Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 55 posts

Re: What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

#31

Post by tadfisher »

gnicholas wrote: post #12
daggersandscars wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. The depositor has a relationship with Mercury. Mercury has relationships (directly or indirectly) with FDIC insured banks. Even if one could prove a direct link between the depositor and the FDIC insured bank (making the insurance relevant), the depositor has given Mercury the right to move money in and out of the FDIC insured accounts. Even if one could prove the money was illegally taken, FDIC insurance is for…

So then Mercury waving a big flag about how accounts are FDIC-insured is more about them being made whole if one of the banks they contract with goes under, not about ensuring that their customers are ultimately made whole?

The thing you need to Google is "Reg E", which the partner bank (and through them, the fintech program) need to follow. This covers things like losses through card fraud.

Re: What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

#33

Post by bloppe »

snotrockets wrote: post #25
goldfishgold wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neither Wealthfront nor Betterment appear on the FDIC’s own list of insured institutions, so my guess is that if something wrong your money could disappear between the cracks, as in the example in the article. https://banks.data.fdic.gov/bankfind-suite/bankfind

There are very strong guarantees of that not to happen. Wealthfront and Betterment are tiny compared to others, but share the same field with the big players who have interest to not make people scared shitless. It is the fast and loose, innocent because proving guilt is an effort, fintech I am sacred of: crypto, binary options etc.

The whole point of Bitcoin was to not need banks. You can be responsible for your own money. You can use a secure hardware wallet (with backup seed in a secure vault) and not have to worry about FDIC insurance. But most people seem to prefer risking all their money with an unaccountable third party over these relatively easy security measures. So now we have uninsured crypto banks. I get how this happened but it's kinda sad.

Re: What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

#34

Post by genewitch »

ljsprague wrote: post #32

I keep my money in a bank bank and ~30% of it has disappeared in the last few years!

more than 50% since 2010 or 2012, iirc, but this only tells the official story.

when a "99 cents!" bag of chips is now "$2.99 only!" and the price of fuel doesn't correlate to anything except oil company P&E charts...

Just remember, The "$6 burger" was both making fun of the fact that restaurants charged $6 for a hamburger, as well as less than $6 for the entire meal (usually ~$4 al a carte). That food place ceased offering the $6 burger when the meal went over $8, and that was over a decade ago.

I got quoted out $1000 for 200 feet of garden hose from a hose supplier last week. meanwhile the state government has only given ~6% pay increase in the last decade to civil employees. in the last 12 years i've reduced my electricity usage by 60% by both moving high power stuff to a cheaper facility and buying more energy efficient appliances and such. My electric bill is the exact same (plus or minus 10%) as it was 12 years ago.

I could go on comparing what things used to cost to what they cost now (if you can even get them at all), and my spreadsheet says the "inflation" numbers we're given either are flat out lies or otherwise so misunderstand what people spend money on monthly that it may as well be a lie. Compare a 198X Ford Mustang 6 cylinder base model to any year model you please. Then convince me that moving from metal to plastic and computerizing everything so the wires can be much smaller somehow justifies the price hike, there.

p.s. don't do this with rent or mortgages unless you want to cry.

Re: What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

#35

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

genewitch wrote: post #34
ljsprague wrote: post #32

I keep my money in a bank bank and ~30% of it has disappeared in the last few years!

more than 50% since 2010 or 2012, iirc, but this only tells the official story. when a "99 cents!" bag of chips is now "$2.99 only!" and the price of fuel doesn't correlate to anything except oil company P&E charts... Just remember, The "$6 burger" was both making fun of the fact that restaurants charged $6 for a hamburger, as well as less than $6 for the entire meal (usually ~$4 al a carte). That food place ceased o…

> $1000 for 200 feet of garden hose

I know it's not really your point, but what kind of hose? I bought 100' of 3/4" "contractor" hose from Tractor Supply this last winter for $79. Even the in-ground stuff doesn't cost that much.

Re: What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

#36

Post by bequanna »

bodhibyte wrote: post #11

Both Wealthfront or Betterment are not banks but offer high-interest cash accounts that are FDIC insured. I've been curious what would happen if your money disappears from one of these high-interest cash accounts since they are technically not banks.

Wealthfront partners with Greendot. I believe deposits are FDIC insured thru Greendot.

https://support.wealthfront.com/hc/en-us/articles/3600441608...

