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The Almighty Buck

Is Digital Banking the Wave of the Future? (cnn.com) 117

CNN looks at a unique new digital bank named Greenwood — and its implications for the future of banking: Greenwood was created by Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover and his close friend, rapper-activist Michael "Killer Mike" Render. The leadership team at Greenwood, which includes former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, unveiled their new platform on Thursday after raising more than $3 million in seed funding in June... While the bank doesn't open until January, the company launched its website on Thursday and there is already a waiting list for those who want to open a Greenwood account. "I will say we're in the tens of thousands," Glover told CNN Business on Friday. "That number is increasing by the day."

Like its competitors Chime, Aspiration, Money Lion and Vero, Greenwood is a digital bank whose financial services — including checking and savings accounts, mobile deposits and peer-to-peer transfers — are fulfilled almost entirely online. The bank offers a global ATM network, Apple and Android Pay services, and two-day advances on paychecks for customers who sign up for direct deposit. Unlike its peers, however, Greenwood's target audiences are Black and Latinx communities and anyone else who wants to support Black-owned businesses. Glover says the bank will specialize in financing Black and Latinx entrepreneurs who typically have a harder time securing loans from mainstream commercial banks. "In order to build wealth, you need bank capital," Glover said. "We will identify qualified entrepreneurs, business owners and creatives to equip them with the capital needed to make their dreams a reality..."

Glover points out that Americans have been banking online almost exclusively at higher rates in recent years. It's a trend major commercial banks have been slow to embrace and a sector Glover says hasn't done much to reach out to minorities. "There were no digital banking solutions that cater to the African-American or Latinx communities until Greenwood," Glover said...

"I believe digital banking is the wave of the future, not just something that's popular now," he said.

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Is Digital Banking the Wave of the Future?

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  • Funny (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jovius ( 974690 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @07:40AM (#60598032)

    Slashdot suddenly back in the 90s. At least from outside the US it looks like it.

    • by blowdog ( 993153 )
      Absolutely, try finding a local bank branch in the UK.
      • And it's OK to you that these institutions are making money off of your deposits and not employing any of your people? I guess the construction sector for counsile housing will continue to boom as your children struggle to find that first job out of High School.Virtual banking is in the same aisle of stupidity with self checkout lines; you've let them convince you that it's more convenient while they sell you fewer services.

        • No one had to convince me it is more convenient. It literally is. Just like pumping your own gas. I suppose when we have electric cars, you will insist only stupid people plug the car in themselves instead of waiting for some slack jawed phone zombie to do it.
          • My bank branch is about 20 miles away from my home. Bank hours are normally the exact same as my work hours, and ATM do fail a lot and/or have a fee because it wasn't operated by your bank.
            If you are City Folk, and you live in a City, where you have a bank branch within your normal walk to the Subway or to your local shop, it isn't as much of a big deal. As I use to live in the City before, and I would just go to the bank, during a break to do my banking.

            I am not quite following your electric car example.

            • I replied to :

              Virtual banking is in the same aisle of stupidity with self checkout lines; you've let them convince you that it's more convenient while they sell you fewer services.

              where self service gas is pretty much the same thing as self checkout. The analogy does break down unless you are using a public charging station.

            • by cusco ( 717999 )

              ATM do fail a lot and/or have a fee because it wasn't operated by your bank

              Join a credit union, no fee ATMs and you can use pretty much any credit union's ATM across the US for no fee since almost all belong to the same co-op.

        • And it's OK to you that these institutions are making money off of your deposits and not employing any of your people?

          Most of my regular bank accounts are at the credit union associated with my university, so yeah. I have one other account with another local/regional (about 25 branches in a 50-mile radius) credit union.

        • They can either make money off my deposits, or they can charge me for their services.

          Of course, being able to deposit a check at home is far less convenient than getting in the car, weaving through traffic, waiting in line (or parking) for a teller and then driving back home.

          Or... Just maybe... Most people are better able to take care of small "transactions" themselves more directly than having to rely on multiple other people.

