Vindication!
So, you know how I'm always bitching about my crap bank account that doesn't do anything. It turns out that it is now official! The BBC reports that the kind of bank account I have actually does no good for anyone. There was a report on the Today Programme on Radio 4 this morning about this. Why I wasn't interviewed remains a mystery.
There's still one thing though. I really do understand why poor people can't have credit. But the news story never explains the big question: what in the world does having a check book and a debit card have to do with credit? It seems to me that these are simply matters of convenience, and that withholding them from poor people is simply, well, punitive. Punishing them for being poor. Maybe I'm missing something...
There's still one thing though. I really do understand why poor people can't have credit. But the news story never explains the big question: what in the world does having a check book and a debit card have to do with credit? It seems to me that these are simply matters of convenience, and that withholding them from poor people is simply, well, punitive. Punishing them for being poor. Maybe I'm missing something...
posted by Grrg at 3:39 PM
2 Comments:
Well, because banks aren't non-profit charities and probably lose money (or at least don't make as much as they'd like) on low-balance accounts. Not that this means it's fair.
Yeah but no but yeah but... I already HAVE a low-balance account.Why is an account in which you can only get your money out of an ATM any less profitable to them than one with a debit card? The infrastructure for processing checks and debit card transactions is already in place. How would it cost them anything to provide these services to me? Will they have to hire more staff? Debit card transactions don't require staff. I suppose there is the cost of the plastic in the cards themselves. In my mind, the mystery remains...
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