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This is a pretty bizarre and unique situation amongst Western nations.

1123581321 11y ago
It's actually not. The US and the UK have the same percentage of adults using financial services (91%.) France, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, etc. have a higher percentage; others have lower such as Norway and Portugal (and Switzerland!.) The average for the US and Europe is 92%. http://mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Economic-Development/Half_the_world_is_unbanked.pdf http://mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Economic-Deve...
- mrsuprawsm 11y ago
  In the UK we're phasing out cheques within 2 years. They're incredibly uncommon and used by pretty much nobody. The majority of, if not all, government benefits are paid directly to a bank account. It is essentially impossible to live as a functioning adult without a bank account in 2016 in the UK.
  - 1123581321 11y ago
    Not true - there is an initiative in the UK started years ago to phase out checks, but it faced a lot of backlash and delays and is not anywhere on schedule. Checks are uncommon in the US as well, by the way, but you can see from the statistics I linked that cash and checks are still used in both countries.
caminante 11y ago
Not sure where you live, but how easy is it to cash checks at banks with whom you don't have an account? Apparently, check cashing outlets (CCO) handle substantial volume in the US and business is booming: "Cashing a paycheck at a [check cashing outlet] gives customers access to their money the same day. [Alternatively,] Banks limit access to $200 or so and can hold the money for up to five days. Further, low-income and low-balance customers get frustrated with a bank’s fees eating away at what little is in their accounts or sending their balances more into the red with low-balance and/or overdraft fees" [1] [1]http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2015/0115barr-figart.html http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2015/0115barr-figart.htm...
- mrsuprawsm 11y ago
  I'm originally from the UK, and the idea of using a cheque for anything at all is hilariously outdated. I've never written a cheque in my life. We're phasing them out by 2018, apparently. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8414341.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8414341.stm I think I've only ever received cheques twice, both times were gifts at birthdays from grandparents (80+ years old).
ghaff 11y ago
About 8% of US households don't have a bank account. [1] The number seems to be slightly lower in the UK. I believe in some Western European countries it's required to receive government payments so the unbaked rate is lower in those cases. But the US isn't especially unique. [1] https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/ https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/

It's actually not. The US and the UK have the same percentage of adults using financial services (91%.) France, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, etc. have a higher percentage; others have lower such as Norway and Portugal (and Switzerland!.) The average for the US and Europe is 92%. http://mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Economic-Development/Half_the_world_is_unbanked.pdf http://mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Economic-Deve...

mrsuprawsm 11y ago
In the UK we're phasing out cheques within 2 years. They're incredibly uncommon and used by pretty much nobody. The majority of, if not all, government benefits are paid directly to a bank account. It is essentially impossible to live as a functioning adult without a bank account in 2016 in the UK.
- 1123581321 11y ago
  Not true - there is an initiative in the UK started years ago to phase out checks, but it faced a lot of backlash and delays and is not anywhere on schedule. Checks are uncommon in the US as well, by the way, but you can see from the statistics I linked that cash and checks are still used in both countries.

caminante 11y ago

Not sure where you live, but how easy is it to cash checks at banks with whom you don't have an account? Apparently, check cashing outlets (CCO) handle substantial volume in the US and business is booming: "Cashing a paycheck at a [check cashing outlet] gives customers access to their money the same day. [Alternatively,] Banks limit access to $200 or so and can hold the money for up to five days. Further, low-income and low-balance customers get frustrated with a bank’s fees eating away at what little is in their accounts or sending their balances more into the red with low-balance and/or overdraft fees" [1] [1]http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2015/0115barr-figart.html http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2015/0115barr-figart.htm...

mrsuprawsm 11y ago
I'm originally from the UK, and the idea of using a cheque for anything at all is hilariously outdated. I've never written a cheque in my life. We're phasing them out by 2018, apparently. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8414341.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8414341.stm I think I've only ever received cheques twice, both times were gifts at birthdays from grandparents (80+ years old).

ghaff 11y ago

About 8% of US households don't have a bank account. [1] The number seems to be slightly lower in the UK. I believe in some Western European countries it's required to receive government payments so the unbaked rate is lower in those cases. But the US isn't especially unique. [1] https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/ https://www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/