Is it time to keep our money in a sock under the bed?

My Dh wanted £1 coins for some local car parks that don’t take cards and don’t have a mobile signal to pay online. He was told to go to a branch fifteen miles away as the branch he was in no longer issues coins or £5 notes.

My dd wanted 20 £1 coins and was refused at the NatWest counter. Bank teller asked if she had put in a request??!?? She wanted a small stock of coins for dgd to get on the bus for goodness sake. Mind you our local charity bookshop only now deals in cash as the bank was charging them a fortune. Their bank is next door them. When i was in the bookshop yesterday the volunteers were sending folk mainly tourists to the hole in the wall for cash.

pen50

I work in finance for a charity. Our bank charges us £85 a month plus VAT to take cash collections, refuses to count at the time of deposit, and then frequently attempts to claim an under or over - despite the fact that everything we bank is counted at least twice. They say two people at their end count everything deposited but that is obviously it the case.

Our NatWest doesn't accept any coins over the counter, you apparently have to feed it into something that looks like an ATM and then take the receipt that comes out to the counter to be credited to an account. I don't see how they could query the amount in that case, the machine is in use all day and must be full of coins!

MaizieD

I can understand the withdrawal of large amounts because there are so many cases of people being scammed into handing over large amounts of money, but controlling the depositing of large amounts of cash looks to me like a possibly government directed attempt to control the black economy, where cash is king.

Yes, this is what I think. So many people pay in cash now that VAT adds so much to the cost.

What money 🤣👊

How does this new departure actually work?

I mean there has always been a limit on how much you can withdraw using a visa card or similar in the course of any 24 hours ever since these cards were brought in.

To me it sounds more as if the banks are trying to limit the amount of cash in circulation and get us all using PayPal or similar forms of electronic payments, so the Mint can stop issuing both paper money and coins.

Sweden discontinued issuing money a few years ago now, I have no idea whether everyone is happy to use bank-cards or electronic transfers or not, but they have no choice, not do you if you go there. It was said to be in an attempt to stop people from moon-lighting, so as far as that goes there is now a lively system of barter, or so I have been told.

I spoke to a bank recently and they asked why I had moved my main account to an online bank rather than staying with them as I had for the previous decade. I pointed out that they have closed all branches nearby and said that I should use their online services, so I decided that if I am compelled to bank online I would, but I would move to a bank specifically designed for the online provision. Be careful what you wish for.

win

I am with Nat West both personally and as a charity I have had no letters of emails to that effect at all

You will in a couple of days

...obviously NOT the case.

Sigh.

I work in finance for a charity. Our bank charges us £85 a month plus VAT to take cash collections, refuses to count at the time of deposit, and then frequently attempts to claim an under or over - despite the fact that everything we bank is counted at least twice. They say two people at their end count everything deposited but that is obviously it the case.

The Nationwide is a Building Society not a bank. They are run differently. Their profits don't go to shareholders, because they have no shareholders. Profits are reinvested and pay the interest on members' savings accounts.

www.comparethemarket.com/mortgages/content/building-societies/

And Barclays is one of the biggest supporters/financiers of fossil fuels, with many others close behind. I advise switching to Nationwide which is not only ethical but also has the most user friendly website Ive ever come across. And some good interest accounts. I also have an account with the Co-operativebank which can be fiddly but is ethical.

I am with Nat West both personally and as a charity I have had no letters of emails to that effect at all

Oops, per year into the Post Office. All our banks have closed in the High Road.

We had a letter last week from one of our banks informing us that we can now only pay in X mount of cash a year.

I agree. I suspect restrictions on deposits are aimed at preventing money laundering.

I can understand the withdrawal of large amounts because there are so many cases of people being scammed into handing over large amounts of money, but controlling the depositing of large amounts of cash looks to me like a possibly government directed attempt to control the black economy, where cash is king.

NatWest claim it was making the change to “protect our customers from the risk of fraud” and that it was “nothing to do with limiting access to cash.”
(Of course not - try to find a branch or even an ATM anyway these days. )
Banks have been told to do more to tackle financial crime by the City watchdog.
The new rules, which come into force on Sep 11, state that: “We may apply limits to payments to and from your account, for example, to the amount of cash you pay in or withdraw, or to payment types where there is a high risk of fraud, scams or other crimes.”
Sounds reasonable enough but why am I sceptical?
In addition many banks have brought in limits on how much cash can be deposited at the Post Office and in cash deposit machines they say “to combat money laundering”.
It is interesting that Martin Kearsley, the banking director at the Post Office, says the limits have had “a significant impact on legitimate customers being turned away”.

Banks don't lend 'our deposits' to other people, Fp. All bank loans are completely newly 'created' money.

I'm all for keeping a certain amount of cash in a sock, but, boy, does that make one vulnerable to burglary.

But, keeping all one's money in a bank account makes one vulnerable, too. It's another route for surveillance and control, and, what happens when the computers go down?

I'd be curious to know what reasons are given By Nat West for implementing (or proposing to implement) these conditions, Foxygloves.

39% interest Fleurpepper?

Well, interest rates for savings have improved vastly in recent months. You need to shop around.

No excuse for ‘no or hardly any interest’ at the present time.

Banks have been treating charities very badly for a long time, too, charging a monthly fee for charity accounts whereas previously they were free and refusing to take the cash from collections, even though it was counted and in the correct bank bags.
🤬

Problem is, it is difficult to get salary or pension paid into said piggy-bank. It's indeed disgusting that those of us with a few savings get no or hardly any interest, whilst they use our money to lend to others at extortionate rates of around 39%.