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Why is there a need to withdraw thousands? The article only mentions restrictions on cash withdrawal, wouldn’t bank transfers which are purely ledger entries st

Why is there a need to withdraw thousands? The article only mentions restrictions on cash withdrawal, wouldn’t bank transfers which are purely ledger entries still work normally? If not, the financial system is completely off the rails and any money is as good as lost…

bitxbitxbitcoin 4y ago
The financial system in Lebanon is in fact completely off the rails. Also, in the article it says the reason for needing to withdraw thousands is to pay a medical bill for his father. Guess the hospital doesn’t want a bank transfer to their own frozen account.
- jokethrowaway 4y ago
  No, they can't make transfers
  - ithkuil 4y ago
    Why? As long as the fake numbers in the bank accounts don't leave the "system" does it really matter?
    - felix318 4y ago
      The numbers in bank accounts are not fake, if banks could materialize money out of thin air they would not need clients. The numbers mostly stay in the system but the balance betweeen banks needs to be settled everyday, and that can’t be done with fake money. (to be fair, all money is fake but only governments have the power to enforce the value of their fake money)
      - ithkuil 4y ago
        Let's say I have $1000 on a Lebanese bank account. If it's true what they say that they actually spent a good fraction of my money that means that the number is fake, and I actually have only a faction of that ($100?). In fact when I want to actually take it out the bank would give me say $100 but decrease the amount in my deposit by 1000. But, does it matter? If people inside Lebanon could still transact with the "fake" amounts with bank wires and card payments and whatnot, the illusion would work as long as no interaction with the external world (International wires, and cash transactions)
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suprjami 4y ago
These questions are explained in the article. Generally it's expected that you read things before commenting here.
- deleted 4y ago
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- ricardobeat 4y ago
  The article says > Banks are running low on cash to issue to people, leading them to place strict limits on the amount of money people can withdraw. I interpret “running low on cash” as physical notes. This does not imply any restriction on transactions, or does it? It’s a genuine question. Note: on the topic of expectations, I’ll quote from HN guidelines available at the bottom of the page: “ Please don't comment on whether someone read an article.”
  - notpushkin 4y ago
    Not sure about Lebanon, but in Russia right now you can't do pretty much anything with your money if it's USD/EUR and is in the bank account. Cash withdrawals are banned, SWIFT transfers are blocked, and there's only one bank that allows sending USD between its users (it is generally prohibited but they've found a loophole). Go figure.
    - reisse 4y ago
      Well, "withdraw in local currency, exchanged with a fair market conversion rate" is very far from "cash withdrawals are banned" or "can't do pretty much anything". And if you need cash, you can easily exchange that rubles back to good old USD cash with a 5% to 10% premium. Furthermore, SWIFT is not entirely blocked, it is just prohibitively complex and expensive for ordinary people now.
- coldtea 4y ago
  >These questions are explained in the article. No, they are really not, as the article sticks to using the term withdrawing, regarding what's being restricted. Generally it's expected that you read things before correcting others here. That said, and to answer the grandparent, transfers are probably also restricted, it's not just about limits on withdrawing cash. Or they need to pay in cash, because all accounts are frozen transfers-wise - so, even if they could just make do with transfers internally, they can't use them to pay any foreign imports/services/etc.

bitxbitxbitcoin 4y ago

The financial system in Lebanon is in fact completely off the rails. Also, in the article it says the reason for needing to withdraw thousands is to pay a medical bill for his father. Guess the hospital doesn’t want a bank transfer to their own frozen account.

jokethrowaway 4y ago
No, they can't make transfers
- ithkuil 4y ago
  Why? As long as the fake numbers in the bank accounts don't leave the "system" does it really matter?
  - felix318 4y ago
    The numbers in bank accounts are not fake, if banks could materialize money out of thin air they would not need clients. The numbers mostly stay in the system but the balance betweeen banks needs to be settled everyday, and that can’t be done with fake money. (to be fair, all money is fake but only governments have the power to enforce the value of their fake money)
    - ithkuil 4y ago
      Let's say I have $1000 on a Lebanese bank account. If it's true what they say that they actually spent a good fraction of my money that means that the number is fake, and I actually have only a faction of that ($100?). In fact when I want to actually take it out the bank would give me say $100 but decrease the amount in my deposit by 1000. But, does it matter? If people inside Lebanon could still transact with the "fake" amounts with bank wires and card payments and whatnot, the illusion would work as long as no interaction with the external world (International wires, and cash transactions)
      - deleted 4y ago
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      - deleted 4y ago
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suprjami 4y ago

These questions are explained in the article. Generally it's expected that you read things before commenting here.

deleted 4y ago
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ricardobeat 4y ago
The article says > Banks are running low on cash to issue to people, leading them to place strict limits on the amount of money people can withdraw. I interpret “running low on cash” as physical notes. This does not imply any restriction on transactions, or does it? It’s a genuine question. Note: on the topic of expectations, I’ll quote from HN guidelines available at the bottom of the page: “ Please don't comment on whether someone read an article.”
- notpushkin 4y ago
  Not sure about Lebanon, but in Russia right now you can't do pretty much anything with your money if it's USD/EUR and is in the bank account. Cash withdrawals are banned, SWIFT transfers are blocked, and there's only one bank that allows sending USD between its users (it is generally prohibited but they've found a loophole). Go figure.
  - reisse 4y ago
    Well, "withdraw in local currency, exchanged with a fair market conversion rate" is very far from "cash withdrawals are banned" or "can't do pretty much anything". And if you need cash, you can easily exchange that rubles back to good old USD cash with a 5% to 10% premium. Furthermore, SWIFT is not entirely blocked, it is just prohibitively complex and expensive for ordinary people now.
coldtea 4y ago
>These questions are explained in the article. No, they are really not, as the article sticks to using the term withdrawing, regarding what's being restricted. Generally it's expected that you read things before correcting others here. That said, and to answer the grandparent, transfers are probably also restricted, it's not just about limits on withdrawing cash. Or they need to pay in cash, because all accounts are frozen transfers-wise - so, even if they could just make do with transfers internally, they can't use them to pay any foreign imports/services/etc.