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What are the problems you had in the US? From my perspective none of the things you list are really problems in my life. * I don’t even own checks and if I ge

What are the problems you had in the US? From my perspective none of the things you list are really problems in my life. * I don’t even own checks and if I get one I take a photo from my banking app and have it deposited. * I only use my debit card for the very rare times I withdraw cash and instead just use a credit card that auto-pays from my bank directly each month in full. * If I want to transfer money between friends I just use Venmo. * I’ve never had fraud issues but my sister had her card skimmed in Europe and calling to report was enough to reverse the charges.

pavlov 5y ago
Well, for an anecdote, the process of renting an apartment was considerably easier in UK when it came time to send in payments. In London, once I'd signed a lease, the rental agency simply gave me account numbers for the deposit and other fees. I sent the payments to UK from my Finnish bank account at no extra cost (bank transfers within the EU/UK payment area are free). In New York, once I'd signed a lease, the rental agency told me I need to bring them seven cashier's checks by Monday for the deposit and various fees going to different destinations (condo management corporation, etc.) At this time I was in London, so shuffling physical pieces of paper from a bank into an office in NYC wasn't going to happen! Kindly the agency agreed to allow me to wire them the total sum, and they would "cut" the checks for a mere $15 / check. For seven checks, that was an extra $105 fee — for nothing really except to work around a system still built on 19th century assumptions of money. (I also had to pay fees to send the wire transfer, because Americans somehow believe that bank transfers cost tens of dollars to process.) Additional patchwork layers like Venmo don't solve these issues. Sending thousands of dollars to a landlord or management corporation isn't the same as sending $50 to a friend for dinner.
jopsen 5y ago
I had to pay a bill by typing numbers into an online bank along with an address that the physical check would then be mailed to. I thought the banker who told me they would send a check was joking. Or just using it as an metaphor for making a payment to the account. But no, at one point the check actually got lost and and then reappeared later so my balance with PG&E went positive. Oh, and it could only pay fixed amount at regular intervals. I eventually learned that most vendors would accept check numbers, and then magically withdraw from my account. So long as a checked a box that effectively allowed them to withdraw whatever they deemed I owed them. In Denmark I get an electronic statement of all the bills I have signed up for automatic payment. It just works. Oh, not to mention: to rent an apartment in the US I had to get a cashier's check. I'll admit I didn't even know that was a thing... (In Denmark banks don't accept checks anymore)
- plandis 5y ago
  I’m sorry that happened but that sounds like a problem with PG&E rather than a banking problem, surely they can accept other forms of payment —- For example, I just pay my utility bills on auto pay from a credit card each month. For renting I directly had monthly deposits drawn from my bank account after providing a routing/account number to the landlord. I lived in four different apartments and all of them just directly withdrew from my bank account automatically each month. Even for an initial deposit it was directly transferred from the bank or put of a credit card.

pavlov 5y ago

Well, for an anecdote, the process of renting an apartment was considerably easier in UK when it came time to send in payments. In London, once I'd signed a lease, the rental agency simply gave me account numbers for the deposit and other fees. I sent the payments to UK from my Finnish bank account at no extra cost (bank transfers within the EU/UK payment area are free). In New York, once I'd signed a lease, the rental agency told me I need to bring them seven cashier's checks by Monday for the deposit and various fees going to different destinations (condo management corporation, etc.) At this time I was in London, so shuffling physical pieces of paper from a bank into an office in NYC wasn't going to happen! Kindly the agency agreed to allow me to wire them the total sum, and they would "cut" the checks for a mere $15 / check. For seven checks, that was an extra $105 fee — for nothing really except to work around a system still built on 19th century assumptions of money. (I also had to pay fees to send the wire transfer, because Americans somehow believe that bank transfers cost tens of dollars to process.) Additional patchwork layers like Venmo don't solve these issues. Sending thousands of dollars to a landlord or management corporation isn't the same as sending $50 to a friend for dinner.

jopsen 5y ago

I had to pay a bill by typing numbers into an online bank along with an address that the physical check would then be mailed to. I thought the banker who told me they would send a check was joking. Or just using it as an metaphor for making a payment to the account. But no, at one point the check actually got lost and and then reappeared later so my balance with PG&E went positive. Oh, and it could only pay fixed amount at regular intervals. I eventually learned that most vendors would accept check numbers, and then magically withdraw from my account. So long as a checked a box that effectively allowed them to withdraw whatever they deemed I owed them. In Denmark I get an electronic statement of all the bills I have signed up for automatic payment. It just works. Oh, not to mention: to rent an apartment in the US I had to get a cashier's check. I'll admit I didn't even know that was a thing... (In Denmark banks don't accept checks anymore)

plandis 5y ago
I’m sorry that happened but that sounds like a problem with PG&E rather than a banking problem, surely they can accept other forms of payment —- For example, I just pay my utility bills on auto pay from a credit card each month. For renting I directly had monthly deposits drawn from my bank account after providing a routing/account number to the landlord. I lived in four different apartments and all of them just directly withdrew from my bank account automatically each month. Even for an initial deposit it was directly transferred from the bank or put of a credit card.