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0 pointsjgeada5y ago0 comments

It is the bank's job to be doing due diligence and validating identities and authentication and authorizations(1), that is why they charge us for the privilege of keeping our money. They just figured it is cheaper to skip that validation and attempt to extort you for their losses caused by their incompetence.

In the US banks have managed to pass laws so they're entitled only to upsides of risk taking but pass on all downsides to customers and the public.

(1) standard security protocol stuff: - identity: I am person X

- authentication: I prove that the person claiming to be X is actually X (in the US, this step is almost always skipped because, hey, they lobby government and you don't)

- authorization: the person that has been confirmed to be X has permissions to do the task they're attempting to do

0 pointsjgeada5y ago0 comments

In the US banks have managed to pass laws so they're entitled only to upsides of risk taking but pass on all downsides to customers and the public.

(1) standard security protocol stuff: - identity: I am person X

- authentication: I prove that the person claiming to be X is actually X (in the US, this step is almost always skipped because, hey, they lobby government and you don't)

- authorization: the person that has been confirmed to be X has permissions to do the task they're attempting to do

0 comments

4 comments · 1 top-level

kwhitefoot5y ago· 3 in thread

No bank has ever charged me to hold my money. I'm 64 and lived the first half of my life in England and since then in Norway.

The only charges I have ever paid were for borrowing money.

Is it that the UK and Norway are unusual in not charging or is it the US that is unusual in charging?

franga20005y ago

I can add 3 EU countries I'm familiar with to the list of places where banks charge a fee for running an account. It's usually pretty low and waived for many groups (students, elderly, unemployed...), but still there. A non-trivial amout of course also comes from various service fees like ATM withdrawals, e-banking, various reports, etc., which is where I assume your bank makes its money.

kwhitefoot5y ago

My banks don't charge for any of those things either (Santander in the UK, SBanken in Norway). Santander does charge for unexpectedly going into the red I believe but SBanken just charges you interest on overdrafts up to 5000 NOK/ 500 EU). SBanken also makes a little money managing the little I have invested in funds.

Santander is making money out of me because I am resident in Norway it doesn't pay interest unless you are resident in the UK

jgeadaOP5y ago

Most banks in the US either charge a fee, or waive it if you have enough money in your account(s). That too is a fee, as the interest they pay on your money is many basis points lower than the interest they charge for lending your money to someone else.

In my opinion, anybody that thinks they have a bank account "for free" doesn't know how to read financial statements. Banks are not charities.

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