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'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

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Re: 'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

#81

Post by throwaway15858 »

onthecanposting wrote: post #80
throwaway15858 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The line between "private" companies and government action is intentionally blurred. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Choke_Point

Most things people assume the US government "does" is performed by contractors. Even program management may be outsourced to specialty firms. The more first-hand knowledge I gain about any department, the more I believe this is universal.

That's certainly the case. The problem is the legal and social framework hasn't caught up with the times. It wasn't that long ago that the government was small enough to be funded entirely by tariffs. Everything has been outsourced but it's still treated as not a government action so we get all sorts of nasty things like unaccountable private prisons.

Re: 'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

#83

Post by JumpCrisscross »

pseudo0 wrote: post #79
frogamel wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly one state has! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_North_Dakota It's state-owned but functions as a typical retail bank that takes deposits, makes mortgages, business loans, etc.

It's a neat historical anomaly but it is not very practical for most people to bank at. You have to be a North Dakota resident, they have one physical office in Bismarck North Dakota, and they do not provide online banking. > Because of our unique structure as a state-owned bank, it is the Bank’s policy not to compete with the private sector for retail deposits. Therefore, convenience products such as debit cards, cr…

> You have to be a North Dakota resident, they have one physical office in Bismarck North Dakota

This is utterly reasonable. It's a public service, after all.

> and they do not provide online banking

I see an account login button on the top right. You have to open accounts in person. But again, utterly reasonable as an anti-fraud measure.

Re: 'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

#84

Post by mardifoufs »

HWR_14 wrote: post #46
Kirby64 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s plenty of free bank accounts. Almost every bank offers them, too, or they’re free with stuff that the “average” person would do (ie, have 2 direct deposits per month). Overdrafts are another story, many bank accounts allow overdrafts and even do predatory things to increase the amount of overdraft fees. Bank of America got sued for this behavior.

The federal government just put a cap on overdraft fees. IIRC, it is $3.

God I wish canada would do that too. They are insanely high here.

Re: 'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

#85

Post by aidenn0 »

laweijfmvo wrote: post #2

Anecdote: I've never seen this. I have seen "cash only" still, though.

A few categories:

- Many hotels no longer accept cash (this was gradual; it was formerly an increasingly large deposit to stay with cash)

- Many vending machines will not take cash; either by design or due to disrepair on the bill feeder.

- Specific areas where you can find out ahead of time that cash will not be accepted: (music festivals, airplane flights &c.)

I have only seen a few traditional stores with no-cash, but I expect it to accelerate.

Re: 'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

#86

Post by Brian_K_White »

neilv wrote: post #77

> while another one-third said they simply “don’t trust banks.” I don't blame the poor people who mistrust banks. Surprise bank fees can be downright predatory and devastating. At a time when I had to live off credit cards, a major bank started charging me $15/month for my checking account with ATM/debit card, because my balance was too low. Which seems minor now, but was painfully worth a lot of frugal groceries at…

Credit Union. It's not magic or all that much cheaper, but the fundamental incentives are better aligned. (I recognize that you no longer have this problem needing a solution)

Re: 'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

#87

Post by ensignavenger »

woodruffw wrote: post #78
ensignavenger wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chime isn't a bank... but they provide bank accounts via bank partners "Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC". These bank accounts are still subject to all of the same regulations as any other bank account. Venmo and PayPal don't always store funds in real bank accounts, so they may have some different regulatio…

Yep, that's the point in the last sentence: many of these financial services companies end up partnering with banks, but not for the "wallet" component of their services. The "wallet" part remains a relatively under-regulated financial product, while the debit card is only accessible to those who can pass KYC or otherwise meet the underlying bank's requirements.

Does Chime have such a non bank account backed wallet service?

Re: 'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

#88

Post by ensignavenger »

beaeglebeached wrote: post #24
tracerbulletx wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's well and good but isn't the article about the impact of businesses going cashless? I talk to a lot of homeless and other low income people through some work I do and they generally have a Venmo card or something like that and don't have an issue with cashless transactions.

How KYC do? Was 'homeless'. Bank say no bueno, could be terrorist. I can legally carry gun no problem without papers in bank though, lmao.

Thats the goverments fault, not the banks fault. Go talkm to you US Congress ritter/Senator.

Re: 'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

#89

Post by sgent »

neilv wrote: post #77

> while another one-third said they simply “don’t trust banks.” I don't blame the poor people who mistrust banks. Surprise bank fees can be downright predatory and devastating. At a time when I had to live off credit cards, a major bank started charging me $15/month for my checking account with ATM/debit card, because my balance was too low. Which seems minor now, but was painfully worth a lot of frugal groceries at…

Banks now have to order transactions / clearing in the way most beneficial to the consumer. One of the big items that passed under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Re: 'No cash accepted' signs are bad news for unbanked Americans

#90

Post by votepaunchy »

jjav wrote: post #73
myself248 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Worse, is that Visa/MC/Paypal are "private" companies which can impose whatever religious slant they want, on whatever transactions they want, and your recourse as a consumer is "use the free market to pick a different payment processor". Cash doesn't care if you're buying groceries or porn. Visa very much does.

This is the fundamentally most important issue. You should not be forced to use the services of any private company to get through the basics of life. It should be an option to choose between many, but also the option to choose none. Cash is issues by the government, it's the same for all of use, anyone is free to use it. It can't be suspended or remotely wiped, cash transactions cannot be supervised (and thus someti…

> You should not be forced to use the services of any private company to get through the basics of life.

How do I buy food/clothing/shelter from the government? We are already discussing the actions of private businesses.

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