        • by mad7777 ( 946676 )
          It's better than OK. It's progress!

          Oh wait... I guess you're of the opinion that certain types of jobs should continue to exist for the next thousand years. Sorry, here's a memo from the 21st century: Bank tellers are obsolete. Nobody needs a fake-smiling flunkie to hand them their cash.

          The point of employment is to provide useful services, not to provide some sort of contorted social welfare so that people who are no longer needed can continue being a drain on society.
    • by olesk ( 211973 )

      Slashdot suddenly back in the 90s. At least from outside the US it looks like it.

      Yeah, that was my first thought as well. I haven't been to a physical bank in more than five years, probably more. Online-only banks are quite commonplace around the world. Though some European countries are still lagging - including some of the big ones like France, where cheques (!!!) are still in use. In my home country of Norway, that's something that was phased out in the late 80ies. I live in Switzerland now, where I no longer have any paper-based communication with my bank, nor do I ever visit its br

      • by Zarhan ( 415465 )

        In Finland, I've been using "digital" banking since the 90's.

        Last time I have actually visited an office was ten years ago for getting a loan for purchasing a house. Pretty soon after that they started doing even that online, with video conferencing if necessary.

        These days there are local branches in couple of larger towns and they are open to public a few hours per week, mostly for the elderly.

        The whole concept of "checks" is so very quaint...

        • by cusco ( 717999 )

          I pay all our bills by check because I know I'm too lazy to check up online to be sure the charges are all correct. That piece of paper makes me sit down for half an hour every month to make sure there aren't any unexpected charges on our credit card, the water bill doesn't indicate a hidden leak somewhere, whether the 2-year "introductory" price on the internet connection has expired yet, and the like. Sure, I could do it online but I know damn well that I'll just hit "Approve" without looking at it. It

      • I live in Switzerland now, where I no longer have any paper-based communication with my bank, nor do I ever visit its brick&mortar offices, though they do have them still.

        When every country on Earth has reduced their physical bank presence to a tiny handful for rich people, Switzerland will still have lots of physical banks. It's part of their national identity.

    • Re:Funny (Score:4, Informative)

      by coofercat ( 719737 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @08:53AM (#60598172) Homepage Journal

      Indeed - the first UK bank with no physical branches at all was Smile (via the Co-Op): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] - October 1999.

      If "digital banking" is a wave of any sort, it's the sort you do to old people when you leave them at the nursing home. These days we're all about "open" banking with it all being done via APIs. Something Singapore has had for a while...

      It's amazing what the "invisible hand" of a regulator can do for a buttoned up industry ;-)

    • This. I worked on banking systems in the 90s and 00s.

      Before the internet came along, costs were $20/transaction. The same transactions online cost more like 20c/transaction.

      ALL banks have moved as many of their services online as possible as quickly as their customers could be trained into the new paradigm. The only reason they keep some branches open are for the oldies too set in their ways to change.

      As for the PoC claim - rubbish. Any bank will loan to anyone as long as they can feasibly show they
      • Re: Funny (Score:4, Informative)

        by BarbaraHudson ( 3785311 ) <barbara.jane.hudson@nospAM.icloud.com> on Monday October 12, 2020 @09:26AM (#60598292) Journal

        They're targeting black and brown folks for 2-day payday loans if they sign up for direct deposit.

        It's not a bank - it's a loan sparking operation targeting non-whites. Everything else is window dressing.

        They're also taking a cut of the fees they charge for using the services of their partners - ATMs, etc.

        It's a scam. They're not a bank.

        • Re: Funny (Score:4, Interesting)

          by niftydude ( 1745144 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @09:46AM (#60598380)
          That makes more sense given its being founded by a rapper named Killer Mike.

          The real question then becomes why is slashdot promoting it?
        • by clovis ( 4684 )

          They're targeting black and brown folks for 2-day payday loans if they sign up for direct deposit.

          Pretty sure you're wrong about that. Other places that offer the two day early pay are simply waiving the two day hold that banks usually place on deposits in the case of a paycheck direct deposit. This is probably what Greenwood is doing as well.

