Here's an annoying trend. My bank is locking ATM kiosks when the bank branch is closed. According to the sign this is for the safety of customers. So if the bank location has a drive-thru, you can use that―on foot, if you don't have a car―but if they don't, you're SOL. And I'm finding out that other banks are doing this too.
There's apparently a precedent for this, but that's symptomatic too. In cities like New York and San Francisco, maybe it makes sense. The locals there might not like the rule either, but there are at least news stories backing you up there. It's not like Providence is free of crime and homelessness, but it doesn't have them to the level that would justify this paranoid change in policy. That's the thing, though. These places are owned by corporations based in bigger cities, and that's where they take their cues from.
Because the whole thing about ATMs is that they allow you to do banking when the bank is officially closed. They lose some of their raison d'etre when you can only use them during normal business hours.
2 comments:
The good news appears to be that you still have the bank branch. When our local village bank closed permanently this past winter we were left with just two choices about where to go to conduct business and both of them are significantly distant from here. It's definitely handy to have a bank nearby but upper level management didn't find keeping the place staffed in line with their priorities. It did, naturally, have two atms that got taken away too. So we were left with the atm across the street at the grocery store where we learned to our sorrow we could only get cash rather than being able to deposit checks too.
The Canadian banks have been closing branches across the country leaving some small towns with no bank at all. I've read this is a trend with bank branches in the US having dropped by a fifth since 2010.
Of course, what it comes down to is that banks also prefer people not to use cash. I can't help but wonder if there's a sneaky plot going on to make sure our every transaction can (and will be) tracked.
And where are we supposed to get change for the laundry?
Pour one out for the old village bank. It's incredible that they held out as long as they did. Canada doesn't have the exact same system of regulations and deregulations as the US, of course, but I'm pretty sure the trend toward larger financial institutions swallowing smaller ones is global. It's unfortunate that you lost the bank and its ATMs. I hope that you don't get hit with ATM fees every time you use the grocery machine.
It's an ominous trend if banks are disappearing and leaving some towns with none. It hasn't been that bad around here, really, as I think we've basically broken even. But it's another way that small towns in the center of the country have been hit, I'm guessing.
Cash is negotiable and some cash transactions happen under the radar. Both the government and high finance frown on this and find it inconvenient. One of many ways in which they're on the same page.
Finding change for the laundry is something that you don't have to worry about if you have servants to do all your washing, and it shows.
Post a Comment