Is it possible to live without banks?

[mirakal]

I cannot imagine life without banks, even though we have had a turbulent year and it has fueled the demand for cryptocurrencies. But in reality, i realize that dealing with banks will still be controlled. I am not a person who believes all in decentralized because the economy will need both centralized and decentralized for better development.

You can do banking even without banks, but if these remittance centers and other related businesses exist, for sure banks will also exist. For me, the importance of bank is only for safekeeping of my money, but I don't put higher than the insured amount. In terms of banking, we can do with other financial institution and nowadays we already have a lot of options in digital transactions, including crypto of course.

[mezzaluna]

if we lived in ancient times, maybe it could be because our need at that time was only food and that was enough for hunting, or maybe bartering. but for today's increasingly sophisticated technology, it will be difficult for us to meet our secondary needs if there are no banks. As well as storing large amounts of money, banks also provide loans where we can make ends meet if our money is not there or not yet paid.

I agree, the availability of banks along with a huge advancement of financial establishments as of now. The investment on stocks is also what made possible on the need of banks because they need some platform in which they could control or see the stocks values and prices. Financial Technology companies are also another huge trend in the world of IT industries and they are really stepping up their game so that they would create a name for themselves which will gain them credibility.

[sukmo]

For now it is not possible because people still need banks.
Bitcoin is here to be an alternative for users to make transactions quickly and transparently but that does not mean that bitcoin can replace banks.
Unless the whole world has officially recognized bitcoin and can be used to trade freely, perhaps the above story will be different.
Let's see how enthusiastic the community in the future with the development of technology that is increasingly sophisticated and easy to use.

[emmybd]

Bank is a very important part of our life. Bank is a financial institution. It plays a very important role in our day to day life. We can live a tension free life because of  banks. Because banks keep our assets safe. There are various kinds of banks and they work differently. Commercial banks provide investible funds to both the public sector, and specially the private sector.
Benefits of a bank:
It helps us to keep our assets safe.
People can lend money from a bank. As a result, people can overcome their hard time.
If we have a bank account we can easily save our money.
It's easy to transfer money by using a bank account.
We can also earn interest from a bank.
Banks do many works.
They issue cheque books, they keep our money safe, they give us loan, they give us personal loan as well as we can take loan for our business purposes.
 Actually we can't live without a bank. In our everyday life we require a bank very much. Without a bank we can't say that our money is 100% secure and also when we need extra money for some important work we can take help from banks.

[Abiky]

During prehistoric times, humans didn't had much use for money, as bartering took care of everything. But nowadays, we are living in a money-centric world. Whatever we do in our daily life is related to money-making, in one way or another. And previously there was no concept of saving money for the future. At the most, ancient humans stored a part of their agricultural harvest for difficult times. Now there is a need to save money, in order to survive during bad times. And for that, banks are necessary. Without the banks, it will be very difficult to store money.

That's certainly true, mate. We didn't use to have banks in the before time. People used to rely on agriculture and precious metals for survival. After central banks were introduced, our society has changed in many ways. It's now the time where people are highly dependent on banks since they control the world's monetary system. Fiat currencies (mostly in the form of paper money) are used to buy everything in the mainstream world. Without it, you won't be able to survive. As much as I'd like to avoid banks altogether, the fact that I need paper money to buy things, greatly defeats the purpose. It's not like you can use precious metals or even crypto to buy things directly nowadays. The number of merchants and businesses accepting these Fiat alternatives are extremely limited. As long as Fiat continues to dominate the mainstream economy, we'll be forced to live with banks.

At least, crypto provides an alternative to the current monetary system. For the first time ever, the unbanked people are able to gain financial inclusion. By relying on both mainstream banks and crypto, you'll be able to gain complete control over your financial life. It's all a matter of exploiting every opportunity in order to remain successful. The only way you'll be able to live without banks, is if they collapse altogether. Once this happens, people will turn back to precious metals or crypto. But this is very unlikely to happen, as banks are too big to fail. Let's just carry on with our lives as usual, with banks on our side for our survival. Just my thoughts

[sportclub2010]

The first American dollar appeared in 1785. 236 years have passed, and the dollar is feeling confident and not going to leave the world market. The first bitcoin was born a little over ten years ago. Maybe in 226 years it will conquer the entire world market. In the meantime, it is too early to talk about any superiority of cryptocurrency on fiat money.

