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> One of the problems with a cashless society is that the banks aren't required to give you a bank account. In the UK, the nine largest banks are legally requi
by JimDabell 8y ago
> One of the problems with a cashless society is that the banks aren't required to give you a bank account.
In the UK, the nine largest banks are legally required to offer basic bank accounts specifically to cater to people who cannot otherwise get a bank account.
- pjc50 8y agoHowever, this is more complicated if you're not a UK national, and if the Home Office decides you're an illegal immigrant (a process with a deliberate high false positive rate) it can get closed. https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/blog/6538/Student-banking-Do-you-really-need-a-UK-bank-account-Is-opening-one-difficult https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/blog/6538/Student-banking-Do-you-r... gives a decent overview of the process. It also mentions the unofficial national ID of the UK, household utility bills.
- frosted-flakes 8y agoI take that to mean that the UK is not switching to e-billing for utilities any time soon.
- pjc50 8y agoOh, it mostly already has. The punchline is whether a printout of a PDF of something that never had a print original counts as an "original" for ID purposes in a completely adhoc adversarial system. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270197/sup-docs-settlement.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...
- dan1234 8y agoWe’re already there; I think the only paper bill I’ve received in the last 3 years has been my council tax bill, and that’s only because I’ve never been offered an e-billing option.