Between 2008 and 2013, some 2,000 bank branches were shut down in the United States. Ninety-three percent of those were in lower-income communities. Without normal banks, these communities have been at the mercy of check cashers and payday lenders, who charge rates and fees far higher than any normal institution. The result is a pred ...[text shortened]... order to pay your bills.
Oh jeez then maybe people should get a bank account instead of using check cashing services .
If they are too stoopit to go to a bank they won't go to a post office either.
Originally posted by FishHead111 Oh jeez then maybe people should get a bank account instead of using check cashing services .
If they are too stoopit to go to a bank they won't go to a post office either.
Speaking of "too stoopit" .......................................
What part of 2,000 local bank branches have closed did you miss? There's quite likely no convenient bank to go to in a low income area while there's always a post office.
Plus some banks discourage small saving accounts with minimum balance or high monthly fees.
Additionally, you don't address the payday loan problem.
Originally posted by FishHead111 How much better can it get?
My God how much easier does it have to be to make you happy?
Should we have banks on every corner or at every mailbox?
The people who don't use banks or internet service won't use them at a post office either, so the suggestion is a childish "wahhh wahhh people aren't being baby-sitted and catered to enough" complaint.
...[text shortened]... ter like in Nigeria where the post office 10 miles down the dirt road is a bank too derhhhhhhh."
How much better can it get? Well, I tried to look up figures for the amount of people NOT having access to proper banking services (account, ATM card, internet banking) in the Netherlands but couldn't even find any figures - the problem is so rare that it is confined to a few homeless people and illegals (in both categories there are also far fewer than in the US, in relative terms). So if no1's figures are correct it appears that it can get a lot better if you want to keep up with wealthier nations and set the bar a little bit higher than Nigeria - where, by the way, 90% of the population has a mobile phone and people tend to use mobile banking.
Originally posted by KazetNagorra How much better can it get? Well, I tried to look up figures for the amount of people NOT having access to proper banking services (account, ATM card, internet banking) in the Netherlands but couldn't even find any figures - the problem is so rare that it is confined to a few homeless people and illegals (in both categories there are also far fewer than ...[text shortened]... ere, by the way, 90% of the population has a mobile phone and people tend to use mobile banking.
So why don't our homeless use mobile banking since they all have free Obama phones?
Because they don't want it and don't need it..
How many Nigerians don't use banks by the way? Got some figures on that?
Originally posted by no1marauder Speaking of "too stoopit" .......................................
What part of 2,000 local bank branches have closed did you miss? There's quite likely no convenient bank to go to in a low income area while there's always a post office.
Plus some banks discourage small saving accounts with minimum balance or high monthly fees.
Additionally, you don't address the payday loan problem.
wahhhh wahhhh wahhhhh.
Typical liberal "everything is better than in America" answer. But where do you chose to live?
Originally posted by KazetNagorra wealthier nations and set the bar a little bit higher than Nigeria - where, by the way, 90% of the population has a mobile phone and people tend to use mobile banking.
haha nigerian banking is a great example of how great things are compared to the US.
https://www.orrick.com/Events-and-Publications/Pages/A-special-report-on-the-Nigerian-banking-system-The-ripple-effects-of-Lehman-A-tale-of-sin-and-redemption.aspx
Originally posted by FishHead111 haha nigerian banking is a great example of how great things are compared to the US.
https://www.orrick.com/Events-and-Publications/Pages/A-special-report-on-the-Nigerian-banking-system-The-ripple-effects-of-Lehman-A-tale-of-sin-and-redemption.aspx
Things are SO MUCH BETTER IN NIGERIA !
I never said "things are so much better in Nigeria." I said one particular thing was better in the Netherlands, and noted that people in Nigeria are unlikely to "walk ten miles down a dirt road" to do their banking. Reading isn't your strongest suit, is it? Then again, if you were good at anything you probably wouldn't blame all your failures on the optical properties of other people's skin.
