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> My bank has made it (almost) impossible to make payments without a phone, btw My bank has several buildings full of people, all within driving distance of my

> My bank has made it (almost) impossible to make payments without a phone, btw My bank has several buildings full of people, all within driving distance of my house. Any of those people will happily accept a stack of paper bills. If you don't want to use digital forms of payment, why on earth are you using a bank that doesn't have physical branches located near your home?

deleted 5y ago
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CameronNemo 5y ago
Any of those people will happily accept a stack of paper bills. Have you actually tried depositing large amounts of cash on a regular basis? Sounds like a good way to get your account flagged and suspended. Not to mention the Treasury's seeming animosity toward cash as an instrument of payment.
- bentcorner 5y ago
  There's a middle ground here that has existed for a long time. Mail hand-written cheques for your bills, deposit your paystub into your bank account, withdraw cash on a periodic basis for daily spending. You don't even need to use a banking card for any of this. I haven't been to a store that has refused cash and have never been required to use a banking app.
  - ecdouvhr 5y ago
    Where do you still use checks? I don't think I've seen one since the 90's.
    - throwawaygh 5y ago
      I still pay most of my bills with checks. I also collect rent and pay rent with checks. Basically my entire financial life except for perhaps eating out and buying useless things online is mediated in cash and checks. This is very normal in my social circle. Just because you choose to use e-banking doesn't mean that cash and checks are inaccessible, or even particularly inconvenient.
      - foxfluff 5y ago
        I have a hunch it depends heavily on your location. I have never seen a check in my life, and I have never heard of anyone I know using them. I wouldn't be able to say whether such a thing even exists here. Cash is still a thing but not universally accepted; not having a credit or debit card would be a major inconvenience. Banks can be hard to access because they've reduced offices and opening hours. You don't go there unless you really have to.
        throwawaygh 5y ago
        Fascinating. Where do you live?
        foxfluff 5y ago
        Finland.
        ecdouvhr 5y ago
        Like the sibling commenter, I'm from Finland. The same applies to most of the Nordics though; I doubt my kids will ever see a check. People simply don't use them and cashing one would probably be quite difficult (not to mention expensive).
      - emmo 5y ago
        Checks (cheques) don't exist anymore in New Zealand.
    - jjav 5y ago
      I pay all my bills with checks. Utilities, rentals, mortgages, taxes, everything. Why not? In stores I mostly use cash, except for larger purchases where it becomes inconvenient. Those go to the credit card which I'll then pay with a check.
      - ecdouvhr 5y ago
        I don't think there are any businesses here who'd accept a check. Banks would probably do it for a fee, or at least require you deposit the money to your account. Bills here are paid with bank transfer. It doesn't have to be done though online banking, but doing so is obviously easier.
- throwawaygh 5y ago
  > Have you actually tried depositing large amounts of cash on a regular basis? Sounds like a good way to get your account flagged and suspended. 1. OP said "make payments", not "receive money". Literally no one is going to give a shit if you make your mortgage or car payment in cash. 2. LOL, yes, I deposit cash all the time, including a quite large sum at least twice a year (charity events). Cash-based businesses are still very much a thing. 3. I write like $10K worth of checks every month, and deposit around $3K-$6K worth of checks every month. No smartphone required.
  - giantg2 5y ago
    "Literally no one is going to give a shit if you make your mortgage or car payment in cash." Are you sure? To get a mortgage they check the source of your down payment and it cannot be cash. Seems odd if they don't also check source for payments.
    - throwawaygh 5y ago
      > Are you sure? Yes, absolutely sure. > To get a mortgage I said: >> make your mortgage or car payment Making payment on existing loan != taking out a new loan. > they check the source of your down payment and it cannot be cash. If you mean literal physical cash: the main reason for this is that no one involved in the transaction is interested in taking on the risk of carrying briefcases full of cash across town. If you mean money in a bank account that is of unknown provenance: This isn't really an issue unless you make a huge lump sum deposit just before closing and have absolutely zero documentation regarding where it came from. Even then, giant sums recently deposited isn't a problem. You just have to prove that it's of non-criminal provenance. Recent pay stubs or sales receipts will do. That has nothing to do with the money being "cash" or not, though. And even then, it's mostly about access to giant piles of credit. If you don't need to borrow huge piles of someone else's money, then no one gives a shit. E.g., I've purchased property with a cashier's check, which is about as close to literal cash as you can get without major security risks involved.)
      - vdqtp3 5y ago
- mkipper 5y ago
  In the eyes of your bank, the _least_ suspicious thing you can do is show up to your local branch and present your physical card and photo ID. Your bank will be much more cautious for large transactions done through an app, where the only authentication is a password and possibly an SMS message. Your bank will probably ask a few questions if you show up in-person to deposit $50k cash into a personal account, but it's not like you could avoid that by using their app.
- moonshinefe 5y ago
  This might be a generational thing. But yes, you can go into banks and deposit money (even frequently, and in reasonably large amounts). The flagging and suspending stuff is more what I'd be wary of using paypal or something similar, not an actual bank.
distances 5y ago
Paying bills in a physical branch will get expensive fast, at least here every bank that even allows that will take 3-10€ per bill.
- throwawaygh 5y ago
  Interesting; I wasn't aware. In the US it's still very normal (and free) to deposit/withdraw cash at physical branches.
  - ecdouvhr 5y ago
    In most of Europe, depositing cash rarely happens unless you're a business owner depositing the day's earnings. Withdrawals is easier from an ATM. Many banks require you to call ahead if you want to make a large cash withdrawal, and if you make a large deposit you need to be able to document where you got the money from or had the authorities called on you.
  - distances 5y ago
    I think I haven't deposited since I last emptied my piggy bank as a kid, probably in the early 90s. And I've actually never in my life withdrawn over the counter, I was given an ATM only card sometime when I was deemed old enough to use it.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

