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As a Canadian, the only time I've had a credit card stolen is in the US. Not saying credit card doesn't happen in Canada, it does, but it's definitely a much, m
by Pasorrijer 5y ago
As a Canadian, the only time I've had a credit card stolen is in the US. Not saying credit card doesn't happen in Canada, it does, but it's definitely a much, much bigger problem in the US. Almost like the banking system isn't adopting measures such as chip cards to combat theft fast enough.
- treve 5y agoUSA banking is usually a few years behind Canada, and 10 years behind Europe when it comes to adopting new technology. In Europe the last time I saw a cheque was in the early 90's, and they are still used in Canada for things like rent. I also remember traveling to the states in 2016 with my tap-enabled credit card, blowing people's minds in shops. All their equipment was ready for tap, but no US cards had it yet. It also surprised me that things like Venmo have a reason to exist! I don't think many Americans know how bad they have it terms of banking tech.
- adventured 5y agoI never cease to be amused by the wild exaggerations of foreigners. How bad we have it. Comeon, just stop it. So five years ago, you still had to enter a pin / swipe, you couldn't just tap. We've got it so bad. So bad! It's the dark ages here, circa five years ago. > my tap-enabled credit card, blowing people's minds in shops Yeah right. The iPhone had been around for nearly a decade, but oh wow tapping credit cards to blow minds. > It also surprised me that things like Venmo have a reason to exist! Crazy stuff! But like you said, we've got it so bad. An easy to use software service exists to transfer funds, incredible. The suffering. I feel dread just writing this comment and thinking about it.
- gertrunde 5y agoI think the Venmo comment may have been misunderstood. The reason that Venmo is seen as an unusual, and somewhat superfluous concept, is that the functionality is just expected to exist as part of every financial app, either legacy/mainstream bank or trendy new fintech upstart - it's really not anything special enough to require a separate system.
- quantumwannabe 5y agoUS banks have their own version of Venmo called Zelle that is integrated into banking apps/websites.
- treve 5y agoI'm not saying it's the end of the world, you're just way behind. I lived in USA, Canada and several European countries so it's first-hand experience, not an exaggeration, I just listed some examples, but the frustration was real. Individually all minor inconveniences, but when you are used to a better system it's frustrating. Top 3 real frustrations are the difficulty of international wires, the frequency I have to visit a branch and how weirdly hard it was in SF to split bills (the last may have changed since 2018). But sure, first world problems!
- TMWNN 5y ago>I'm not saying it's the end of the world, you're just way behind. I lived in USA, Canada and several European countries so it's first-hand experience, not an exaggeration, And yet you don't know that, as nraynaud and bayart said, the French use checks (about as often as Americans). Checks are definitely a thing in the UK, too. Are France and the UK no longer part of Europe? (If you make a Brexit joke here, as opposed to actually trying to respond to my point, you automatically lose.) >Top 3 real frustrations are the difficulty of international wires I will give you this. When I had to send $2000 to a Canadian earlier this year, the cheapest method we found was to do so through Coinbase using Bitcoin; I think the fee was about 1% (for me to purchase the additional Bitcoins I needed; no fee charged by Coinbase for the transfer itself because it was internal). >the frequency I have to visit a branch I've been a customer of USAA Bank for years. As it was created to serve the military (although its remit has expanded), USAA has always been designed to work without a local branch. There are many such branchless banks in the US. That said, I have accounts with other, "traditional" banks and they have been about as online as USAA is for years. >and how weirdly hard it was in SF to split bills (the last may have changed since 2018). This is one of the things people use Venmo for.
- nraynaud 5y agoIn France I had to use a cheque for a weird tax reason (can't pay late with a credit card), and also when I bought a house, I had to refund the stuff to the seller by cheque during the signature ceremony.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- Bayart 5y ago>In Europe the last time I saw a cheque was in the early 90's, and they are still used in Canada for things like rent. It's still a thing in France, mostly because you can control the moment it's cashed in, it can be used as collateral for rent and so on, and because there's a tradition of paper documentation cheques play into. But people of my generation rarely bother to get a cheque book at all, bank transfers are just fine.
- mrweasel 5y agoMy bank here in Denmark will either issue you a credit card specifically for a US vacation, or strongly recommend that you call to have your existing card invalidate on returning home.