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vrenak t1_j315w9v wrote

Reply to comment by NotBettyGrable in Danish bank workers celebrate first full year without robberies by asteriskspace

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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