Is access to banking a human right ?

[Shannow]

I can't have a job without an account to deposit my pay into.
I can't do my tax (or child support) without a bank account.
Can't buy a house, car etc....
Can't hold stocks or bonds..

So with the inability to exist without one ?

Should access to a bank account in Western society beva human right ?

 

[Kira]

A human right or a worker's right?

Would the arguments' language mimic that of providing education?

 

[skyactiv]

Weird topic. Sounds like something NBC would run when the news is slow—then Fox would bark at it for the knee jerkers.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Weird topic. Sounds like something NBC would run when the news is slow—then Fox would bark at it for the knee jerkers.

Google Nigel Farage. Can't post it here.

OP is from Australia so its probably news there.

 

[Wylie6G72]

I don't believe having a bank account falls under any kind of human right, but qualifying to have an account is pretty easy. A checking account is a different story if you have a long history of bouncing checks or a very poor credit rating. Pretty much anyone can have a savings account if you can pass the general KYC requirements, which would allow you to set up direct deposit, child support payments, etc.

 

[SevenBizzos]

I can't have a job without an account to deposit my pay into.
I can't do my tax (or child support) without a bank account.
Can't buy a house, car etc....
Can't hold stocks or bonds..

So with the inability to exist without one ?

Should access to a bank account in Western society beva human right ?

When I bring up "you should have to have ID" and use banking as an example when one is required, I'm told that many many people don't have banking accounts and therefore don't have ID's. So no, a checking account isn't a "right" and (I'm told) there are many people that don't bank.

 

[Fla]

I can't have a job without an account to deposit my pay into.
I can't do my tax (or child support) without a bank account.
Can't buy a house, car etc....
Can't hold stocks or bonds..

So with the inability to exist without one ?

Should access to a bank account in Western society beva human right ?

You've never managed to sort this out before now but yet you have a child? And even more, one that you're not raising yourself and they're having to pay child support for. And now you're concerned about buying a house and buying/holding stocks and bonds.

I smell TROLL!

 

[SC Maintenance]

I can't have a job without an account to deposit my pay into.
I can't do my tax (or child support) without a bank account.
Can't buy a house, car etc....
Can't hold stocks or bonds..

So with the inability to exist without one ?

Should access to a bank account in Western society beva human right ?

From a US perspective its an interesting question. Here you can work without a bank account - employers will issue checks. You can cash the check at places that charge a huge amount of money or at Walmart which does it for a couple of percentage points. Its certainly not a good idea, my guess is only undocumented workers go that route.

I don't know if its a right - but I think there should be just cause to deny someone an account - and the only just cause I can see for a deposit account at least would be financial crimes like money laundering. I can see denying people the ability to write checks based on bad credit however.

 

[Astro14]

You've never managed to sort this out before now but yet you have a child? And even more, one that you're not raising yourself and they're having to pay child support for. And now you're concerned about buying a house and buying/holding stocks and bonds.

I smell TROLL!

You’re new, so I’ll give you a break.

The OP has been on BITOG since 2002, with over 40,000 posts.

You have no idea about his circumstances or turns in his life, but I assure you, that he’s far more accomplished and experienced than average.

He was asking a question.

So, do you have a legitimate answer, or not?

 

[fdcg27]

Around here banks are begging people to open accounts.
Unless someone has a really bad history with a bank they should have no trouble in opening an account.
Yes, the bank will require two forms of ID, per federal requirements, but that shouldn't be an insurmountable burden.
Banks will not cover overdrafts unless you qualify for that under the bank's rules and restrict access to non-cash deposits for a sufficient period to ensure that any deposited check does indeed clear the bank on which it's drawn, so the bank isn't assuming any risk that I can see.
Is anyone aware of anybody having problems opening an account?

 

[Hall]

The OP has been on BITOG since 2002, with over 40,000 posts.

Funny that he/she missed that

 

[dadto2]

The larger payroll processing companies even offer a debit card product in conjunction with direct deposit explicitly to serve the un-banked population. That demographic is much larger that you could imagine. I work for one of those payroll processors.

 

[Astro14]

Funny that he/she missed that

Yep. Right there under the username.

For the record, I’ve read thousands of thoughtful, informative posts by @Shannow. The site is better for his membership.

This question was intended to be thought-provoking, and I assure anyone who doesn’t know the OP that it is not reflective of his personal situation.

 

[supton]

Intriguing question. It's a bit like trying to get by without a drivers license or other form of ID. Who would try?

I'm finding a parallel with cell phones. The need for multi-factor authentication. I'm guessing if I "had to" there would be some other way for me to authenticate that I am who I am when I try to log into my work PC. There's no official policy at work that says I "must" have a cell phone. But it sure is assumed, and even when I am in-building my phone will periodically ask me to authenticate.

I guess if one choses a path in life, one could get by without any of this (bank account, cell phone, few other things). But once down the trappings of the middle class and/or a desk job, these things become required?

 

[Pew]

Interesting dilemma. Does Australia have a law where cash/coins are considered legal tender?

