Reflections on the Mint Shutdown and Credit Karma Transition: Insights from a Former Mint Insider and User

Intuit Announces it is Closing Mint
I was sad to learn of Intuit’s announcement to close Mint, one of the leading personal finance management apps. In its press release, Intuit announces its plans to integrate some features from Mint into its other popular app Credit Karma; however, not all the original Mint features will survive the transition. Mint users were left shocked and bewildered after nothing in its press release truly explained why Mint closed down, so as a former Mint insider and user as well as observer of fintech space I will offer some history about both companies, some demise insights, as well as speculation on possible next steps for its millions of homeless users. Even if you weren’t using Mint yourself this story and overview will likely prove worthwhile reading if anything.

Mint.com launched in September 2007 to much fanfare, and as an avid personal finance nerd I was an eager early user and contributor. More importantly, however, was that I became an invaluable member of their inner circle: one of the first writers for their blog (later known as Mint Life blog) when it first opened for business a few months after 20somethingfinance also launched; I even met their founder/CEO personally in Mountain View! On one such visit they were thrilled that one of my articles hit Digg and gained them new exposure – those were great days indeed!

Mint’s growth was explosive. A free tool with striking visuals and big promises of helping users consolidate and track personal finances? Sign me up! It seemed as though every week, there would be another press release featuring hundreds of thousands of new users Mint had added.

Mint’s rapid expansion attracted fintech industry notice. Just two years after being released to consumers, Intuit (owner of TurboTax, Quickbooks etc) acquired Mint for $170 Million; an event which sent shockwaves through personal finance communities worldwide with promises of synergies and future growth between both entities.

Personal Finance Management Apps
While the promise of an all-in-one personal finance app can be alluring, tracking your personal finances in one space is often far more complex. Individuals often maintain multiple bank accounts, credit union accounts, credit cards, brokerage accounts (401ks/HSA/IRAs/Pensions/Loans), pension plans/loans or cryptocurrency – each needing its own login/password combination and even 2-factor authentication to connect.