It always was a very simple way to handle remittances for European migrants, and to get travel money for everyone else. Some people then got carried away, probably because their PR was always pretty good.

I had to warn a friend of mine who kept 5-digit savings in there. He didn't know about the lack of banking license (and this was even before they got the Lithuanian one) and was pretty shocked.

> I really don’t understand why so many people in the UK use it as the deposits are not FSCS protected so if something goes wrong you’re fuck out of luck.

I wonder if this is the kind of lesson that needs to be re-learned every few generations?