# data[].attributes.body
What is the primary purpose of this tool?
Betterment helps people make the most of their money. It works as a smart money manager and gives you financial advice. Its mission is to democratize the expensive, complicated business of investing.

Do you have to pay to use it? If so, what are the fees?
No fee is needed when you get started. Betterment Digital charges an annual management fee of 0.25% and Betterment Premium charges 0.40%. Betterment Digital customers can pay $199 for a 45-minute coaching session with a financial professional to optimize their investments. Betterment Premium members get financial coaching at no additional cost.

Who is the target customer for using this tool?  Ex:  Individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, etc
Individuals. It could be entrepreneurs. Betterment is a solid robo-advisor choice for people who want to get serious about investing for something big, like a home down payment, college fund, or their own retirement.

Is the tool online only, mobile online, or does it work on both computers and mobile devices?
Betterment works on both computers and mobile devices through their website and app.

Does the tool work with specific banks/accounts only?  Or can you use it regardless of your bank?
They have a partnership with nbkc bank, so the Betterment Visa Debit Card will be issued by nbkc bank.

Is there a minimum amount of money or accounts you must have to use this tool?
No. Betterment has no minimum deposit required to get started.

How useful would the tool be for teenagers or people in their early 20s?
Betterment can benefit whoever wants to start investment seriously. Especially younger people don't have much knowledge, so Betterment would help them greatly by providing financial advice.

How long has the tool existed?
It is first launched in 2008.

Who owns this tool?
Betterment Holdings Inc.

How do the owners of this tool make their money?
They make their money from its annual fee: o.25% for its Digital Plan and 0.4% for its Premium Plan. They also earn money from the meeting fees with certified financial advisors.

How many customers, clients, or users does this tool have?
500,000 accounts

Is there a catch?  If so, what is it?
Betterment Digital customers can pay $199 for a 45-minute coaching session with a financial professional to optimize their investments.  $299 for a 60-minute call with a credential financial planner for help with other goals such as saving for college or a financial checkup.

What security or anti-fraud measures does this company take to protect their users?
When you manage your investments through Betterment, all the assets and securities in your portfolio are strictly under your ownership. Your personal investment money and Betterment's company funds remain separate for the entirely of your membership, so you retain full control over your money.
Most robo-advisors operate under a federal fiduciary standard.

What other tools/businesses are similar to this one?  Who are their competitors?
Wealthfront - unlike Wealthfront, Betterment has no minimum deposit required to get started.
Ellevest - offers easy connection with certified financial planners to work through how best to optimize your investment.

What are the benefits of using this tool?
You can wisely make or save money by asking them advice. Betterment offers a tax-coordinated portfolio feature that allocates investments in certain assets across taxable and tax-advantaged retirement accounts to lower tax bill.

What might be the dangers, risks, or downsides of using this tool?
While the meetings with certified financial planners are convenient, especially if you don't want ongoing financial assistance or don't know where to start, they are relatively expensive.
You need to enter your basic personal details including your age, income and social security number. Although there is a safety measure and it seems you can trust Betterment, you cannot say there is no risk.

# data[].attributes.body
What is the primary purpose of this tool?
Acorns helps people save for future goals by keeping track of personal investments, retirement and checking . The Company also offers a saving account, a debit card, and many other banking services.

Do you have to pay to use it? If so, what are the fees?
Yes, users have to pay a subscription fee in order to use Acorns. There are different levels of subscriptions. The first option is Acorn Lite which costs $1 a month. For this subscription users can invest spare change, earn bonus investments and gain knowledge on saving money. The next option is Acorn's Personal which costs $3 a month. This subscription offers an all in one investment, retirement and checking plus a debit card, bonus investments and money advice. Lastly, the Acorn Family option costs $4 per month. This subscription includes investment accounts for kids and personal investment, retirement and checking accounts and exclusive offers and content.

Who is the target customer for using this tool?  Ex:  Individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, etc
The Targeted customers for Acorns is millennials.

Is the tool online only, mobile online, or does it work on both computers and mobile devices?
Acorns works on both computers and mobile devices through their  website and app.

Does the tool work with specific banks/accounts only?  Or can you use it regardless of your bank?
Acorns allows users to pair up with certain banks such as Bank of America, Chase, Citibank,  PNC Bank, USAA, US Bank, US Navy Federal Credit Union, or Wells Fargo.

