Submitted by asteriskspace t3_103773s in nottheonion
NotBettyGrable t1_j2zk95k wrote
Reply to comment by vrenak in Danish bank workers celebrate first full year without robberies by asteriskspace
Canada has joined the conversation. It's pretty unfortunate for remote communities here. It can be very far to the next town. All these branch closure decision coming to you from people in Toronto who have never been anywhere else in Canada.
MatthewBakke t1_j2zmh2h wrote
This is surprising to me. In the southern US I sometimes feel the only thing being built is an army of banks.
thcidiot t1_j2zv4vi wrote
Back in 2006-2007 it seemed like a new one was popping up on every corner. Wonder what happened to cause them to start closing?
FanClubof5 t1_j2zzcaq wrote
A big financial crisis that caused a number of banks to go under and new regulations for those that didn't.
thcidiot t1_j2zzh4y wrote
I was trying to be tongue in cheek, but it clearly didn't come across that way
cgknight1 t1_j316ozu wrote
Americans seems highly resistant to the cashless society and also the country lacks the types of banking regulations you see elsewhere that have enabled the transition (for example - card fees are capped at 0.5% in the EU for businesses) so that does not surprise me. Another example is that in most places in europe, cashapps are not a thing because transfers between banks are free, instant and safe.
jamar030303 t1_j32uzni wrote
>Another example is that in most places in europe, cashapps are not a thing because transfers between banks are free, instant and safe.
Two other factors:
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In the US, having someone's bank routing and account number is enough to initiate a withdrawal from their account. You can't do that with just an IBAN in SEPA countries.
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SEPA bank transfers still require you to know someone's legal name. One thing some people like about "cashapps" is that you don't need to give the sender your legal name.
MatthewBakke t1_j37trbt wrote
I’m familiar with this difference from friends overseas. They think it’s weird to use a third party non-bank, I think it’s weird people have their identity and the bank can see all transactions.
Ncsu_Wolfpack86 t1_j3e6z9w wrote
This is true but Denmark also has a very common cash transfer app. You can also pay in a decent percentage of stores with it, too.
[deleted] t1_j3g1u2l wrote
[deleted]
NotBettyGrable t1_j3244gr wrote
We only have a few banks in Canada and they are billion dollar a quarter behemoths with no real competition, much like our media companies. They have gala dinners with all the important political people so I don't think that is going to change anytime soon. There are credit unions as an alternative but there are trade offs to using them, for the average person it probably has more to do with the marketing reach of the big banks, to be honest.
The crazy thing is, they want to close branches but still want you to come in for high touch service so they can try to sell you stuff. Like I was trying to transfer money in from another bank and they wanted me to come in to discuss. They have two different agendas that conflict at the moment.
geeneepeegs t1_j2zsb3f wrote
Ah, same problems in Australia; we’ve had plenty of closures in my town which only means I have to drive an extra ten minutes, but it’s very devastating for those living out in the bush.
NotBettyGrable t1_j32491o wrote
Yep I grew up in the Canadian bush, the bank I opened an account with 30 years or more ago was moved to a city bank.
Edit: 40 minutes away.
vrenak t1_j315w9v wrote
When our post offices began closing years ago, they started, especially in smaller villages to have the local grocery store have a limited hours service desk for postal services, maybe they should look into that kind of deal, especially for a country like Canada, the more remote areas could be hours away, or completely inaccessible for the elderly, even just a few hours a couple of days could mean the world.
NotBettyGrable t1_j32665a wrote
Postal banking would be great for the average Canadian but it costs a lot of money to run a political party and the fancy people who own everything and the ones who run for office go to the same gala dinners.
That may sound like conspiracy but it's just the gross way major companies operate in Canada. We pay crazy high phone bills and bank fees and internet. We have a few major companies selling each of those and their markets are protected.
We have a few major grocery stores. They apparently fixed the price of bread for 14-16 years. So far the biggest consequence has been a $25 gift certificate from one of the companies involved. I think you have to give up your right to sue, though.
Anyways, in my opinion we support these totally not capitalist entities with protection legislation and we don't really help smaller companies trying to innovate in actual competitive environments. It is perverse.
vrenak t1_j32acf3 wrote
Maybe smaller canadian communities should look into banding together to set up some form of service company, not to make a profit, just owned by hundreds of little towns and villages, pay into it by the head, own it by the head, and then just let them provide internet, tv, phone, banking services, etc. At just enough above cost to save up for future investments, and just price the competition out of the market they don't want to serve anyways. And locals can vote on how much they want to subsidise themselves to get better service.
NotBettyGrable t1_j32bbwe wrote
Well we have credit unions which fit the bill. I'm not sure why they aren't more popular. Advertising spaces in Canada, of all sorts, are just plastered with the big banks. Free iPad if you open an account type of things. I suspect it works, but am not sure.
jamar030303 t1_j32u3g3 wrote
The other thing the big banks have going for them is Visa/MasterCard on debit. Credit unions generally don't offer that; your debit card will typically be Interac only, which means it's only good for shopping at physical stores in Canada and the US.
NotBettyGrable t1_j32ykhv wrote
Is there a Reddit way of expressing "sad horn"?
[deleted] t1_j2zphve wrote
What? This isn’t true
I visited a remote village in the arctic circle in the Yukon and they had 4 businesses… two of them were banks
NotBettyGrable t1_j30qrsx wrote
[It had been happening continuously for years] (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/scotiabank-to-close-rural-branches-1.6315342).
No one said they were all gone. Just they continuously close rural branches. It's not hard to guess why, but it is dreadful for some.
[deleted] t1_j31zw72 wrote
You linked an article where one of the many banks in Canada closed 3 branches…
Oh the humanity
NotBettyGrable t1_j322x5y wrote
You mentioned one remote village.
Oh look the only bank on an island closing.
Do you work for a bank?
[deleted] t1_j3243re wrote
No I just don’t think it’s that big of a deal that one or two branches close in each province when you have 6 chartered banks and dozens of credit unions and nobody banks in person anyways
NotBettyGrable t1_j3269th wrote
All the seniors I know bank almost exclusively in person.
Also your "one or two branches" in each province assertion is demonstrably false. If you aren't from rural Canada you might not be aware that you don't have 6 different banks and a credit union in town. Many towns have one bank. Despite totally capturing the banking for that area, the customer loyalty is zero.
jamar030303 t1_j32v3j3 wrote
>and nobody banks in person anyways
Until ATMs start dispensing and accepting coins, I'll still have to.
[deleted] t1_j330rum wrote
Okay well not everyone goes to a laundromat
jamar030303 t1_j36s9ya wrote
And you said "nobody" in your earlier comment, which is pretty absolute. Also there are other places that deal in coins- arcades, for starters. Anywhere that deals in cash and doesn't price things in exact multiples of 5 dollars, for another.
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