4 ms·

A lot of eu countries have a threshold of how much you can pay in cash, and it works just fine. No one is missing hospital treatment because of it and even illi

A lot of eu countries have a threshold of how much you can pay in cash, and it works just fine. No one is missing hospital treatment because of it and even illiterate folks can use banks and open accounts.

tormeh 4y ago
Agreed. It's tried. We know it works. What are we even debating?
SergeAx 4y ago
Well, tell that to Russian war emigrants. Opening bank account in EU for non-residents is a hard endeavor right now. Those who did it before the hot part of war started in February often finding their accounts frozen and literally were unable to receive their paychecks.
- amaccuish 4y ago
  But if they have emigrated, they are by definition resident?
  - SergeAx 4y ago
    There is significant (up to 9 months, from friends' experience) gap between fleeing to the country and getting legal residency (work permit, visa D, blue card). But even that doesn't make opening bank account much easier, there are banks that doesn't open accounts for holders of Russian passports (or even Russian names, believe me or not). Also, like I said, lots of EU banks froze or restricted accounts of Russian citizens in Feb 2022, even if those individuals were legally in EU for months or even years. Bottom line: it's surprisingly easy to become unbanked in EU.
    - yrgulation 4y ago
      > Bottom line: it's surprisingly easy to become unbanked in EU. If you move money from a country that threatens europe with nukes. But i see your point. The issue is how can banks separate genuine refugees from people taking advantage of the situation and trying to move illegally acquired money?
      - SergeAx 4y ago
        Not only Europe, the whole world, but that's not important for the discussion. There's almost no way just to open account at all, to put some cash there, have a plastic card and use it to buy tickets or pay for Netflix subscription. Moving money is a separate quest, that I can tell from the first hand experience. I am not saying that banks should have some kind of obligation to open account for everyone. I am just showcasing the importance of cash transactions.
      - SergeAx 4y ago
        To answer you question, I believe banks have that procedure they called KYC/AML, that's how.
  - SergeAx 4y ago
    And being unbanked means, for example, inability to buy property, which is, in turn, may be a condition of getting residency in the first place. Not everyone possess IT skills to get work visa.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- nicbou 4y ago
  I can confirm this. I devoted a section of my website (about immigration) to immigrant-friendly banks. Many banks have restrictions that make it hard for immigrants to open an account, even though they're entitled to one by law. For example, many banks use the same ID verification services, and those don't recognise Indian passports. Others refuse Americans because they're a bureaucratic nightmare to deal with. Others require a registered address which is hard to get without a bank account. Others require a residence permit or even permanent residency. You usually need a bank account before you have either. Bureaucracy gets messy at the edges.

tormeh 4y ago

Agreed. It's tried. We know it works. What are we even debating?

SergeAx 4y ago

Well, tell that to Russian war emigrants. Opening bank account in EU for non-residents is a hard endeavor right now. Those who did it before the hot part of war started in February often finding their accounts frozen and literally were unable to receive their paychecks.

amaccuish 4y ago
But if they have emigrated, they are by definition resident?
- SergeAx 4y ago
  There is significant (up to 9 months, from friends' experience) gap between fleeing to the country and getting legal residency (work permit, visa D, blue card). But even that doesn't make opening bank account much easier, there are banks that doesn't open accounts for holders of Russian passports (or even Russian names, believe me or not). Also, like I said, lots of EU banks froze or restricted accounts of Russian citizens in Feb 2022, even if those individuals were legally in EU for months or even years. Bottom line: it's surprisingly easy to become unbanked in EU.
  - yrgulation 4y ago
    > Bottom line: it's surprisingly easy to become unbanked in EU. If you move money from a country that threatens europe with nukes. But i see your point. The issue is how can banks separate genuine refugees from people taking advantage of the situation and trying to move illegally acquired money?
    - SergeAx 4y ago
      Not only Europe, the whole world, but that's not important for the discussion. There's almost no way just to open account at all, to put some cash there, have a plastic card and use it to buy tickets or pay for Netflix subscription. Moving money is a separate quest, that I can tell from the first hand experience. I am not saying that banks should have some kind of obligation to open account for everyone. I am just showcasing the importance of cash transactions.
    - SergeAx 4y ago
      To answer you question, I believe banks have that procedure they called KYC/AML, that's how.
- SergeAx 4y ago
  And being unbanked means, for example, inability to buy property, which is, in turn, may be a condition of getting residency in the first place. Not everyone possess IT skills to get work visa.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
nicbou 4y ago
I can confirm this. I devoted a section of my website (about immigration) to immigrant-friendly banks. Many banks have restrictions that make it hard for immigrants to open an account, even though they're entitled to one by law. For example, many banks use the same ID verification services, and those don't recognise Indian passports. Others refuse Americans because they're a bureaucratic nightmare to deal with. Others require a registered address which is hard to get without a bank account. Others require a residence permit or even permanent residency. You usually need a bank account before you have either. Bureaucracy gets messy at the edges.