Is there a minimum amount of money or accounts you must have to use this tool?
There is no minimum amount of money needed to have an Acorns account. However Acorns requires a $5 balance to start investing in one of their portfolios.

How useful would the tool be for teenagers or people in their early 20s?
People in their early 20s would benefit the most from this app. This is because usually at this age people begin to start creating financial goals for themselves as well as start having jobs. Acorns is a good resource to help manage their money as well as teach young adults the right way to save up for certain goals.

How long has the tool existed?
Acorns has existed for 8 years and came out in 2012.

Who owns this tool?
Jeff Cruttenden

How do the owners of this tool make their money?
The owners of Acorns make their money by charging users monthly subscription fees. They also get money from referral fees from the cashback program and an annual management fee for accounts above $5,000.

How many customers, clients, or users does this tool have?
Acorns has 4.5 million users

Is there a catch?  If so, what is it?
If Acorns rounds up a users deposit, they take 8% of it. Which can be considered a lot. The more money a user puts in the more money they make.

What security or anti-fraud measures does this company take to protect their users?
Acorns website and app is highly secured and the users personal and financial information can only be accessed by them and Acorns. Acorns also will alert the user if unusual account activity is happening for production against fraud.

What other tools/businesses are similar to this one?  Who are their competitors?
Robinhood, Morningstar Advisor Workstation, eMoney, and Riskalyze are similar to Acorns as well as being their competitors.

What are the benefits of using this tool?
The benefits of Acorns are it automatically invests spare change, there is cashback at select retailers and educational content for users.

What might be the dangers, risks, or downsides of using this tool?
The downsides of using this tool is there is a small investment portfolio and high fees on small account balances.

# data[].attributes.body
What is the primary purpose of this tool?

The primary purpose of the tool Venmo is to be able to send and request money from your friends through their app. Venmo is an easy tool to send money if you do not have cash on you.
Do you have to pay to use it? If so, what are the fees?

Venmo’s services are mainly free of charge but there is a 3% fee. This 3% fee is when you are processing transactions with your credit card. There is a way you can go around this fee, when you are processing money in your account through Venmo they give you two options. The first option you can choose is the instant transfer which has the fee, this allows the money to be transferred into your account instantly. The second option is the one that transfers the money between one to three business days, this does not require a fee.
Who is the target customer for using this tool?  Ex:  Individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, etc

The target customer for using this tool is individuals usually on the younger side, 82% of people who use Venmo are people between ages of 18 and 34.
Is the tool online only, mobile online, or does it work on both computers and mobile devices?

With Venmo you have the ability to visit their website on your computer or phone and you have the ability to download the app on those devices as well.
Does the tool work with specific banks/accounts only?  Or can you use it regardless of your bank?

Venmo works with any bank in the United States, you can use it regardless of your bank account. They also allow debit, credit, and prepaid network branded cards.
Is there a minimum amount of money or accounts you must have to use this tool?

If you want to be able to transfer money from your Venmo to your bank account you must have a bank account linked to Venmo otherwise it won’t transfer your money because it's not linked to anything. For all transactions totalled up there's a limit to $4,999.99 per week and there is a sending limit which is up to $2,999.99 per week. There is also a limit on how many transactions you can do per day and that is 30.
How useful would the tool be for teenagers or people in their early 20s?

This tool is actually the most popular of people who are in their late teenage years and people who are in their twenties or thirties.. This tool is definitely useful for teenagers because not a lot of teenagers carry cash and this makes it easier to pay others back without having to carry cash.
How long has the tool existed?

Venmo has been around for 11 years, it was created in 2009.
Who owns this tool?

Venmo is owned by Paypal.Venmo was bought by Braintree and then Braintree was acquired by Paypal.
How do the owners of this tool make their money?

Venmo mainly makes money from the transaction fees since the app is free; this is how they make their money. They also charge businesses a 2.9% fee when consumers use the app to pay.
How many customers, clients, or users does this tool have?

Venmo currently has 40 million users, in the past two years Venmo's users grew from 10 million to 40 million users.
Is there a catch?  If so, what is it?

The only catch is that there is a 3% fee but there is an option not to proceed with the fee you will just have to wait longer for the money to enter your account.
What security or anti-fraud measures does this company take to protect their users?

