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> The government shouldn’t even need to get involved here. In the UK accounts have no standard charge and come with free debit card. Well, in the UK, fee-free

> The government shouldn’t even need to get involved here. In the UK accounts have no standard charge and come with free debit card. Well, in the UK, fee-free basic bank accounts are the result of government regulation(1). It was part of the UK's implementation of Directive 2014/92/EU (2), which mandated access to basic bank accounts across the EU (of which the UK was then a part). (1) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fee-free-bank-accounts-launched https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fee-free-bank-accounts-la... (2) https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-products-and-services/bank-accounts-eu/index_en.htm https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/financial-pr...

amrocha 3y ago
Thank you for the funniest comment and reply I've ever seen here. The libertarian version of the I Made This meme.
nikdoof 3y ago
'Fee-free' accounts existed way before this regulation. If you actually read the link it talk about fee-free in the sense of no charges for failed transactions.
- closewith 3y ago
  No, the relevant part of the article is basic bank accounts. The change (and the Directive) was the result of banks withdrawing fee-free basic banks across the bloc as a cost-cutting measure in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
mostlystatic 3y ago
There is some nuance here in that accounts without a standard charge and a free debit card were common before 2016. The 2016 change seems to be about fully fee-free accounts, i.e. no overdraft charges or similar fees.
- closewith 3y ago
  The change (and the Directive) was the result of banks withdrawing fee-free basic banks across the bloc as a cost-cutting measure in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The Directive reverse that and made basic bank accounts universally available across the bloc.
basisword 3y ago
I worded my message badly. When I said 'the government shouldn't need to get involved' I meant in a direct way. Either I've misread the parent comment or they've edited it but I thought they proposed the government offering accounts - that I thought was unnecessary. Regulation I'm fine with.

amrocha 3y ago

Thank you for the funniest comment and reply I've ever seen here. The libertarian version of the I Made This meme.

nikdoof 3y ago

'Fee-free' accounts existed way before this regulation. If you actually read the link it talk about fee-free in the sense of no charges for failed transactions.

closewith 3y ago
No, the relevant part of the article is basic bank accounts. The change (and the Directive) was the result of banks withdrawing fee-free basic banks across the bloc as a cost-cutting measure in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

mostlystatic 3y ago

There is some nuance here in that accounts without a standard charge and a free debit card were common before 2016. The 2016 change seems to be about fully fee-free accounts, i.e. no overdraft charges or similar fees.

closewith 3y ago
The change (and the Directive) was the result of banks withdrawing fee-free basic banks across the bloc as a cost-cutting measure in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The Directive reverse that and made basic bank accounts universally available across the bloc.

basisword 3y ago

I worded my message badly. When I said 'the government shouldn't need to get involved' I meant in a direct way. Either I've misread the parent comment or they've edited it but I thought they proposed the government offering accounts - that I thought was unnecessary. Regulation I'm fine with.