Re: What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

#37

Post by fragmede »

genewitch wrote: post #34
ljsprague wrote: post #32

I keep my money in a bank bank and ~30% of it has disappeared in the last few years!

more than 50% since 2010 or 2012, iirc, but this only tells the official story. when a "99 cents!" bag of chips is now "$2.99 only!" and the price of fuel doesn't correlate to anything except oil company P&E charts... Just remember, The "$6 burger" was both making fun of the fact that restaurants charged $6 for a hamburger, as well as less than $6 for the entire meal (usually ~$4 al a carte). That food place ceased o…

That whole safety thing probably increases the price a lot. Like crumple zones and airbags. Also what's the zero to sixty and quarter mile on a 1985 Mustang compared to a Honda Civic from today? Also how long did it last between oil changes, how many MPG did it get, how much routine maintenance did it need; etc, etc.

The 1985 Ford Mustang was an amazing feat of engineering - for its time. We're 40 years past that though, and cars are more expensive for a lot more reasons than just plastic. Nevermind the plastic, the metal used in today's cars didn't exist as little as 10 years ago, never mind 40.

Re: What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

#38

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

bloppe wrote: post #33
snotrockets wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are very strong guarantees of that not to happen. Wealthfront and Betterment are tiny compared to others, but share the same field with the big players who have interest to not make people scared shitless. It is the fast and loose, innocent because proving guilt is an effort, fintech I am sacred of: crypto, binary options etc.

The whole point of Bitcoin was to not need banks. You can be responsible for your own money. You can use a secure hardware wallet (with backup seed in a secure vault) and not have to worry about FDIC insurance. But most people seem to prefer risking all their money with an unaccountable third party over these relatively easy security measures. So now we have uninsured crypto banks. I get how this happened but it's ki…

What is the advantage of not having to worry about FDIC insurance? Assuming, that is, that your funds on deposit do not exceed their limits.

Re: What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

#39

Post by genewitch »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #35
genewitch wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

more than 50% since 2010 or 2012, iirc, but this only tells the official story. when a "99 cents!" bag of chips is now "$2.99 only!" and the price of fuel doesn't correlate to anything except oil company P&E charts... Just remember, The "$6 burger" was both making fun of the fact that restaurants charged $6 for a hamburger, as well as less than $6 for the entire meal (usually ~$4 al a carte). That food place ceased o…

> $1000 for 200 feet of garden hose I know it's not really your point, but what kind of hose? I bought 100' of 3/4" "contractor" hose from Tractor Supply this last winter for $79. Even the in-ground stuff doesn't cost that much.

3/4" oil and weatherproof reinforced double wall hose, the kind that lasts a decade with heavy use (at least, i have one that's 12 years old that i haven't had to repair at all). For the "better than contractor from TSC" it was $413 for 200', which is oil and weatherproofed double wall hose, but doesn't have the anti-collapse webbing between the layers, just the water carrying layer and the outer protective layer.

ETA iirc home depot has 75' for $30 for, uh, passable garden hose. I understand we can buy cheap stuff but even the cheap stuff is more expensive than it used to be.

Re: What Happens When Your Bank Isn't a Bank and Your Money Disappears?

#40

Post by genewitch »

fragmede wrote: post #37
genewitch wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

more than 50% since 2010 or 2012, iirc, but this only tells the official story. when a "99 cents!" bag of chips is now "$2.99 only!" and the price of fuel doesn't correlate to anything except oil company P&E charts... Just remember, The "$6 burger" was both making fun of the fact that restaurants charged $6 for a hamburger, as well as less than $6 for the entire meal (usually ~$4 al a carte). That food place ceased o…

That whole safety thing probably increases the price a lot. Like crumple zones and airbags. Also what's the zero to sixty and quarter mile on a 1985 Mustang compared to a Honda Civic from today? Also how long did it last between oil changes, how many MPG did it get, how much routine maintenance did it need; etc, etc. The 1985 Ford Mustang was an amazing feat of engineering - for its time. We're 40 years past that tho…

>Also how long did it last between oil changes, how many MPG did it get, how much routine maintenance did it need; etc, etc.

3000 miles unless synthetic then 5 or 6 (same as my 2012 lexus with a simlar sized engine), 17-18MPG (same as my lexus), and "if you have a wrench and a Haynes you're halfway done".

hope this clears up some things.

eta: the 0-60 i am not sure, i'm sure my car with a 4.6 liter is faster and isn't governed at the same speed as the 1985 mustang, but it's not an order of magnitude faster or anything - the mustangs with large engines were always "fast" and relatively safe. I've owned 3 from the 90s and wrecked two and walked away with nary a bruise from insurance totals.

also if i drive intending to "Hypermilage" i can get nearly 30MPG out of my lexus, but i could get ~30 in a Mitsubishi Evo X and a F-550, too. Daily driving is <20MPG on all those. For reference on a 1.6L i can get nearly 80MPG on certain roads, and always above 65MPG. It annoys everyone around me though, so i tend to only do it if i am driving across country, which is the boringest thing ever.

Post reply on HN