Venmo uses encryption protocols to secure and protect personal and financial information. Venmo allows you to add a PIN code and lets you set up multi factor authentication. Having the PIN means that a code has to be entered every time you access the app. This makes your account safer by making sure no one can access your account without the code.
What other tools/businesses are similar to this one?  Who are their competitors?

Venmo's top competitors are Checkout.com, Skrill, Fintiv, Zelle, and Stripe.
What are the benefits of using this tool?

Venmo has tons of benefits, Venmo makes sending money super easy. Venmo has a rewards shop you can go through, you can create donation programs through Venmo, easy to split purchases, and it's easy to pay others back.
What might be the dangers, risks, or downsides of using this tool?

Some of the cons of Venmo are there is a 3% instant transfer fee, there is always the possibility that someone will hack your account and steal your information, and you can send money to the wrong person.

# data[].attributes.body
What is the primary purpose of this tool?
Square allows merchants to accept mobile payments with a credit card through attachments on a mobile device such as an iPad, iPhone or computer.
Do you have to pay to use it? If so, what are the fees?
Like a credit card company, Square takes a certain percentage from the payment. It costs 2.6% + 10¢ for contactless payments, swiped or inserted chip cards, and swiped magstripe cards. Payments that are manually keyed-in, processed using Card on File, or manually entered using Virtual Terminal have a 3.5% + 15¢ fee. Invoices cost 2.9% + 30¢ or 3.5% + 15¢ if processed using Card on File.It has other products and softwares that all have similar functions as a cash register.
Who is the target customer for using this tool?  Ex:  Individuals, entrepreneurs, businesses, etc
The target audience for anyone who takes any forms of physical payments. Any form of business that take credit card payments in person can use square. You can connect Square to your online payment systems, however its business focuses on products and attachments for mobile devices.
Is the tool online only, mobile online, or does it work on both computers and mobile devices?
The tool can work on any device. It is an attachment for mobile devices, but can be connected through online payments.
Does the tool work with specific banks/accounts only?  Or can you use it regardless of your bank?
Square has strong links through Bank of America, Citizens Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Huntington National, PNC Bank, Regions, SunTrust,  and TD Bank.
Is there a minimum amount of money or accounts you must have to use this tool?
You need have at least $25, after processing fees, in your Square Balance.
How useful would the tool be for teenagers or people in their early 20s?
This tool could be used for young adults who own a small business or run/manage a store. People who sell their art, or things they make at art fairs or flea sales. It makes people who use credit cards to be able to purchase them. It allows people who sell their craft to not only take cash which allows them to expand their margins. It breaks down the barriers of a business. It allows people to not have to process credit cards and just take a certain percentage. All they need is to sign up with square and then they can be paid with credit cards.
How long has the tool existed?
It was created in 2009, and has been around in 11.
Who owns this tool?
Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey
How do the owners of this tool make their money?
Square itself takes a certain percentage of any purchase. These percentages go straight to square. You also have to pay for their products and attachments.
How many customers, clients, or users does this tool have?
24 million monthly active users in December of 2019.
Is there a catch?  If so, what is it?
Every time a customer swipes, you have to pay $2.75. Just because you don't have to pay for processing fees in general, you still have to pay every time that someone swipes their card on Square. You have to pay a certain percentage per each charge to Square as well.
What security or anti-fraud measures does this company take to protect their users?
Square's technology makes sure that the credit card data never gets to the personal device. It always goes through encrypted data created by Square. Square also has created and produced all their own technology, so there is nothing going anywhere else. They don't sell or share any information.
What other tools/businesses are similar to this one?  Who are their competitors?
Clover, Stripe, Paypal.
What are the benefits of using this tool?
Square eliminates the middle man. You can just sign up for an account in 15 minutes that is safe and secure. It has extremely fast processing, similar to a computer and a chip-reader. There is an option for flat fees, instead of paying a percentage per swipe, you can pay a monthly cost of $275. Square also provides you with analytics that allow you to track your business earnings.
What might be the dangers, risks, or downsides of using this tool?
For companies that buy in bulk, square is not an option. You cannot scan things using square, and they do not help buy things in bulk amounts. Square is more focused on smaller businesses, so the costs of card swipe costs can skyrocket if the company is very big and successful.