Interesting, I feel like this will just delay the roll out of the full account though. $400 max is kind of pointless.
The most important part of that message: they finally reveal who their partner bank is! Here are the stats on Evolve Bank & Trust: https://www.depositaccounts.com/banks/evolve-bank-trust.html
I heard Beam people talking on a podcast several months ago, and I recall that they were planning to use many different banks.
59,014 with 0 people behind me 😐
EXCLUSIVE INVITE
59,897 people ahead of you / 0 people behind you
To get a referral you just have to use a second email. I used an alternate email and moved up from about 36,000 to about 4,000. Doesn’t help much with the top 30,000 getting access as of 3/16 but it’ll get me in there sooner
Mar 27, 2018
https://blog.meetbeam.com/the-time-is-near-77fc02d16da3
“It has come to our attention that some waitlisters are attempting to advance themselves on the waitlist through inauthentic behaviors. Integrity and trust is central to Beam’s core belief, and it’s our duty to ensure that our waitlist process is fair for all community members. For that reason, we will be closely monitoring the waitlist and will adjust the spot of anyone caught attempting to cheat their way higher on the list. In addition to losing credit for any false referrals, these individuals may be disqualified from participating in Beam completely, depending on the severity of each situation.”
I referred some people and now it says there are 87 people ahead of me and 58,223 people behind me.
Interest rates have moved up so much since they started stringing people along originally, the 4% rate isn’t nearly as impressive as it was… would be nice to at least see 5% from them, which has been available for some time on other types of hoops-jumping accounts.
I didn’t get this email and I’m in the top 7,000… weird
No email. Guess that means I’m not in the top 30k?
Looked at the confirmation email they sent back in June… no link to check where my position number is. Am I looking in the wrong place?
If you go to their website and type in your email you’ll get a link to confirm your email and you’ll be able to check your place in the queue