Banking… how things have changed

[masseyrider]

The new generation can't read analog clocks or count money - thats why they want an "app" on their phones instead of cash in their wallets.

You should have seen the deer in the headlights. My bill was $36.25. I gave her $40. She punched it in. I realized I had the small change and hand her the additional $1.25 to avoid more coins (here in Canuckistan we have $1 and $2 coins).
Her display showed she owed me $3.75. She couldn't make the leap of giving me a $5 bill.
My niece teaches and the policy in her school board for math is that close is good enough. So 4+6= 11 is acceptable.
I guess I got served by one of their grads.

 

[Agvg]

Haven't had cash in well over ten years, do not miss it at all.

 

[5030]

I prefer dealing with a local credit union. No holds on rent checks and no grief, ever.

 

[riptides]

The big banks seem to think we are doing well.

I prefer credit unions, NFCU is my primary "banking" holder. Other banks on the National scale that I have dealt with are just not pleasant. Wells, BoA, Citi.....

Household Pulse: Balances through March 2023

www.jpmorganchase.com

 

[2manyrocks]

Check fraud may be rampant. Big banks are rife with policies to protect the bank. Branch managers have little authority, but are expected to run a profitable branch.

that is just what goes along with a big bank and why so many locally owned banks keep popping up to compete with them.

 

[ericm979]

Welcome to the unsexy side of the Patriot Act that seemed like such a good idea.

I did IT for a small (three branches when I left) Credit Union. If memory serves me correct, anything that looks like it could be construed to move money under the 10k limit is placed on a hold, especially if it's a rare or random event. It's also setup to monitor for fraud, scams and the like. It's a very complex system that's usual response is to tell the teller making 14 bucks an hour to throw the brakes on the transaction.

It's part of the Know Your Customer regulations that were part of the Patriot Act. If it appears that you're structuring your transactions to get under the $10k reporting limit, they'll put holds on them.

This is a national law, it's not a California thing. Your bank appears to be particularly bad at it, but that's probably how their lawyers interpret the law.

Also if they put a 15 day hold on your funds, they can use that money for free for 15 days. While they're not making a lot off your $5k, add up all the customers they're doing it to and it's significant.

If you knew how unstable and unreliable the software controlling your money is...The mason jars stop seeming like a dumb idea.
That's on top of the usual management shenanigans.

Yep it's pretty bad.

I design encryption systems that get used by banks, and I can tell you that generally speaking their programmers are pretty awful.

 

[Oaktree]

If you stuff your mattress or bury jars at least it will be there at the end of the day and won't disappear in "service fees".

If they want to solve the housing crises they need to force banks to start paying interest on account savings. With inflation we are losing money every day leaving it in the bank. People are better off buying an asset that would hold some value relative to inflation.

And the value of that money in your mattress or buried jars decreases every day given that it earns zero interest.

I find it a tad hypocritical that those who whine about "government meddling" seem to change their tune when it's something they want.
There are places to park your money that will earn better interest than in your average bank, why not look into them?

The new generation can't read analog clocks or count money - thats why they want an "app" on their phones instead of cash in their wallets.

I know. Kids these days...
Let's face it, these people are the next generation of their customers...if mobile banking is what they want, these banks had better provide it or risk losing customers to someone who will. Nothing I'm interested in, but I'm over 70.
Even I appreciate the ability to transfer funds, etc. online. Sure beats having to drive to the bank just to transfer something from savings to checking.

I have never had an issue with anyone refusing cash as a payment, except at the town dump which requires a check for items you have to pay to get rid of (tires, freon-bearing appliances, etc.).

 

[riptides]

There are a whole suite of products available in the "mobile" market, indeed off the internet, that makes the big banks look like the dinosaurs that they are. Try wire transfers for instance. With up to the minute exchange rates, internationally, no less. You can thank the younger generations for those FinAps.

 

[two_bit_score]

Cash is going away. Sooner than you think.
Merely depositing or withdrawing large sums of cash can have you labeled as a potential criminal.

It ain't your fathers USA anymore. Freedom is vanishing quickly

 

[Snobdds]

Here is a funny thing...

If $100 dollars is kept "digitally" and only processed through the banking debit card system, after 3,333 transactions that $100 will be all sitting in the bank as their profit. Every time a transaction is made, the card processor takes 3%. That $100 is no longer currency in circulation.

If 100 dollars is kept as currency and spend over and over again, that $100 will still be able to purchase $100 of value. That $100 stays in circulation.

This is why banks want to be all digital. They take a cut on each swipe.

Cash and debit cash are different mechanisms at play.