CameronNemo 5y ago

Any of those people will happily accept a stack of paper bills. Have you actually tried depositing large amounts of cash on a regular basis? Sounds like a good way to get your account flagged and suspended. Not to mention the Treasury's seeming animosity toward cash as an instrument of payment.

bentcorner 5y ago
There's a middle ground here that has existed for a long time. Mail hand-written cheques for your bills, deposit your paystub into your bank account, withdraw cash on a periodic basis for daily spending. You don't even need to use a banking card for any of this. I haven't been to a store that has refused cash and have never been required to use a banking app.
- ecdouvhr 5y ago
  Where do you still use checks? I don't think I've seen one since the 90's.
  - throwawaygh 5y ago
    I still pay most of my bills with checks. I also collect rent and pay rent with checks. Basically my entire financial life except for perhaps eating out and buying useless things online is mediated in cash and checks. This is very normal in my social circle. Just because you choose to use e-banking doesn't mean that cash and checks are inaccessible, or even particularly inconvenient.
    - foxfluff 5y ago
      I have a hunch it depends heavily on your location. I have never seen a check in my life, and I have never heard of anyone I know using them. I wouldn't be able to say whether such a thing even exists here. Cash is still a thing but not universally accepted; not having a credit or debit card would be a major inconvenience. Banks can be hard to access because they've reduced offices and opening hours. You don't go there unless you really have to.
      - throwawaygh 5y ago
        Fascinating. Where do you live?
        foxfluff 5y ago
        Finland.
        ecdouvhr 5y ago
        Like the sibling commenter, I'm from Finland. The same applies to most of the Nordics though; I doubt my kids will ever see a check. People simply don't use them and cashing one would probably be quite difficult (not to mention expensive).
    - emmo 5y ago
      Checks (cheques) don't exist anymore in New Zealand.
  - jjav 5y ago
    I pay all my bills with checks. Utilities, rentals, mortgages, taxes, everything. Why not? In stores I mostly use cash, except for larger purchases where it becomes inconvenient. Those go to the credit card which I'll then pay with a check.
    - ecdouvhr 5y ago
      I don't think there are any businesses here who'd accept a check. Banks would probably do it for a fee, or at least require you deposit the money to your account. Bills here are paid with bank transfer. It doesn't have to be done though online banking, but doing so is obviously easier.
throwawaygh 5y ago
> Have you actually tried depositing large amounts of cash on a regular basis? Sounds like a good way to get your account flagged and suspended. 1. OP said "make payments", not "receive money". Literally no one is going to give a shit if you make your mortgage or car payment in cash. 2. LOL, yes, I deposit cash all the time, including a quite large sum at least twice a year (charity events). Cash-based businesses are still very much a thing. 3. I write like $10K worth of checks every month, and deposit around $3K-$6K worth of checks every month. No smartphone required.
- giantg2 5y ago
  "Literally no one is going to give a shit if you make your mortgage or car payment in cash." Are you sure? To get a mortgage they check the source of your down payment and it cannot be cash. Seems odd if they don't also check source for payments.
  - throwawaygh 5y ago
    > Are you sure? Yes, absolutely sure. > To get a mortgage I said: >> make your mortgage or car payment Making payment on existing loan != taking out a new loan. > they check the source of your down payment and it cannot be cash. If you mean literal physical cash: the main reason for this is that no one involved in the transaction is interested in taking on the risk of carrying briefcases full of cash across town. If you mean money in a bank account that is of unknown provenance: This isn't really an issue unless you make a huge lump sum deposit just before closing and have absolutely zero documentation regarding where it came from. Even then, giant sums recently deposited isn't a problem. You just have to prove that it's of non-criminal provenance. Recent pay stubs or sales receipts will do. That has nothing to do with the money being "cash" or not, though. And even then, it's mostly about access to giant piles of credit. If you don't need to borrow huge piles of someone else's money, then no one gives a shit. E.g., I've purchased property with a cashier's check, which is about as close to literal cash as you can get without major security risks involved.)
    - vdqtp3 5y ago
mkipper 5y ago
In the eyes of your bank, the _least_ suspicious thing you can do is show up to your local branch and present your physical card and photo ID. Your bank will be much more cautious for large transactions done through an app, where the only authentication is a password and possibly an SMS message. Your bank will probably ask a few questions if you show up in-person to deposit $50k cash into a personal account, but it's not like you could avoid that by using their app.
moonshinefe 5y ago
This might be a generational thing. But yes, you can go into banks and deposit money (even frequently, and in reasonably large amounts). The flagging and suspending stuff is more what I'd be wary of using paypal or something similar, not an actual bank.

distances 5y ago

Paying bills in a physical branch will get expensive fast, at least here every bank that even allows that will take 3-10€ per bill.

throwawaygh 5y ago
Interesting; I wasn't aware. In the US it's still very normal (and free) to deposit/withdraw cash at physical branches.
- ecdouvhr 5y ago
  In most of Europe, depositing cash rarely happens unless you're a business owner depositing the day's earnings. Withdrawals is easier from an ATM. Many banks require you to call ahead if you want to make a large cash withdrawal, and if you make a large deposit you need to be able to document where you got the money from or had the authorities called on you.
- distances 5y ago
  I think I haven't deposited since I last emptied my piggy bank as a kid, probably in the early 90s. And I've actually never in my life withdrawn over the counter, I was given an ATM only card sometime when I was deemed old enough to use it.