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I suppose things have changed a bit since I moved to the UK, but in my experience, the US is infinitely better than than the UK is terms of banking. It was quit

I suppose things have changed a bit since I moved to the UK, but in my experience, the US is infinitely better than than the UK is terms of banking. It was quite easy to open up a business bank account in the US - took one day. Here, it is still hell to open up an initial personal bank account - passport, the residence permits, the proof of address... A few weeks at least. Once you are in the system, it does get a bit easier, but the UK system is still tied to the concept of you're associated with a specific branch at a specific location - it is like the 1950s in some ways. Larger banks are sort of more efficient, but it is not the US at all.

ChrisSD 7y ago
As a UK citizen, that last part doesn't seem true for my personal banking. Once you have an account it's very easy to open others at different banks. Just recently I opened a secondary account with an app only bank. Other finance apps can simply use the API to help you keep track of your own spending, etc. Of course immigrants may have additional hurdles with banking in the UK, I don't know.
- dfraser992 7y ago
  This was 12 years ago, so things have changed, but man... when I first got here, landlords were wanting 6 months of rent upfront. The system was obviously designed (or it just came out that way) to make it hard for immigrants to initially establish themselves. These days, it is going to get a lot worse once Brexit happens. Perhaps you misunderstood me or I wasn't clear - when I first got here, I tried to deposit a check into my account using another branch / office than the one I where I opened my account. I couldn't. It is not a matter of opening another account with _another_ bank. From the little I know of the banking system, things are or were not then, as wholly integrated as they were in the States. OTOH, the US is only now catching up to the rest of the world w/ Chip and PIN debt/credit cards....
  - foldr 7y ago
    I could certainly deposit checks in any bank branch 12 years ago in the UK. Your experience there seems weird. Even 12 years ago, no-one in the UK really used checks, so that might have something to do with it. Opening an account is indeed unnecessarily difficult for immigrants, and UK landlords can get away with anything due to an almost total absence of regulation.
  - polymatter 7y ago
    The UK system is also highly dependent on utility bills as a proof of address if you are an immigrant.
    - foldr 7y ago
      I've always been mystified by the idea that's taken hold in the UK that a utility bill is some kind of ID. As far as I can see, a modern utility bill could trivially be faked on a regular printer. (I assume that utility companies can't verify bills without violating data protection laws.)
      - sokoloff 7y ago
        It does elevate “oh, I made a mistake” to concrete fraud/forgery if there’s reason to go back and look into it.
        foldr 7y ago
        I've always wondered if it would actually constitute fraud if you made a fake utility bill with your real address on it.
        sokoloff 7y ago
        If you submitted that for reimbursement purposes, I'm sure it would. If you submitted it for proof of address purposes and you have service from that utility in your name but with different consumption values, I would think it would not. If you submitted it for proof of address purposes and you do not have service from that utility in your name, I would think it would be.
        foldr 7y ago
        Yes, I mean in the proof of address case. It seems doubtful that providing a fake document with your real address could constitute fraud, if the document was being used solely to verify your address. But perhaps there is some other criminal offense of forgery or some such that is still applicable.
  - stordoff 7y ago
    I opened my bank account 11 years ago (2008), and never had any issues doing anything I needed to do (including cheques) at another branches over 100 miles away.
    - newaccoutnas 7y ago
      Same here, but for significantly longer
  - eddz 7y ago
    I moved away from my hometown longer ago than that and had no problem depositing cheques in branches other than the one with which I was registered. It may depend on the bank you are using, or possibly even the method of deposit and the branch's ability to provide the resources for it.
    - Scoundreller 7y ago
      I think the whole concept of “branches” is basically gone. Except if the bank sells off a region (e.g. merges with another bank, but is required to sell off some operations for competition reasons), then you’ll end up following your home branch. It used to be that the home branch would technically be responsible for verifying cheques, but i’m Sure that’s all centralized now too.
arethuza 7y ago
"still tied to the concept of you're associated with a specific branch at a specific location" That hasn't been my experience for 15+ years.

ChrisSD 7y ago

As a UK citizen, that last part doesn't seem true for my personal banking. Once you have an account it's very easy to open others at different banks. Just recently I opened a secondary account with an app only bank. Other finance apps can simply use the API to help you keep track of your own spending, etc. Of course immigrants may have additional hurdles with banking in the UK, I don't know.

dfraser992 7y ago
This was 12 years ago, so things have changed, but man... when I first got here, landlords were wanting 6 months of rent upfront. The system was obviously designed (or it just came out that way) to make it hard for immigrants to initially establish themselves. These days, it is going to get a lot worse once Brexit happens. Perhaps you misunderstood me or I wasn't clear - when I first got here, I tried to deposit a check into my account using another branch / office than the one I where I opened my account. I couldn't. It is not a matter of opening another account with _another_ bank. From the little I know of the banking system, things are or were not then, as wholly integrated as they were in the States. OTOH, the US is only now catching up to the rest of the world w/ Chip and PIN debt/credit cards....
- foldr 7y ago
  I could certainly deposit checks in any bank branch 12 years ago in the UK. Your experience there seems weird. Even 12 years ago, no-one in the UK really used checks, so that might have something to do with it. Opening an account is indeed unnecessarily difficult for immigrants, and UK landlords can get away with anything due to an almost total absence of regulation.
- polymatter 7y ago
  The UK system is also highly dependent on utility bills as a proof of address if you are an immigrant.
  - foldr 7y ago
    I've always been mystified by the idea that's taken hold in the UK that a utility bill is some kind of ID. As far as I can see, a modern utility bill could trivially be faked on a regular printer. (I assume that utility companies can't verify bills without violating data protection laws.)
    - sokoloff 7y ago
      It does elevate “oh, I made a mistake” to concrete fraud/forgery if there’s reason to go back and look into it.
      - foldr 7y ago
        I've always wondered if it would actually constitute fraud if you made a fake utility bill with your real address on it.
        sokoloff 7y ago
        If you submitted that for reimbursement purposes, I'm sure it would. If you submitted it for proof of address purposes and you have service from that utility in your name but with different consumption values, I would think it would not. If you submitted it for proof of address purposes and you do not have service from that utility in your name, I would think it would be.
        foldr 7y ago
        Yes, I mean in the proof of address case. It seems doubtful that providing a fake document with your real address could constitute fraud, if the document was being used solely to verify your address. But perhaps there is some other criminal offense of forgery or some such that is still applicable.
- stordoff 7y ago
  I opened my bank account 11 years ago (2008), and never had any issues doing anything I needed to do (including cheques) at another branches over 100 miles away.
  - newaccoutnas 7y ago
    Same here, but for significantly longer
- eddz 7y ago
  I moved away from my hometown longer ago than that and had no problem depositing cheques in branches other than the one with which I was registered. It may depend on the bank you are using, or possibly even the method of deposit and the branch's ability to provide the resources for it.
  - Scoundreller 7y ago
    I think the whole concept of “branches” is basically gone. Except if the bank sells off a region (e.g. merges with another bank, but is required to sell off some operations for competition reasons), then you’ll end up following your home branch. It used to be that the home branch would technically be responsible for verifying cheques, but i’m Sure that’s all centralized now too.

arethuza 7y ago

"still tied to the concept of you're associated with a specific branch at a specific location" That hasn't been my experience for 15+ years.