          • by ncc74656 ( 45571 ) *

            Other places that offer the two day early pay are simply waiving the two day hold that banks usually place on deposits in the case of a paycheck direct deposit.

            What banks do that? I've never run across one that did. When my paycheck posts in the early morning, it's available right away. (Not that it matters as much now that I'm putting purchases on a credit card for the points that gets paid off monthly, and bill payments are stretched out as long as possible to maximize interest earned on my deposits.

            • No, we're not talking about people getting paid two days after their pay day, this is about (some) (non)banks posting funds when they get the electronic file with your transaction in it a few days before your actual pay date.

              If you get paid on your pay day, that means the bank sat on your money a couple days while it was pending. There's nothing wrong with that, posting early comes with risks to the bank.

              • There is no 2-day hold on direct deposit. And the article is clear - a 2-day advance on your next payday if you use direct deposit. But of course there will be fees. And an effective annual interest rate of several 100 percent when you roll the loan over week after week, because the fees, not the interest, are where the money is.
                • There is no 2-day hold on direct deposit.

                  The "hold" is the ACH file typically arrives at your bank two days before the transaction date. Some banks will credit your account at that point, others will wait until the transaction date.

                  If you think this is a loan, you're wrong.

                  If you think the article says this a loan, quote it.

                • There is no 2-day hold on direct deposit. And the article is clear - a 2-day advance on your next payday if you use direct deposit. But of course there will be fees. And an effective annual interest rate of several 100 percent when you roll the loan over week after week, because the fees, not the interest, are where the money is.

                  You're describing payday loans, those are pretty bad, yes. The two day thing is different, the way it would probably be implemented is all account holders with direct deposit just get it automatically, I mean that's what their competitors are doing. It could always be done differently, they could charge a fee to enable it probably, but when competitors advertise "get paid up to two days early*", for free, and they do, and it's simply posting funds when the ACH arrives, it would be hard to charge for that

            • by mosch ( 204 )

              If you get paid on the 30th, your deposit was typically funded 2 business days prior, and your bank only told you on the morning of the 30th.

              It sounds like Greenwood is doing what USAA and some other customer-friendly banks do: they're clearing the transaction immediately after it's funded, instead of waiting for the pay date, so customers get their money sooner with no associated fees.

              There is added evidence that this is what Greenwood is doing on the Greenwood website, where the fine print talks about the

        • They're targeting black and brown folks for 2-day payday loans if they sign up for direct deposit.
          It's not a bank - it's a loan sparking operation targeting non-whites. Everything else is window dressing.

          This is disingenuous. Early direct deposit pay is a service offered by many financial institutions, there is no interest, it's not a loan. The way it works is the ACH file with your direct deposit comes to your bank a few days earlier than the transaction date. There's reasons for that, but some institutions eat the risk and make funds available when they receive the ACH file instead of on the transaction date. Others, you'll probably see the deposit pending on your online statements during that period.

          • If they're calling it a payday loan and marketing it as a payday loan, it's a payday loan, with any fees they wish to charge. As Maya Angelou says, when a person shows you who they really are, believe them.

            They may be using your technique to reduce their risk, but that doesn't mean they're not going to milk it for all they can. This isn't just subprime financing - it's deep subprime financing.

            Like the credit cards that let you charge up to $300 total, 24 months to pay on purchase of $150, and a monthly

            • If they're calling it a payday loan and marketing it as a payday loan, it's a payday loan, with any fees they wish to charge.

              Except they're NOT calling it a payday loan, and they're NOT marketing it as a payday loan. Where on earth did you get the idea that their "Two-Day Early Pay" service is a payday loan? There's literally nothing in TFS/TFA or the Greenwood website [bankgreenwood.com] that supports such a conclusion.

              Online banks (like Chime) and credit unions have been offering the same "early pay with direct deposit" service for free for years now. [businessinsider.com] Yet you think a new online bank marketing itself to PoC is setting itself up to exploit its

            • but that doesn't mean they're not going to milk it for all they can. This isn't just subprime financing - it's deep subprime financing.