[AndySt]

its imposible if we live without banks, banks are very helpful for the community's economy. starting from saving, deposit to borrowing. everyone would need a loan of money, and only banks are the solution. so it's unlikely that we live without a bank.

Nothing is impossible. We can perfectly do without the benefits of modern civilization and there are still many places on our planet where the population continues to live a primitive social and economic life, another question is whether it is advisable. Many centuries of human experience have led us to the current working model of the economy and we need to be very careful about experiments in this area, because it is easy to break, but it is difficult to build.

[marcbitcoins]

It is possible but difficult to live with it because we are now currently living in digital revolution in which almost everything is now online making our way of lives to be very convenient. Everything is now within the touch of our finger tips that If we will not rely on banks then its just like we will living back in our old civilization ways again.

[bryant.coleman]

The first American dollar appeared in 1785. 236 years have passed, and the dollar is feeling confident and not going to leave the world market. The first bitcoin was born a little over ten years ago. Maybe in 226 years it will conquer the entire world market. In the meantime, it is too early to talk about any superiority of cryptocurrency on fiat money.

The first USD banknote was printed more than 200 years ago, but USD became the reserve currency of the world only in 1945. Before that, USD was in the same position as Bitcoin is currently. And it is very difficult to imagine Bitcoin surviving for 100 or 200 years. Each and every technological innovation has a limited lifespan. It can be 10 years, or even 100 years. But eventually, some other innovation is going to replace it.

[iamsheikhadil]

For now it is not possible because people still need banks.
Bitcoin is here to be an alternative for users to make transactions quickly and transparently but that does not mean that bitcoin can replace banks.
Unless the whole world has officially recognized bitcoin and can be used to trade freely, perhaps the above story will be different.
Let's see how enthusiastic the community in the future with the development of technology that is increasingly sophisticated and easy to use.

Even if the whole world recognizes Bitcoin and digital currencies as the legal and only tender, still it will need lots of effort and money to actually bring this revolution into reality because so many beings on this planet would then need to have a gadget (phone or PC) for receiving or sending these digital currencies which isn't possible because not everyone have food properly or a shelter, specially the economically poorest sections. I think the OP is trying to say "life without banks" and not fiat. I think it's possible, banks are needed because people need profit and a way to save money or loans in immediate situations. If these needs be fulfilled then we might be able to live without banks.

[Argoo]

It is possible but difficult to live with it because we are now currently living in digital revolution in which almost everything is now online making our way of lives to be very convenient. Everything is now within the touch of our finger tips that If we will not rely on banks then its just like we will living back in our old civilization ways again.

Our civilization remains the same and with the advent of digital technologies our life will become much more convenient and simpler. However, you should not completely rely on digital technologies and forget about the old, but reliable ones that do not require the presence of complex equipment.
Some people even today live for a long time without banks, but another part of them still regularly or periodically use banking services.
It must be remembered that banks are actually part of the state system and that they serve the economy of each country. Therefore, banks will continue to exist as long as the states exist.

[Mauser]

It is possible but difficult to live with it because we are now currently living in digital revolution in which almost everything is now online making our way of lives to be very convenient. Everything is now within the touch of our finger tips that If we will not rely on banks then its just like we will living back in our old civilization ways again.

Our civilization remains the same and with the advent of digital technologies our life will become much more convenient and simpler. However, you should not completely rely on digital technologies and forget about the old, but reliable ones that do not require the presence of complex equipment.
Some people even today live for a long time without banks, but another part of them still regularly or periodically use banking services.
It must be remembered that banks are actually part of the state system and that they serve the economy of each country. Therefore, banks will continue to exist as long as the states exist.