I'm finding a parallel with cell phones. The need for multi-factor authentication. I'm guessing if I "had to" there would be some other way for me to authenticate that I am who I am when I try to log into my work PC. There's no official policy at work that says I "must" have a cell phone. But it sure is assumed, and even when I am in-building my phone will periodically ask me to authenticate.

From an IT perspective, a user that does not a cellphone and thus cannot setup 2FA will not be able to access their email account at the very minimum. Luckily we provide a $55/month stipend for employees so they shouldn't have an excuse not to have one after.

 

[Leo99]

I used to live in the inner city for a short time and was friends with folks there. They didn't have bank accounts. There are predatory service providers that cater to folks like that that will cash payroll checks for a fee and cut money orders for a fee and you can also pay some bills in cash for a fee. As part of my bankruptcy I had to sent this guy a money order for $133 every month for 3 years. No checks. So every month I went to the 7-Eleven and paid a fee to get a money order. You can get by without a bank account but it costs more.

 

[Fla]

In the US it's real simple, you get a job and they pay you in cash (sometimes) and by check (most of the time). Some employers give you the option of using direct deposit. I shouldn't need to explain how to handle cash. A check can be taken to any of the numerous check cashing services and cashed, usually for a fee. But I've cashed them in grocery stores and they never charged a fee as long as I was making a purchase. But if you have more than $5 in cash or check I've never seen a bank or a credit union that wouldn't allow you to open an account. You can also take the check to the bank that is written against and they are obligated to cash it, even if you don't have an account there. Their obligation is to the person that owns the account and they are obligated to pay the person that he has written the check to, regardless if that person has an account there. Once you have a bank or CC account you can set up direct deposit with most employers.

Speaking from person experience, I starting working real jobs when I was 13 years old and people have been giving me cash and checks from day one. I simply carried the checks to the bank that they were drawn on and cashed them. I got a CU account after I joined the military but I never had a checking account until years after I left the military. I paid for everything in cash except my car payment which I had to mail. For that I walked to a store just outside of the base that I was on and I bought a money order for 39 cents and sent that to the loan company. And that was the 3rd bank loan that I had had at that point so I had GOOD credit even though I had never had a bank account! When I was in the military we were paid by check twice per month, I picked up my check and carried it over to the CU and deposited it and took out what ever cash that I thought that I would need.

I have never seen anyone have any difficulty getting a bank or CU account unless they were a known thief or scam artist.

Regardless

 

[Pew]

Yeah, first, since you brought it up let's start with how has the OP managed to be on this forum for over 20 years but hasn't managed to ever have a bank account? And if we take him at his word, then he's also never had a job!

He never said he didn't have a bank account. If he decided to close a 40 year old bank account last week then he'll still be in this predicament; or if he was thinking about closing his bank account and the banker advised him you shouldn't because of the reasons in the original post and brought it up as a discussion topic here.

 

[97K15004WD]

Around here banks are begging people to open accounts.
Unless someone has a really bad history with a bank they should have no trouble in opening an account.
Yes, the bank will require two forms of ID, per federal requirements, but that shouldn't be an insurmountable burden.
Banks will not cover overdrafts unless you qualify for that under the bank's rules and restrict access to non-cash deposits for a sufficient period to ensure that any deposited check does indeed clear the bank on which it's drawn, so the bank isn't assuming any risk that I can see.
Is anyone aware of anybody having problems opening an account?

Yes.

I had a contract employee that had that issue. I had to spend literally days helping him get this taken care of as he had no car to do it himself.

He was born in a very poor household. He had no birth certificate as his mother did not deliver him at a hospital (he was born in the 1970s, IIRC).

Here, no birth certificate, no government id (GID) will be issued. Because he had no GID, he had no Social Security (SS) number.

Since he had no SS, he had never filed taxes. Ever. (This becomes relevant later)

So the process began with proving he was born to a local state agency that was looking him in the face.

Then once he got his birth certificate issued, we had to get his SS number. Couldn't get that without two forms of ID, so off to the local DMV to get a state ID. But that required two forms of "addressed" bills. He was homeless and lived in a shelter, bouncing from one place to another.

Finally got the state to recognize him (IIRC, we had to get notarized forms from his church and somewhere else) and he got his state ID.

Then back to the SS office. Finally got his SS number issued and he was very proud to have a GID and a SS number.

He went to the bank and opened a savings account. Shortly afterwards, the IRS came calling as he had no filed tax returns for his SS number and due to his age (over 50 yo). Can't remember the exact details, but may have been related to the "Patriot Act"?

Anyway, after all that, I got to pay him for his work and he disappeared shortly afterwards. I don't know what happened, but I understood the IRS was in contact with his bank and froze his account, or something to that effect. He gave up after that and quit. I haven't seen him around in years.

The sad part was he was a good worker and was a decent guy (he didn't smoke, no drinking, no drug use - he was adamantly against all those vices). Just had a bad set of circumstances, and no birth certificate.

I think in my "helping" him, I just made his situation worse.

 

[Hall]

Yeah, first, since you brought it up let's start with how has the OP managed to be on this forum for over 20 years but hasn't managed to ever have a bank account? And if we take him at his word, then he's also never had a job!

Quit making ASSumptions about the OP. How do you know those aren't all just hypothetical questions on his part ?