              Look, I can't promise they aren't going to be giant turds ten other ways, but with that specific feature at least, they have enough competitors offering it that they can't mess it up. Plus, payday lending got kind of hammered by the CFPB a little while back, it would be extremely unlikely for it to just show up in that form, if it was legal even.

              Exploiting the poor because they have no alternative. And keep them poor because you have a captive client.

              I know where you're coming from, offering for-profit services to the poor seems to inevitably screw people over, because you can always squeeze a little more blood

        • Hey, Killer Mike is black, and this is a Black bank. You aren't implying that this kind-hearted black person would prey on his own, right?

          Actually I suppose you are. Apparently well off black people are just like well off white people. Assholes.

      • Any bank will loan to anyone as long as they can feasibly show they can make repayments. Skin colour doesn't enter the equation.

        The issue might be with the way creditworthiness is assessed. For instance, some banks here seem to use zip codes as part of the equation. While that might be a good indicator for the average default rate, it has no bearing on individual cases, and would be disadvantageous to someone with a solid business case but from a bad neighborhood. And statistically speaking, this would affect black / latino loan applicants more often, even if skin color is not a factor in the loan application. So I can see the c

      • As for the PoC claim - rubbish. Any bank will loan to anyone as long as they can feasibly show they can make repayments. Skin colour doesn't enter the equation.

        You'd think so, but no.

        For example, Black and Latino borrowers are frequently given loans on worse terms than equivalent White borrowers (Same job, same credit score, etc). Which means, if the terms are bad enough, they can't get the loan.

        Kinda was a big blow-up about this when the subprime market caused the 2008 crash. As people started asking sifting through the wreckage they stumbled on questions like "Why was this borrower pushed into a subprime loan?", and the results weren't colorblind.

    • This time it's different - it's not just blackaploitation - they're going after Latino as well.

      2-day paycheque advances for black and brown people who sign up for direct deposit of their paycheque - They're just another predatory subprime loan shark.

    • Indeed. A certain High Street bank (may well be all of them) has more customers accessing the services by phone app than branches, PC banking and telephone banking combined. It's been that way for some time.
    • I've had exclusively online banking for the last 20 years. I find it strange when I hear banks advertising things that have been well established for a decade.
      • They have that covered - a payday loan and you have to have your pay on direct deposit. They take your money directly out of your account as soon as it's deposited, along with the loan arrangement fee, so now you need another payday loan.

        It's a trap. And these guys are scum.

    • The last time I needed to go into a bank was when I had lost my wallet. (It was lost not "stolen", as I had found my wallet a few months later in my house, as it seemed my cats liked the leather, and decided to bring it to them to them under and in the middle of the King size bed) However while awaiting for my cards to be replaced, I needed some cash to operate. So I went to the bank with my Passport as my drivers license was in my wallet too. To actually get some cash out of my checking account. Then to

    • by hondo77 ( 324058 )
      Yeah, even in the US. I was an E*Trade customer twenty years ago, back before they had any branches. They were far ahead of the competition back then, as far as online services go. They even started adding services like their own mutual funds with lower fees. Then they went into a decline (dumped the mutual funds) and the competition caught up. I left E*Trade ten years ago and haven't missed them at all.
    • As an American, I wholly agree that this summary feels like it just popped out of a time capsule that's been buried since the '90s. Perhaps someone should check to see if these people are aware of "online encyclopedias" or that video streaming is a thing? Because I have a feeling that Wikipedia and Netflix would blow their mind.

      For instance, take a look at the 100 largest banks in the US by assets held [wikipedia.org] and you'll find several that have been online-only from their inception (e.g. Ally, Synchrony), as well as

    • American here. Have been digitally banking since the late 90s. I don't think I've been inside a bank branch in the last 20 years aside from setting up a new account or using the lobby ATM. I can't even remember when I last stood in line at the teller counter, and have no idea why anyone does this anymore.

