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Its like forcing everyone to have a Facebook account to talk to their local authorities.

smt88 5y ago
It's more like forcing everyone to have an email address. You have a huge variety of choice of bank, including nonprofit, cooperative credit unions that don't do anything evil to their customers.
- beebeepka 5y ago
  No need for analogies. It's literally forcing the public to use - and give money to - private entities. Banks borrow money cheap. Can a regular person do that? No. Of course not. It's clearly about control/money. Same thing
  - rosndo 5y ago
    > Banks borrow money cheap. Can a regular person do that? No. Of course not. There are a plenty of cheap loans available to regular persons, but of course you have to be an adult to access those.
  - smt88 5y ago
    Depositing money isn't giving money to a bank. It's exchanging money for highly liquid debt and receiving interest in return. Giving money to a bank is a relationship where the bank pays you. Also, the government already forces you to have auto insurance. This doesn't really seem any better or worse.
  - throw0101a 5y ago
    > Banks borrow money cheap. Banks don't need to borrow money, they just create it: * https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1905625 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1905625 * https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/2014/q1/money-creation-in-the-modern-economy https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/2014/q1/m... If you still think about banks re-loaning bank deposits you're living in another century. Fractional reserve banking hasn't been a thing since (at least) the 1960s.
- voldacar 5y ago
  I can set up my own mail server that is completely under my control. So no, it's not even remotely like forcing everyone to have an email address.
- xdennis 5y ago
  No, you don't have a lot of choice. UK banks have many restrictions about who can open an account. Just by queuing in a branch I've seen immigrants being rejected because they don't have a job yet.

It's more like forcing everyone to have an email address. You have a huge variety of choice of bank, including nonprofit, cooperative credit unions that don't do anything evil to their customers.

beebeepka 5y ago
No need for analogies. It's literally forcing the public to use - and give money to - private entities. Banks borrow money cheap. Can a regular person do that? No. Of course not. It's clearly about control/money. Same thing
- rosndo 5y ago
  > Banks borrow money cheap. Can a regular person do that? No. Of course not. There are a plenty of cheap loans available to regular persons, but of course you have to be an adult to access those.
- smt88 5y ago
  Depositing money isn't giving money to a bank. It's exchanging money for highly liquid debt and receiving interest in return. Giving money to a bank is a relationship where the bank pays you. Also, the government already forces you to have auto insurance. This doesn't really seem any better or worse.
- throw0101a 5y ago
  > Banks borrow money cheap. Banks don't need to borrow money, they just create it: * https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1905625 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1905625 * https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/2014/q1/money-creation-in-the-modern-economy https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/quarterly-bulletin/2014/q1/m... If you still think about banks re-loaning bank deposits you're living in another century. Fractional reserve banking hasn't been a thing since (at least) the 1960s.
voldacar 5y ago
I can set up my own mail server that is completely under my control. So no, it's not even remotely like forcing everyone to have an email address.
xdennis 5y ago
No, you don't have a lot of choice. UK banks have many restrictions about who can open an account. Just by queuing in a branch I've seen immigrants being rejected because they don't have a job yet.