Bitcoin Forum

Many of us have had this experience: You go to a bank for opening an account regarding a Bitcoin-business - and the bank refuses you as a client. Or you want to rent office space - and the landlord hears "Bitcoin" and shreds the contract.

However, I'm sure that all those who cry now "Bitcoin is a crime" will try to make the big business in the future. So it may be worth to note who was against Bitcoin in the beginning...

I, for example, established a company in Switzerland. I was in need of a bank account. The following bank accepted my money for setting up the company: Zürcher Kantonalbank. But once the company was set up, the bank refused to give back the money. Their opinion: Bitcoins are illegal. So I should find another bank for the day-to-day business, and they would transfer the money to this other bank. However, every time I contacted a bank, they refused to open an account because of Bitcoin. Here's the list of those banks:
- Postfinance Switzerland
- UBS Switzerland
- Credit Suisse
- Berner Kantonalbank
- Basler Kantonalbank
- Coop-Bank
- Deutsche Bank

Funny, though, that UBS has since started to work on some Bitcoin-studies and Zürcher Kantonalbank has set up a "Task Force Bitcoin"....

You can add German Postbank to the list, too.

On the other hand, there are institutes like German-based Fidor Bank which actively promoting their service for Bitcoin people. Fidor Bank is even cooperating with the fiat<->btc exchange Bitcoin.de.

http://about.all4btc.com/fidor-dream-bank-bitcoin/

It's very clear why traditional banks are against bitcoin: It will destroy their business and their importance for society.

The best thing to do is not using banks at all and to go Bitcoin only. If that's not an option, try to separate the Bitcoin business from the fiat business and run each one independently.

If you need to do Bitcoin purchases for your business use direct face2face cash transactions. What's most important: Don't hand over liquidity to banks without reason, because they don't deserve it.

Great to see this list.

ya.ya.yo!

you only need to mix bitcoins with bank if youre an exchange.. otherwise you can split both or best.

going 100% bitcoin would limit your market.. better accept fiat too but remind customers of benefits of using bitcoin! 8)

and which bank allowed you to open an account?

I won't name them because I'm sure the principals don't know....

But first, I had to call the cops to get my money in cash from the first bank which refused to get it out to me.

Indeed, and German BW bank, Belgian Rabobank, KBC and Fortis and Dutch Rabobank and SNS neither... Had bad experiences with all of them regarding bitcoin.
Fidor bank is fine!

There already is a thread for discussing bitcoin friendly/hostile banks.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=264679.0

Sounds like that bank used bitcoins unpopular factor to rip you the F off. Did you find out if the bitcoin is really illegal in your country? Bassed on your story they acted like they where going to do business with you then they just simply took your money. Then to say that "if you get another account someplace else they will transfer the money"; well they just saw you coming. Is there any legal action you can take? I hope that you can recover.

Actually, by going to the bank with some cops, brought me back my money. And Bitcoin is not illegal in my country, but it is basically impossible to get a document from any official which supports this.

Glad to hear you got your money back because thy did rob you. You have every right to broadcast what happen between you and that bank because they probably robbed many people. As for banks in general they pretty much hate the bitcoin. Not because they think its a scheme or too volatile but because they don't think there is a future in it. Banks are all about fiat money and the bitcoin is a direct opponent to that. However; the day that banks figure out how to get rich on bitcoins is the day they will be all over it.

I partly disagree... banks are fully aware of what Bitcoin could become in the future. I just had a discussion the other week with the CEO of a Swiss firm, and accidentally - after some wine - he told me that they have received a contract for designing a new Bitcoin-wallet for banks. So they ARE aware what's going on, they are preparing themselfs, but they just wait until regulators have finished their work here in Switzerland. And until then, they try to close out as many participants in the market as possible.

2nd this. They are well aware, and they will evolve. This is the part of the change that Bitcoin/crypto is creating.


 

That is the part that everyone seems to overlook. Banks are designed to make a profit. You can make a profit by dealing with bit coins so it stands to reason that some banks will move toward bitcoin in the short term and eventually all of them will follow. 

current trends and bitcoin more extensive, but unfortunately it is not supported by adequate infrastructure, purchase goods using bitcoin is still very little, goods of daily life still sold using fiat money in circulation in a country, so my advice if we agree to use bitcoin as currency trading transactions, which we need to build supporting infrastructure must first use in micro markets ...  8)

I can confirm that Postfinance Switzerland is working fine for private individuals.

Maybe they don't like companies?

They definitively don't... If you have a company working with Bitcoins, they ask for a letter from the Financial Market Authority, telling that you have the permission for doing business. However, Finma does not issue such letters - of course not...

Maybe try Reiffeisen? Bitstamp uses Reiffeisen too...

or just open a Bank-Account under your own name? Normally nobody cares, ey?

Or join a self-regulated Organisation: https://yacuna.com/blog/bitcoin-currency-switzerland/

I can feel your pain. Getting fait money out of an exchange into a bank account is a problem for me too. Banks thinks bitcoin is toxic and would rather loose a customer than run the risk of paying fines on money laundering.

I think, bankers are still the real enemies of bitcoin.  8)

I don't think the enemies can do anything about bitcoins. Even if they plan to buy it all, the price will keep going up costing millions to buy 1 bitcoin. Since it has been widely adopted, there is little that can be done against it.

BW bank don't even allow me to transer to a private person for buying bitcoins  :o

I dont think they are. They are smart and see many great wealth implementing possibilities in the Bitcoin. But time in banking industry turns much slower then in Crypto. Bankers just cant switch that time to run faster.

The only enemy of Bitcoin is fear of unknown.  Fear of changes. Everyone of us have this fear in them. Some bigger other smaller. It takes time for everyone to overcome it.
100 years ago many would be scared to drive in a car.
30 years ago many would be scared use computer.

Same! i think it's about how if all banks were actually like this then there would be a lot less motivation behind blockchain in use for currency, but they aren't, so there is.

The real "enemies" come out it's own ranks, the bunch of sociopaths who at one point are praised as the paragons of the community and then later sack in a bunch of Bitcoins under some pretense. Oh and not forget the suckers who shill for their schemes. Bruce Wagner was the first and Mark Karpeles is just the latest.
And its never gonna stop.... never!

All type of organization which make commerce with currency like EUR, USD, GBP ecc. is an enemy of Bitcoin. Anyway, you can consider that all type of bank are enemy of bitcoin and viceversa.

I've heard that PayPal may be integrating Bitcoin into their system soon.

Banks are not enemies of Bitcoin. As capitalism is not enemy of BTC.

They want to make money. On one side there is the new economy from which they wat to make money. On the other side there are states and the lawss against moneylaundering. So far the sanctions for money laundering are simply too high and Bitcoin market too small, so they rather stay away.

Of course one day they will want to participate and will participate. The faster ones. The slower will go down.

If I were a bank making billions I would stay away of bitcoin at this stage of course as well.

The biggest enemy of BTC is current system. BTC of course will be big problem for money laundering, big problem because of drugs etc. It will destroy the social state, because nobody will be able to collect so high % of taxes and help the poorer people. It will also destroy the social consensus about what is allowed and what is not. Society will try to defend much more against this in future than now. And it will lose.

In the end we all will use BTC and we all will hate it. But there is no help. Pandora box is open.

yes bank are not enemies of bitcoin maybe bitcoin is enemies of bank :)

That would be great. BTC must be accept more and more.

And yet, they are freezing account associate with bitcoin.