  • by Your Father ( 6755166 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @07:42AM (#60598036)
    I definitely want my financial institution run by a rapper activist named Killer Mike. This will be the best financial decision I have ever made!
    • Re:Sounds great! (Score:4, Interesting)

      by ComputerGeek01 ( 1182793 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @09:31AM (#60598316)

      The people that this business is targeting are borderline vulnerable persons. I promise you that any ads they put out, are going to glamorise recording studios or hair and nail salons. They're product isn't bank loans, it's the idea that you can get rich by working 4-6 hours a week recording tracks on your 7 year old Mac Book and pirated copy of Avid Pro while half stoned off your ass.

      That absolute audacity of pointing out the Velocity of Money theory in an article about a virtual bank is the closest thing to middle finger in an ad that I have seen in my life. I feel we all should buy Mr Alcorn a beer. He was clearly told to write a promoted article that he wanted nothing to do with and got his shot in. Well played Sir.

      • it's the idea that you can get rich by working 4-6 hours a week recording tracks on your 7 year old Mac Book and pirated copy of Avid Pro while half stoned off your ass.

        Well to be fair most rappers only pretend to be rich. Like you can own 7 cars including a Rolls but still somehow be $35million poorer than I am. Such is the life of rapper fame.

    • Would you rather have your Financial Institution run by a Classical Violinist who calls himself Lord Olgerthorp.

      Most of the banker's you deal with, Are being paid low salary jobs, who may have basic education. Don't let the fact that they are wearing nice suits fool you.
      I am more concerned about someone's ability to do their job, then their choice in music, or whatever name they have, even their political stance. If they can do their job, then I am good with them.

  • by anonieuweling ( 536832 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @07:47AM (#60598046)
    Indeed. Elseewhere these services are normal.
    • by Ghostworks ( 991012 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @08:41AM (#60598144)

      They're normal in the US, too. (This whole article has a "one word: _plastics_" feel to it.) The novel angle is that there's a bank (and lets be honest, one of several) that now feels no obligation to have an open building anywhere. As you say, everything is all online anyway. I guess that makes this a "sign of the times" piece more than anything.

      The Black/Latino angle is novel to me, but only because there's nothing that's prevented them from using any other bank in America. Also, it serves as a good opportunity to remind people that the only people to write "latinx" are white people too nervous about using the correct Latino/Latina properly -- hint: unless it's exclusively women, you want "Latino" -- and yet don't know that the English word "Latin" is the un-gendered adjective they're looking for.

      • The introduction of the word Latinx has nothing to do with fear of misusing the gender form, as you pointed out it takes 5 mins to learn context in this case. It's a direct attack on the Latin Male Machismo culture where Women are still considered docile and subservient to Men. Language shapes thought, if they control of your language...

        • by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 12, 2020 @09:46AM (#60598384)

          Yet a bunch of English speakers feel like they have the right to tell Spanish speakers how to speak their language.

          What next, you're going to tell Spanish speakers they're not allowed to use the word negro for the color black anymore?

          • by eepok ( 545733 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @10:28AM (#60598544) Homepage

            Actually, yes. I've seen people get angry at the used of the Spanish word negro (which literally means "black"). I've seen people get angry at a professor for the use of a Chinese word (nei ge) which is the equivalent of "ummmm" because it sounds similar to the N-word. (https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/10/us/usc-chinese-professor-racism-intl-hnk-scli/index.html)

            As a Mexican-American, I hate the use of "Latinx". "Latino" is the gender neutral term for a person from Latin America. It is used when speaking of someone of unknown gender, a group of people of mixed gender, or of a man. Latina is gender-specific and describes a known woman or group of women.

            If you're curious, there is still a very small movement of people who speak Spanish that want to create a gender-neutral ending to "Latino/a"-- "Latine". I'd be OK with that because it's actually pronounceable in the Spanish language. How in the world are we supposed to pronounce "Latinx"? Lah-teenks? Latin-ehks?

            It's annoying. Just as annoying as being referred to as a "person of color". I spent my whole childhood learning to be OK with being "Mexican-American" in Southern California where, when I was younger, everyone with a Mexican accent was assumed to be an illegal immigrant. I get to college and it was "Oh, you're Mexican? Cool". (Finally!!)