Originally posted by FishHead111 We have this thing called the internet, where if I get a check in the mail or whatever .....
This ain't Asia or Africa.
Here in Africa, I haven't seen a check in over 10 years, that's an out dated concept. I also haven't been inside a bank for quite a while as I do all my banking via the internet.
Nevertheless there remain people who do not know how to use the internet. I am not sure if it is possible to be too poor to have a bank account here.
The post offices here are failing while various private delivery services are thriving. The post office is often not seen as reliable and so people are willing to pay more to a courier.
Given that a lot of shopping is moving online and the trend will continue there is big business for whoever delivers those goods. If the post office could get that business then they could survive. As it is, they need to downsize or find an alternative source of income.
I don't understand why people don't have bank accounts these days. There are many fee-free checking accounts (e.g., https://home.capitalone360.com/online-checking-account) with no minimum balance and everything can be done online except, I suppose, for depositing cash.
It would probably be better in the long run to educate people to open checking accounts than to turn post offices into check cashing centers, IMO.
If the post offices are losing money as it is, then consolidate them or make them smaller and hire fewer employees.
Listen, if the post offices can offer additional services and be revenue neutral or positive, then sure, go ahead. But if it means subsidization from the federal government, I don't really see the point.
Originally posted by sh76 I don't understand why people don't have bank accounts these days. There are many fee-free checking accounts (e.g., https://home.capitalone360.com/online-checking-account) with no minimum balance and everything can be done online except, I suppose, for depositing cash.
It would probably be better in the long run to educate people to open checking accounts th ...[text shortened]... ahead. But if it means subsidization from the federal government, I don't really see the point.
In the past, the Postal Service was taken off the Federal budget, but everytime the Postal Service ran a surplus, it was put back on budget so the Federal government could take the money to use for other things. But even then the Postal Service always had to get approval to raise the cost of postage and services. The Postal Service is also forced to serve unprofitable locations, unlike other delivery services.
Originally posted by twhitehead Here in Africa, I haven't seen a check in over 10 years, that's an out dated concept. I also haven't been inside a bank for quite a while as I do all my banking via the internet.
Nevertheless there remain people who do not know how to use the internet. I am not sure if it is possible to be too poor to have a bank account here.
Yes I'm sure things are great in South Africa or wherever you are, much more advanced than North America or Europe.
Do you have any more fairy tales for us/.
Originally posted by no1marauder Another modestly brilliant idea from Bernie Sanders:
In fact, Sanders’s idea is quite sensible. “Postal banking”—which just means that post offices run savings accounts, cash checks, and perform other basic financial services—is common in most of Asia and Europe, and only about 7 percent of the world’s national postal systems don’t offer some bank-lik ...[text shortened]... ck cashing services are presently extorting from mostly lower income individuals).
A win-win.
If you want a strong Postal Service, then a socialist government is your best bet. Bernie Sanders is definitely your man. 😏
Originally posted by sh76 I don't understand why people don't have bank accounts these days. There are many fee-free checking accounts (e.g., https://home.capitalone360.com/online-checking-account) with no minimum balance and everything can be done online except, I suppose, for depositing cash.
It would probably be better in the long run to educate people to open checking accounts th ...[text shortened]... ahead. But if it means subsidization from the federal government, I don't really see the point.
I think you see the point. It's a pretext to redistribute money.
Originally posted by quackquack I think you see the point. It's a pretext to redistribute money.
I don't see how it redistributes money. If people would open free checking accounts, all of these services would be free. the post office would presumably charge for cashing checks (though perhaps less than private check cashing businesses do). A withdrawal at a bank, on the other hand, is free and most banks have at least one free ATM in the area and many even have a limited number of reimbursed withdrawals per month. I remember going to Netbank when I was a young adult for a free checking account with no minimum balance. But now, they're everywhere.
Postal Banking
18 Jan '16 17:54
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