Backing up a little, the primary role of banks in a fractional reserve system is to increase the amount of money in circulation by lending. The “opt-out” is “just hold your own money”. Signing up for a bank account while being in opposition to them lending your money is like getting a job and being upset that they expect you to work; it’s not just part of the deal, it’s the primary part of the deal.
I like the idea of banks giving consumers a prospectus, but I should point out that publicly traded banks do, every three months, in the form of a quarterly earnings statement. How many people use it as such, I’m not sure.
The primary role of a bank for me is to make my money available via a debit card virtually vs. carrying physical bills which can be more easily lost or stolen.
I understand what you're saying. It's worth noting that the needs of the depositor are below the needs of the system itself.
This is one of the selling points for crypto. As a consumer, digitization of the money is about the only service most consumers care about (or accruing interest). Banking seems to me a very outdated and nearly obsoleted technology.
I think you'll find that consumers care a lot about the lending side of the business. A lot of people have mortgages, lines of credit, personal loans and credit cards!
This comment made me think. Is the presence of lending an example of supply leading demand, rather than the other way around? I’ll have to read more on the history of the situation, but I don’t think anyone wants, e.g., a mortgage. They want a house and can’t afford it any other way.
In a system where mortgages didn’t exist, maybe houses would be more affordable for people.
It isn't but it's cheaper. People may not care very much about the 2% interest rates they get on their savings account, but I think they do care about having access to cheap credit.
To back up a little further, the purpose of a bank before fractional reserve banking was to store gold and other valuables safe from theft…
Fractional reserve banking began when the banks started converting the deposits to issue loans without the depositor’s knowledge or consent… and that’s largely the way it remains.
I like the idea of banks giving consumers a prospectus, but I should point out that publicly traded banks do, every three months, in the form of a quarterly earnings statement. How many people use it as such, I’m not sure.