            2010 rolls around and I get told that I'm a "POC".

            "What in the world is POC?"
            "A person of color..."
            "What? I'm brown but my skin color doesn't define me nor has it defined my life experience-- that's primarily been my language, income, and education."

            The cognitive dissonance of the term... Person of Color how is that not the same as "Colored Person"-- a pretty offensive term?

            • by Shotgun ( 30919 )

              Do like I do. Let them know, in no uncertain terms, that you're "fucking American". Period. End of discussion.

        • LOL, we must know different latin people. The mexican women I know and work with aren't some docile and subservient creatures. That's rich. The mexican men I know actually treat their women very well.

          Everyone has to work. I guess I just know middle class mexicans. They all work normal jobs and have the same struggles.

          Maybe stop being so racist to think that all brown people are the same.

          • Duh, Mexico gonna be representative of an entire continent cuz a da loud Mexican lady I does know.

            Now who's being racist? If you don't think they're sweet and docile toward their husbands then try dating one. It'll blow your "Loud mouthed Mexican from the projects" stereotype that you learned from watching too much TV right out of the water. But they sure as hell aren't going to put up with this Soy infused effeminate male culture that is running rampant through the US these days. Men are expected to act a certain way and to make the right decisions when the answer isn't obvious. It's not a power trip,

            • Wouldn't that be cultural bias and not racial? I mean, most every person south of the border has a percentage of "white" and a percentage of "mongoloid" in them. Mexican isn't a race after all and neither are indigenous persons.

      • There may not being anything stopping them, however banks with armed security guards who will often keep a tighter eye on minorities, doesn't quite make the bank feel like a welcoming place to be either.
        Especially if you have problem that you are angry about and want corrected. A white guy can come in and yell at people and be very rude, while the manager and the reps will just take it. In many cases if a minority were to do the same thing, the security guard would come up and take them away.
        Also branches

        • If you are yelling at the banking staff you are already being a piece of shit. Try being an adult and using your indoor voice. The poor cash handler probably doesn't even make as much as you do.

      • The Black/Latino angle is novel to me, but only because there's nothing that's prevented them from using any other bank in America

        Yeah, 'bout that....

        Blacks and Latinos are frequently offered worse terms for the same loans from banks. There was a bit of a blowup after the 2008 crash where people started asking "Why was this borrower given a subprime loan" and it turned out skin color was the only difference (same jobs, same credit scores, etc).

        Also, it has been common for banks to refuse to build branches in certain areas, and then require things like coming in person to open an account. As well as issues treating their darker-skinn [washingtonpost.com]

  • by Vandil X ( 636030 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @07:49AM (#60598056)
    In the last 18 months, I've been to a physical bank branch 3 times. Once to sit down with a banker and negotiate an auto loan. Second to close on the auto loan. Third, to deposit cash I received.

    Otherwise, I've deposit all checks using Mobile Deposit and withdrew cash from ATMs.

    I'm glad there is a physical place I can go to when I need a human interaction, but the actual day-to-day is done with their app/website.
  • the transition in the US is already to far along for anything else to happen. Heck I have business accounts at US Bank and the entire banking experience at the drive thru lanes is just so ungodly awful and the bank itself is not open.
    Hell I would switch if anything were different at any other bank. But the pandemic has given the banks the chance to pull the plug on real branches, good service and to implement a huge reduction of actual employees.
    Banks will soon be just the Executive suite, Government Com
    • US Bank is one that has been known to hold deposits but clear withdrawals right away. I have all that same online stuff with a credit union, plus they're not sleazy AF.

  • Tangerine has been doing this in Canada for years - only a couple of physical locations in large cities (and really all they have is a human that lends you an iPad for you to sign up online, then verifies your documents directly - slightly faster than mailing proof of identity). Itâ(TM)s such a great idea that they were bought by Scotiabank a few years back.