I think the dependency on banks is a also a part of western culuture. We really enjoy financial security and want to rely one someone else to manage our money and take care of us. If I look at my parents they are very clueless in terms of financial investing and just rely on their bank manager and what he recommends. As for me, I only do online banking. There is no human interaction with a bank in a form. So in a few generations I could definitely see ourself move on from the traditional banking system with a lot of different small branches across the country.

[Abiky]

The first USD banknote was printed more than 200 years ago, but USD became the reserve currency of the world only in 1945. Before that, USD was in the same position as Bitcoin is currently. And it is very difficult to imagine Bitcoin surviving for 100 or 200 years. Each and every technological innovation has a limited lifespan. It can be 10 years, or even 100 years. But eventually, some other innovation is going to replace it.

That's certainly true, mate. Each technological innovation has a limited lifespan. Bitcoin may become history in the future if a new technology better than Blockchain is discovered. Who knows what will happen in a century from now? One thing is certain and that is banks aren't going anywhere. They're too big too fail even with crypto/Blockchain tech in play. These financial institutions will eventually adopt Bitcoin's underlying technology in order to stay ahead of the game. With talks about launching CBDCs to the public, banks' endgame becomes a dream more than anything else. Considering that the world moves around Fiat, it'll be impossible to live without a bank. Even if you avoid setting up a bank account, relying on paper money is no different than living with banks for your daily needs. We'll have to face the fact that crypto is not meant to replace the current monetary system. It's better off as an alternative than a replacement because of the reasons mentioned before. As I've said many times, you can live without crypto but not without banks.

Nonetheless, time will tell us what lies ahead with banks' prominence in the mainstream world. If they collapse, expect crypto to become the world's #1 medium of exchange. Only then, merchants, businesses, and everyday people will adopt crypto to a full extent. It'll be possible to live without a bank, as everything will move around crypto. It'll enable a truly decentralized economy like never before. The odds of this happening are very slim. But if COVID-19 continues to sink the mainstream economy, this could become a reality sooner than you could imagine. Just my thoughts

[Conley]

Life without a basic bank account may seem difficult, if not impossible. However, it can be done. From paying direct debits and standing orders or utility bills or receiving a salary to simply identifying you as someone who exists, bank accounts are a huge part of a person's life.

[wxxyrqa]

It seems to me that if the state completely abandons banking services, then every person can do without a bank account. But since today a lot in a person's daily life functions with the help of bank accounts, including salaries and utilities, it is impossible to do without a banking system at the moment. In any case, everything will depend in the future on the planned policy of the government itself.

[TedMosby]

How many bankers will lost their job then? Man, that is a lot.
I am not sure if we can live without banks. We still need a regulation too.
Let say we all accept crypto for transactions, since we have more hodler than spender, how’s the volatility then?

I believe our problem is not the bank it self, but the way they makes money from people’s money.
I am okay if we have a middleman for a transaction, but I will choose a good middleman.
So, maybe bank is still needed, but their way to treat us should be changed.

CMIIW

[Novatech8]

Denying bank is denying FIAT, how are you going to ever change your crypto assets to FIAT if you plan to live without banks? We are just fooling ourselves to say the truth, FIAT and banks still have a big role to play in our lives, the only way to erase bank is if every corner of the world starts accepting crypto as payment option only and I don't think it the day will ever come

[Novatech8]

There is no reason to hope that fiat and bank should erase from the world, crypto, fiat and banks can all still exists, only merchants will choose which means of payments suits them and we pay with whichever one we have, the world will be more peaceful this way

[KEN C]

No bank can survive, but many companies and businesses will not develop so fast and life will not be so convenient. For people, people no longer have stable interest on their deposits, but they can invest in stocks or real estate, etc. For enterprises, the source of funds needed for enterprise expansion is no longer convenient, and there will be big problems for company expansion.

[Yum Bravo]

Foe me, it's quiet hard, because you know the bank influence our daily time. But if one day, the bitcoin or something become the most popular currency and everyone chose to use it, maybe it can replace the bank.