Nosy banks

Could you perhaps move this discussion elsewhere and keep things on-topic here? 🙂

Nathan Morris3 said:Yeah, I guess they just passed the cost onto us, the customers, so they don't really care. You might say I'm repeating myself, but I think we already touched on this whole cashless debate before, if I remember right. It still feels crazy that card transactions eat up 2-3%—especially since most people aren't even using credit. I was looking at Wikipedia for MASTERCARD : Revenue US $ 9.66 billion (2015) Operating income
US$ 5.07 billion. I honestly don't quite get how they calculate revenue (since not every transaction is their profit), but I don't see why everyone is so okay with funding their bottom line. Maybe the government could finally liberalize things and let some cheaper tech compete?

Over in the European Union, they actually cap those transaction fees—we're talking 0.2% for debit and 0.3% for credit—so, you know, things look a bit different over there...

Is there some sort of discussion thread attached to this PDF where you all intend to continue...? 🙂

analogcrane20 said:Over in the European Union, they actually cap those transaction fees—we're talking 0.2% for debit and 0.3% for credit—so, you know, things look a bit different over there...

Sorry for going off on a tangent here, but I just wanted to wrap up that discussion. I looked it up (didn't realize this before), and it seems like an EU directive—I think it passed back in 2015—is going to drop those margins from 2-3% down to 0.3% for all card networks in about a year and a half. So, you're right, though I guess Mastercard might have had to lower their fee already, while Amex and Diners probably won't until three years after the law hits. The result is obviously higher credit card prices, so I suppose the cost still lands on the consumer, it just gets calculated differently. Now that I think about it, I was paying maybe $18 for a credit card recently, but I see a new one is $36. Maybe that's just some specific bank deal, I guess.

Back to the main topic—I'm actually pretty curious if banks in America are still asking all those nosy questions, or if they finally got a slap on the wrist to stop. Has anyone opened an account lately and dealt with a long questionnaire... or anything like that?

So, now the government’s officially sticking its nose into our wallets.👎 Since the start of 2017, they've basically been stuffing cash straight into their own pockets 👍

@Under the new laws, banks are being forced to hand over everything. They'll have to cough up all the transaction data for business accounts, small business owners, freelancers and even regular citizens—covering every single move made in checking and savings accounts.

driftingmoose57 said:So, now the government’s officially sticking its nose into our wallets.👎 Since the start of 2017, they've basically been stuffing cash straight into their own pockets 👍

@Under the new laws, banks are being forced to hand over everything. They'll have to cough up all the transaction data for business accounts, small business owners, freelancers and even regular citizens—covering every single move made in checking and savings accounts.

As if the government isn't already watching our every move? It’s just one more way for them to stick their noses where they don't belong!

If that’s the case, then why are we even bothering with separate checking and savings accounts?

Arthur Smith2 said:As if the government isn't already watching our every move? It’s just one more way for them to stick their noses where they don't belong!

Man, I guess I was just being naive thinking they only kept tabs on people back in the old days. What even is this? First, they put cameras on every single street corner, and now we get this.
The "shadow economy"? Please. You can still do odd jobs and have the boss pay you straight into your checking account.😂I bet sock imports are gonna skyrocket.😂😂

@SHADOW ECONOMY
WHY BANKS HAVE TO START SENDING ALL CITIZEN TRANSACTION DATA TO THE IRS BY NEW YEAR'S—The government gets a shiny new tool to hunt down anyone looking suspicious.

placidmaker6 said:If that’s the case, then why are we even bothering with separate checking and savings accounts?

There's a point. Banks aren't charities, you know. They need to make their cut through credit card fees and those annoying monthly maintenance charges on empty accounts.

So what, you mean I’m going to have to justify every single deposit hitting my bank account to the IRS now?

From Apple iPhone 15

The IRS has the authority to audit any transaction account belonging to an individual or a corporation.
As long as your money is earned legally, there’s really nothing to worry about.

I’m not talking about a salary here. It’s more like my boyfriend sends money to my account every month—sometimes $100, sometimes more, depending on what's needed. I also send money to my mom to help her out with hers and stuff. What’s the deal with that?
Who is actually going to stop me from sending or receiving money that isn't strictly earned income?

And why should I care about the IRS over this?

