Banking advice?

[K. Darien Freeheart]

I have a hard time even thinking of using a credit card online and/or having a bank account on the internet.

And for me, not being able to purchase things online with cash is the single reason I don't use cash. If you're not buying online, you're paying way too much for most stuff I purchase routinely.

I guess I am like an 80 year old who can't understand why people need cellphones.

Don't blame that on age. My grandmother and I both consider cellphones intrinsic parts of daily life and we e-mail each other frequently. Cell phones and the internet have "always" existed as far as I am concerned. I've been using computers since Kindergarten. It bothers me when I don't have my cellphone or my wife doesn't have hers. I live in the DC metro area... I don't have much faith in some good samaritin calling an ambulance if my wife goes careening off the highway.

I guess I just dislike the whole idea of every personal transaction someone makes is being processed and recorded somewhere and anyone (theif or Big gov) can gain access to it.

I understand this to some extent, but realistically speaking why does it matter? If the goverment wants to jail you, they don't need to prove a specific transaction, they simply need to show that you make more income than you report (tax evasion) which they can do if you deposit ANY amount of money over $600 into a bank account. Simply HAVING a bank account in today's system leaves several paper trails. I can understand the arguement of simply not using the banking system but not using certain aspects of it makes no sense to me. The only threat to your wealth is someone else knowing you have it. Since my employer gives it to me, the secret's already out of the bag as far as I'm concerened.

IMO it is a surefire way to eventually get rid of cash and keep track of everyones earnings.

Reporting requirements plus the banking system already do that so efficiently that they don't need a transaction-by-transaction account. There's a strong arguement for avoiding those two aspects, but for the most part it's impossible for most people to do that currently with their lifestyles. That realization is why I find agorism so appealing, to create a "network" of liberty-minded businesses and services that aren't willing to play into those systems.

Actually everything I hear says credit cards have better theft protection. They have zero liability policies and things. Debit cards they can rip whatever is in your checking account and you won't be paid back.

That really varies by bank. From a technical standpoint there's not too much difference between a debit and a credit card. Credit cards tend to advertise the "zero liability" more than banks, but then in my personal experience resolving fraudulent charges has been MUCH easier with a bank that I've got an established relationship with (debit cards). Some credit cards have liabilities, and some debit cards don't, so shop around.

[kola]

good points made, Kevin.

kola

[maulotaur]

You do know that checks are now digitally scanned and recorded, right? The IRS finds out about people "evading" taxes this way.

Does this recording also apply to the person receiving/cashing the check? 

-Paul in VA

[K. Darien Freeheart]

Does this recording also apply to the person receiving/cashing the check?

It's done by banks, the bank that recieves the check for tendering and the paying bank. So say that I write a check to you (My account is with Bank of America) and you cash it at your bank (Chase, for instance) then Chase digitizes it when they recieve it and then sends it off to Bank of America, who in turn digitize it there.

Consider banks to be extensions of the government. The Federal Reserve isn't a government agency, but in actuality it operates like one. Banks operate as the Fed demands. Don't do anything with an FDIC "insured" facility that you'd not do to the Department of Treasury.

[dalebert]

I remember talking to a guy who does some kinds of home renovations and such and asking if he usually gets cash from his customers for tax reasons. He said he didn't mind a check. He just goes to their bank to cash it. So, what information are they going to have on him? Just a name, I presume. I guess it's potentially usable information but it seems unlikely to trace back. Once again, I think a lot of it comes down to how hard they have to work at it vs. how much taxes you're avoiding.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

I remember talking to a guy who does some kinds of home renovations and such and asking if he usually gets cash from his customers for tax reasons. He said he didn't mind a check. He just goes to their bank to cash it

I work in Virginia but live in Maryland. So when I cash my paycheck, it gets put on hold for three days with my bank while it clears. Because of this, I walk the two blocks to the bank my company uses and cash it then drive to the Bank of America ATM and deposit the cash directly. The bank I cashed my check at carded me and wrote my DL # on the check. I asked about it and they said that it is actually illegal (citing the PATRIOT ACT) to cash a check over $100 without government issued ID. Asked further, they provided me a written statement (bank branded, not law) stating the information they were REQUIRED to get. It is law in the USA that ALL bank transactions create two records on a "paper trail".

That's not saying it's not possible to skirt the system with checks, I'm sure most liquor stores will cash it without an ID, but I'm willing to bet most banks aren't willing to buck the system.

[kola]

When you cash a check, it is recorded and stamped as "cashed" then photocopied into computers and then your name is logged as the recipient.

Collecting cash for services is the only way... but if you give a receipt for receiving cash you better make sure you report it.

I take checks and deposit them in my account. I don;t want any hassles. But I often withdrawl cash to pay for things instead of writing checks because I like using cash and some places don;t take debit or credit cards..especially in rural places. And now in Denver and a few other cities here they make you show ID and they want to fingerprint you when you write a check. No thanks. I will pay cash.

Kola

[porcupine kate]

You will only find a few big banking chains here in NH.  New Hampshire has quite a few credit unions.  The only requirement for most of them is to be a NH resident.  This is the first state to have them.  St. Mary's is the oldest and largest in the state.  You will also find a lot of local banks up here.  I went with one of these.  I like there customer service better and there fees were lower.  Most of the local banks around here haven't gotten tangled up with a bunch of risky mortgages either.  New Hampshire learned that lesson in the late 80's early 90's.
Kate