COINS bank charges for them?

[rsewill]

It was just a couple of decades ago the banks would pay you more than face value for your coins due to a shortage of coins.

 

[ultrarunner]

I spend them or give them to my nieces... they love getting change...

Keep a lot of quarter in the truck ash tray.... it saved me more than one over the years.

Used to be great for parking meters... a quarter only buys 8 minutes now so got to have a lot of them if I go downtown.

I work with a lady that keeps them in jars... when her jar is full she goes Indian Gaming...

 

[MadJack]

About twenty years ago I switched to using a credit union. That particular one started charging for little things like a bank does and I quickly changed to another CU.
Now when I hear stuff like this [coin charge] I laugh...

Check out a local credit union, you'll see what I mean.

 

[Oaktree]

About twenty years ago I switched to using a credit union. That particular one started charging for little things like a bank does and I quickly changed to another CU.
Now when I hear stuff like this [coin charge] I laugh...

Check out a local credit union, you'll see what I mean.

Credit unions are like banks, there are good ones and not-so-good ones. I checked out the one near me...discovered they nickel and dime you on everything, charge you for a checking account (or whatever CUs call them) unless you use a debit card a certain # of times per month, etc.

Ended up going with a community bank. Still not great...can not my saviing account with an ATM (only checking), and they only have a handful of branches (none of which have lobby hours on Saturday), but they seem the best of a sorry lot.

 

[ultrarunner]

Credit unions are like banks, there are good ones and not-so-good ones. I checked out the one near me...discovered they nickel and dime you on everything, charge you for a checking account (or whatever CUs call them) unless you use a debit card a certain # of times per month, etc.

Ended up going with a community bank. Still not great...can not my saviing account with an ATM (only checking), and they only have a handful of branches (none of which have lobby hours on Saturday), but they seem the best of a sorry lot.

Had the same experience with the first credit union... had to use the debit card to avoid fees.

The final straw is when the card wouldn't read and they refused to make an exception with only 9 of the 10 required swipes for the month...

New Credit Union is vastly superior... although, their great rates are also way down the last couple of months...

Every time I had a good local bank... they were bought out by either Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual of U.S. Bank...

 

[jimmyj]

Up here in the great white north banks will take your coin if it's a personal account. If you have a business, you pay.

Examples, there are charges to businesses for:

- depositing any form of cash, coin or bills
- buying rolls of coin

I could go on and on and on. The fees to businesses to accept consumer payment by debit and credit cards are simply obscene.

Regarding payment by legal tender. Up here in Canada, a transaction is a two part deal. The purchaser makes an offer to pay and the vendor must accept it. This includes accepting the dollar amount and the type of payment tender. That's why it's not actually the law that I have to give someone the sticker price on an item if it is wrong. I can if I want, but I don't have to sell a $40 item for $30 simply because it's improperly marked.

I would think if someone wanted to pay me a bazillion pennies, I'd take it as I want any business I can get (that's the difference between gov't and private enterprise). But, I have to agree to accept it. Thus I bet there is no legal requirement to accept payment in pennies etc.

I hate banks.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I could go on and on and on. The fees to businesses to accept consumer payment by debit and credit cards are simply obscene.

That's one of the reasons I deal in cash wherever possible, particularly at small local businesses that have to go through a credit card service agent because of low volume.

The other reason I don't use credit cards is that they tempt you to spend money you don't have, and then they screw you in addition to screwing small businesses.

 

[ultrarunner]

Pretty much limited to Credit Cards here...

Even the local filling stations won't accept anything larger than a $20 and none accept checks... same with the Hardware and Lumber Yard...

I was running low on gas one night and pulled into a station and they even had a $10 limit on credit cards...

Some parking meters still take quarters... which buys you 8 minutes... all the new meters are credit/debit card.

Seems Credit is king...

 

[TCJatko]

Slightly off topic, but:

"Billions of dollars are added to the national debt each year to subsidize credit unions. So, why aren't they paying taxes like every other type of financial institution?"

Billions of dollars are added to the national debt because our elected officials continue to spend without limits. Buying votes with other peoples' money; what a deal!

 

[jimmyj]

The other reason I don't use credit cards is that they tempt you to spend money you don't have, and then they screw you in addition to screwing small businesses.

You are spot on. The average plastic "spend value" is bigger than the average cash transaction. So it's a curse and a blessing. When they use plastic, I pay, but they buy more and are easier to convince to buy extra stuff or upgrade.

 

[coveredbridge]

Slightly off topic, but:

"Billions of dollars are added to the national debt each year to subsidize credit unions. So, why aren't they paying taxes like every other type of financial institution?"

That's a great question for your Congressman and Senator.