  • Online banking. Wow genius ideaÂÂÂÂ
  • Next question
    • by Merk42 ( 1906718 )
      And it's only "No" because it's not the wave of the future. It has already existed for decades.
  • ...slashvertisement?
  • I invoke Betteridge's law of headlines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
  • Prediction (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Too Late for Cool ID ( 1794870 ) on Monday October 12, 2020 @09:30AM (#60598310)
    I predict in a few months we'll be reading about how Greenwood Bank discovers that high-risk loans rejected by other banks was not a good business model.
  • Venture capital, “ .com” businesses, online brokers and innovative credit unions have left banks their WallSt addresses, bricks and mortar bragging rights in favor of services online.

    Banks, banking and the financial system fundamentally turned their attention to paper dollar currency as digital found it footing online, digital privacy and digital service formats that people actually want to use.

    I don’t know which is the greater threat to the American economy banks or crypto-currency. Credi

    • by jtgreg ( 786548 )
      I regularly utilize online banking and e-payments, but do not want to abandon physical currency.

      In a cashless, future pandemic, I fear some governments might go this route: "to enforce social distancing mandates, your payment card will only be active at Amazon a designated Walmart" or "Your job is non-essential, and your account will not be allowed to accept payments until further notice".
    • Unless you plan on handling money then picking your nose, it's safe. You ARE washing your hands, right?
  • Here in the US there still are a large number of branches for the major banks.

    I too have only been to a bank a couple of times: to open and close an account.

    The US still has some prickly regulation behind verifying an account holder is who they say they are as a protection against fraud and money laundering schemes. I believe, although I don't know, that if a bank allows for that kind of activity they will actually pay a penalty, not just the criminal doing the crime.

    Things are getting better, hence we now

    • by DERoss ( 1919496 )

      Yes, safe deposit boxes are a very real reason why I use a "bricks and mortar" bank.

      Last week, my wife and I went into the office of a "bricks and mortar" credit union, where we also have an account. We only had a savings account and a home-equity line-of-credit there. We added a checking account, a credit card, and a debit card. We got the debit card immediately while sitting there, but only after we had signed the various agreements and new signature cards.

      Why did we add accounts at the credit union?

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • by Bert64 ( 520050 )

      Exactly this...
      There are plenty of poor whites out there, instead of making this about race make it about actually helping those who might need it.

      • I can tell that you need some more woke-ness. You must understand that all white people are 'privileged' and are all wealthy and well off. Only those with dark skin are poor and oppressed. Please proceed to the nearest BLM re-education center immediately.
  • A bank with no physical branches works for a lot of things, but there are circumstances where some physical point of contact is needed.

    Example: Account holder dies. Bank needs certified death certificate to allow release of funds to estate, and ID to prove that the presenter is legally authorized to receive the funds. Hard to do if there is no place to take it to.

    Example: Depositing cash. https://xkcd.com/2335/ [xkcd.com]

    Example: Stolen identity. The need to present photo ID to reclaim your account is a problem with n

    • by Bert64 ( 520050 )

      Example: Account holder dies. Bank needs certified death certificate to allow release of funds to estate, and ID to prove that the presenter is legally authorized to receive the funds. Hard to do if there is no place to take it to

      In most cases, death records are a matter of public record. The bank can (and should) verify your claims as paper documents are trivially forged in any case.

      Example: Depositing cash. https://xkcd.com/2335/ [xkcd.com] [xkcd.com]

      There doesn't need to be branches of every bank, there are third party services which will transfer cash to your account when you deposit. Some supermarkets offer this service etc.

      • by DERoss ( 1919496 )

        Third-party services for transferring cash to a bank account generally charge a fee. I can go into my "bricks and mortar" bank and make the deposit without a fee.

        • by Bert64 ( 520050 )

          Depends...
          In the UK, there is the post office which will do this without a fee, other countries have similar facilities. It makes more sense to have such a service rather than each bank trying to operate their own branches everywhere, more efficient.

          Then again, how often do you actually need to deposit cash?
          If you're a business, then banks will usually charge a fee which is part of the cost of doing business if you want to operate with cash.