From Apple iPhone 15

electricbadger89 said:I’m not talking about a salary here. It’s more like my boyfriend sends money to my account every month—sometimes $100, sometimes more, depending on what's needed. I also send money to my mom to help her out with hers and stuff. What’s the deal with that?
Who is actually going to stop me from sending or receiving money that isn't strictly earned income?

And why should I care about the IRS over this?

From Apple iPhone 15

My wife and I frequently transfer around $1667 every month, usually with funny little memos attached, ranging from "Paying you because you absolutely crushed me in a game of Pokémon" to "Covering the utilities since I'm feeling generous"... I really hope someone reading this gets a little chuckle out of that story. 🙂🕺

electricbadger89 said:I’m not talking about a salary here. It’s more like my boyfriend sends money to my account every month—sometimes $100, sometimes more, depending on what's needed. I also send money to my mom to help her out with hers and stuff. What’s the deal with that?
Who is actually going to stop me from sending or receiving money that isn't strictly earned income?

And why should I care about the IRS over this?

From Apple iPhone 15

Legally speaking, they could technically hit you with a 5% gift tax on what you get from your boyfriend, though I guess it's unlikely the IRS would bother with such small amounts. But, I don't know, if it happens regularly, who knows how they might interpret it.

Between you and your parents, there's no tax issue, so you can pretty much do whatever you want there.

Nathan Morris3 said:Legally speaking, they could technically hit you with a 5% gift tax on what you get from your boyfriend, though I guess it's unlikely the IRS would bother with such small amounts. But, I don't know, if it happens regularly, who knows how they might interpret it.

Between you and your parents, there's no tax issue, so you can pretty much do whatever you want there.

Good grief. :-/

What an absolute joke.

So, from now on, it's strictly cash under the mattress. lol btw

Btw, I also transfer my paycheck from one bank over to another because the second one offers free transactions, savings options, and other perks... Is that even legal?

(Probably not. My salary is already taxed, and I figure I can do whatever I want with it between my own accounts. Pfft)

From iPhone 13

It honestly feels like the days of banking privacy are long gone, interest rates on savings accounts aren't worth the paper they're printed on, while loan rates have just skyrocketed, and it seems like Uncle Sam wants a cut of absolutely everything you touch, so I really struggle to see any logical reason to keep my money sitting in a bank account right now.

And that is not even touching upon the massive headaches currently facing major European financial institutions like Deutsche Bank or UniCredit.

wiredlynx28 said:The IRS has the authority to audit any transaction account belonging to an individual or a corporation.
As long as your money is earned legally, there’s really nothing to worry about.

I mean, what’s next? Maybe the government just wants full access to all our private emails to see if we're making side deals to dodge taxes—and their excuse will probably be that if you aren't doing anything illegal, why should you care if someone's snooping through your inbox? It's getting a bit wild, I guess...🙄

vividranger8 said:I mean, what’s next? Maybe the government just wants full access to all our private emails to see if we're making side deals to dodge taxes—and their excuse will probably be that if you aren't doing anything illegal, why should you care if someone's snooping through your inbox? It's getting a bit wild, I guess...🙄

Exactly. That's clearly where this is headed.

What about prepaid accounts?

From iPhone 13

wiredlynx28 said:The IRS has the authority to audit any transaction account belonging to an individual or a corporation.
As long as your money is earned legally, there’s really nothing to worry about.

So, according to you, we’re all just public servants waiting to be screwed over by the IRS? Like everyone's a suspect? Honestly, it’s insulting. I’ve spent my entire life working hard and playing by the rules here in America, while the self-proclaimed "patriots," the high-ranking officials, and those "pillars of society" are busy stashing their cash in Monaco.

driftingmoose57 said:So, according to you, we’re all just public servants waiting to be screwed over by the IRS? Like everyone's a suspect? Honestly, it’s insulting. I’ve spent my entire life working hard and playing by the rules here in America, while the self-proclaimed "patriots," the high-ranking officials, and those "pillars of society" are busy stashing their cash in Monaco.

Exactly.

I even run a small side business just to account for every extra cent I make so I stay completely above board. It still bugs me that someone thinks they have the right to dig through my private transactions that don't even touch my actual income.

Disgusting.

From iPhone 13