 

[coveredbridge]

$4.6 billion in profits for the whole USA is not a big amount of money. Consider that last year J. P. Morgan Chase (the same bank that just squandered $2 billion of depositor's money) earned a profit of $5.6 billion last year, and that's just one bank. And if you expect anyone to work for free, dream on. Can you name one credit union employee who makes more that $1 million a year? Commercial banks have thousands of them.

I don't know for a fact that all credit unions are nonprofit. Mine is. I do know that if they make a profit they have to pay corporate income tax just like any other business.

Meanwhile, my credit union gives me free checking, free ATM use, and reimburses me up to 10 ATM fees from other banks, plus pays 4% interest on the first $5000 balance in my checking account. They offer a Visa card with a flat 10% interest rate and no annual fees. The current rate for personal loans is 2.4%. Instead of bilking the customers and raking off obscene profits and salaries, they provide exceptional service. Face it, any bank should pay you for keeping your money there. Without you, they are out of business. Instead, they charge ridiculous fees, like charging you to run coins through their coin counting machine.

I will say that before I moved to this area I banked at a small local savings and loan that had very similar service to the credit union I use now.

Would you mind sharing the name and location of your credit union?

 

[ultrarunner]

Slightly off topic, but:

"Billions of dollars are added to the national debt each year to subsidize credit unions. So, why aren't they paying taxes like every other type of financial institution?"

Billions of dollars are added to the national debt because our elected officials continue to spend without limits. Buying votes with other peoples' money; what a deal!

Any details on how Credit Unions are adding Billions to the debt?

Honest question I would like to learn more about.

 

[coveredbridge]

Any details on how Credit Unions are adding Billions to the debt?

Honest question I would like to learn more about.

In 1937 Congress granted credit unions with a federal tax-exempt status based upon their cooperative structure - that they are operated entirely by and for their members. Each year credit unions earn billions of dollars in profits on which zero federal income tax is paid. Since no federal income tax is paid on these profits, the federal government borrows more than they otherwise would if these profits were taxed. Hence, by not paying federal income tax on billions of profits each year, credit unions add to the national debt that is owed by every American.

 

[rsewill]

In 1937 Congress granted credit unions with a federal tax-exempt status based upon their cooperative structure - that they are operated entirely by and for their members. Each year credit unions earn billions of dollars in profits on which zero federal income tax is paid. Since no federal income tax is paid on these profits, the federal government borrows more than they otherwise would if these profits were taxed. Hence, by not paying federal income tax on billions of profits each year, credit unions add to the national debt that is owed by every American.

But any profit is distributed to the credit unions members which is taxed via the members' returns. Or they charge lower fees so that they make no profit.

 

[coveredbridge]

But any profit is distributed to the credit unions members which is taxed via the members' returns. Or they charge lower fees so that they make no profit.

All financial institutions, including credit unions, must maintain capital reserves in order to ensure that they can continue to operate in the event that they experience a period of operating losses. If financial institutions did not maintain capital reserves, they would have to close their doors if they incurred any unexpected operating loss. The only significant source of capital reserves for credit unions is net profits that are added to capital reserves (retained earnings). Since these earnings are retained, they cannot be distributed to members. Credit unions retained $4.6 billion of these profits in (2009?) as additions to capital reserves. These profits can't be paid out to members.

However, even if you were correct that these profits were distributed to members and subject to individual income tax, how would this be any different than dividends paid by banks out of their net profits to their shareholders after being taxed as corporate net income?

 

[big e]

So a guy walks into a bar with a nasty shiner.
Bartenders says, what the heck happened to you?
Guy says, I called my girlfriend a two-bit *****.
Bartender says, what'd she hit you with.
Guy says, A FREAKIN' SACK OF QUARTERS!

 

[rsewill]

All financial institutions, including credit unions, must maintain capital reserves in order to ensure that they can continue to operate in the event that they experience a period of operating losses. If financial institutions did not maintain capital reserves, they would have to close their doors if they incurred any unexpected operating loss. The only significant source of capital reserves for credit unions is net profits that are added to capital reserves (retained earnings). Since these earnings are retained, they cannot be distributed to members. Credit unions retained $4.6 billion of these profits in (2009?) as additions to capital reserves. These profits can't be paid out to members.

However, even if you were correct that these profits were distributed to members and subject to individual income tax, how would this be any different than dividends paid by banks out of their net profits to their shareholders after being taxed as corporate net income?

I feel sorry for Big Banking having to pay taxes on their earnings while credit union owners (the people who have accounts) don't have to. At least I'll try to have some pity. Those retained earnings are statutory but any excess is distributed or is reflected in lower fees.