          As an individual, i don't think i've had any reason to deposit cash

  • I guess if your business is openly racist AND it is racist for your race, there is nothing to see. move along.
  • I'm not in the USA. I love my bank branch. I go in routinely to re-negotiate loans and mortgages, and to generally keep in touch with branch managers with the capacity to resolve any future identity theft in seconds -- yes, that's him, I've seen him countless times for decades.

    But actual banking? Five clicks from my secure desk at home. Send money to anyone by e-mail in seconds. Pay bills directly in seconds. Pay down the mortgage whenever I want. Borrow more money from my line of credit on a whim, wit

    • by ncc74656 ( 45571 ) *

      It made 2020 easy -- "free" government money in seconds

      FTFY with the quotes around "free." You're paying for it, one way or another.

      • Actually, you are sorely mistaken. My country had already saved the money in generations past. This money was from the war-chest.

        So, certainly, we'll be refilling the war-chest going forward, but that's new money, and technically optional, and may not be within my life-time. This money, was saved, and hence is free -- because it's literally being freed from the chest.

        All of that said, as an entrepreneur, and a homeowner, I'm insulated from a lot of country-level taxes. For my household specifically, the

  • I refuse to use plastic everywhere, have everything I buy and do logged and analyzed. Fuck off, leave cash alone.
    • by ledow ( 319597 )

      Pro tip: Absolutely nobody cares what you're doing with your money unless it involves them personally.

      And all you're really doing is only allowing 90% of everything you buy and do be logged and analysed. Unless somehow you're living off-grid in some tiny tin-pot town and aren't on the Internet.

      • Keep on believing that, you'll be happier -- right up until you're blindsided. No one passes up an opportunity to collect data on people. Facebook and other so-called 'social media' should have taught you that by now -- or are you in denial about that?
        • by ledow ( 319597 )

          And Facebook has never seen a penny of my money.

          And, as stated, they already have 90% of your public data even if you've never been on Facebook anyway. Literally. Google. Any number of providers have that info. Payment processors. Everyone. The same as you claim happens, no matter what.

          If you're using the Internet, you're tracked. Unless you have DNSCrypt, a proxied browser, privacy-respecting browser sessions, a VPN and the same on your mobile phone. And even then, those items are tracked enough fo

          • You people who say "your privacy doesn't exist anymore, JUST GIVE UP" get only one response from me: FUCK YOU. There's plenty of ways I keep governments and corporations out of my ass and I say you're full of shit if you believe ALL privacy is dead. Also I think you're a coward for not even trying.
            • by ledow ( 319597 )

              Which bit of the above acronyms and IT products make you think that I've given up?

              My privacy is far greater than yours, by a simple precept of data protection. But if you want to use an Internet service, you are giving up data to your ISP in the first instance. If you are using a Microsoft computer to do that, you're giving it up to Microsoft too. If you're using a browser, to that company too. If you're using a VPN product, to them as well. If you're using a particular website, to them and all their s

  • I've been using online banking for close to a decade now, in the US. It's great. I've not run into any issues, probably because like most of my cohort, I don't have a lot of savings, so I'm not making large purchases. The biggest inconvenience I faced was when buying a used car, paid for in cash. I simply went to a bank in town and got a cash advance. It really wasn't an inconvenience at all.

  • Greenwood was created by Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover and his close friend, rapper-activist Michael "Killer Mike" Render.

    Yes, this sounds like two guys I would want to trust my savings with...

  • by hoofie ( 201045 )

    A cheque ? - haven't written one in 16 years
    Paycheque ? Nope, haven't seen one of those in well over 25 years - I've always been paid by electronic deposit for multiple decades.
    Branch ? Rarely if ever use one - last time was at least 2 years ago
    Want to send money overseas ? Bank website can do that
    Want to pay a bill ? Online or bank website

    Here in Australia all banking is electronic now plus it's rare to find a shop that doesn't have an EFTPOS machine especially after COVID. All Government payments etc are

  • by ledow ( 319597 )

    So it's like Monzo then?

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