Is it possible to live without banks?

[TheNineClub]

I would argue that maybe the banks themselves are not a problem. Well, the concept of banking is not a problem, but their social responsibility and their financial practices are. So maybe we should not be looking at a future without banks or banking but to a restructuring of the whole system that would see more checks being implemented to secure a safer way of doing business, and also hold banking institutions responsible for their actions. Cryptocurencies have shifted the way we perceive and handle our finances to a certain extent, so if the banks want a piece of it (and they do), they will have to bring something to the table, and that something might just be a complete reorganization of doing their business.

[Abiky]

I would argue that maybe the banks themselves are not a problem. Well, the concept of banking is not a problem, but their social responsibility and their financial practices are. So maybe we should not be looking at a future without banks or banking but to a restructuring of the whole system that would see more checks being implemented to secure a safer way of doing business, and also hold banking institutions responsible for their actions. Cryptocurencies have shifted the way we perceive and handle our finances to a certain extent, so if the banks want a piece of it (and they do), they will have to bring something to the table, and that something might just be a complete reorganization of doing their business.

Agree. It's banks' malpractices which is the real issue here. If they did things in a fair and equitable way, then everything would be fine by now. But their actions has caused economies to sink, the rich to become richer, among many other things. Bitcoin was created in response to the financial crisis of 2008 because of banks' malpractices. Yet, it's still not independent enough to be used as a substitute of Fiat because of low adoption in the mainstream world. I'm sure that if Bitcoin were accepted by many merchants and businesses alike, it would've been possible to live without a bank. Imagine working for Bitcoin, and spending Bitcoin for goods and services anytime, anywhere. You could pay your mortgage, your bills, and even your loans with Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency without the need for a bank account. It would've been a dream come true, threatening the existence of central banks as we know them.

Nonetheless, we could say that banks aren't going anywhere. It's been shown from time to time that they adapt themselves to the latest trends in technology. With the announcement of CBDCs, living without a bank becomes a distant dream. We should accept the fact that it's practically impossible to live without banks. You can live without crypto though. Who knows what will happen in the future with both banks and decentralized cryptocurrencies in play? Just my opinion

[Argoo]

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.

Yes, it is necessary to take into account that if we use paper money, then we use the services of a bank, since paper money is issued by the central bank of the state. And people are unlikely to give up cash in the foreseeable future. And there is no need to do this. People will enjoy the convenience and benefits of different means of payment, and many of them will be oblivious to whether they are centralized or decentralized.
Some may try not to use the services of banks and not use their paper money. However, why deliberately go for such restrictions? It seems to me that this should not be done.

[babykika2027]

The main question is "for what"? Usually, it will make your life not so convinient and you will need to pay higher fees

[Mayorluke]

In my own point of view,l think is possible because digital currency has taken over the world banking space in a very easy going transaction.Recall, during a primitive era there was a banking system that were operating before e-banking system come into play,so the case is applicable in this our contemporaries society that ones can live without banking that we different ways we can save for it to add value ie appreciating it forms like any other valuable commodities we have in a particular society.
My points portray a subject that ones could live without bank irrespective of the environment you find yourself,infact an environment cannot never be a determinant factor on the type of banking system we should operate

[Lucas*]

Imo it's not possible, Banks became a necessary thing in our life like supermarket And mall, Banks are safe And stable but crypto are volatile we can't count on it..

[Matimtim]

Even we have digital form of money like bitcoin and ethereum but I think we cant live without bank or without the use of paper money or local money, because we need it to buy our basic needs as the very popular money.

In my own understanding we can't live without bank,

[AndySt]

Well, to be honest, if digital money is created in the world, that is, the USD is put with Blokchain technology as China intends to do it, it is a way in which banks would begin to be displaced, because people they would like to have full control of their money without going through third-party permits, in this case only a wallet would be used and they could make the money movements that the person wants, that way if we could think about living without banks.

All this speculation about a hypothetical life without banks is based only on the role of banks for storing money in the account and conducting transactions, which does not show the whole picture. It is one thing when you manage your own money and quite another thing when the available amount of money you do not have enough to make an expensive purchase or to conduct business. But here special financial organizations such as banks come into play, which accumulate funds and are engaged in issuing them to those in need of money and take on all the risks associated with this.

[wxxyrqa]

In my opinion, today the bank is not in danger as long as Bitcoin is used as a speculative asset. But as soon as more and more large capital enters bitcoin, then its value will not only increase significantly, but also stabilize. It is this fact that will greatly reduce the volatility of Bitcoin, which will allow users not only to use it as a means of payment, but also to use it as a storage. Imagine a situation where you manage your funds yourself and take care of the security of your Bitcoin wallet, and do not provide this job to banks that not only store your money, but also control your expenses and income, and also theoretically use your money, earning for your account, financing various projects and providing loans.

[Abiky]

In my opinion, today the bank is not in danger as long as Bitcoin is used as a speculative asset. But as soon as more and more large capital enters bitcoin, then its value will not only increase significantly, but also stabilize. It is this fact that will greatly reduce the volatility of Bitcoin, which will allow users not only to use it as a means of payment, but also to use it as a storage. Imagine a situation where you manage your funds yourself and take care of the security of your Bitcoin wallet, and do not provide this job to banks that not only store your money, but also control your expenses and income, and also theoretically use your money, earning for your account, financing various projects and providing loans.

Exactly. Banks will only take Bitcoin as a "threat" once it becomes used as a serious currency for day-to-day payments. But we all know this is very unlikely to happen anytime soon because of Bitcoin's volatility and lack of merchant adoption in the mainstream world. As long as Bitcoin remains inferior to Fiat in terms of mainstream adoption, banks won't be going anywhere. Given that the world moves around Fiat currencies backed by mainstream governments, it's impossible to live without a bank. The only way this could work is if central banks collapse altogether and governments begin to use decentralized cryptocurrencies as a replacement for the mainstream economic system. But the odds of this happening in the future are very slim.

Nonetheless, we have to face the fact that living without a bank is only a dream. Crypto is and will always be an alternative to the current monetary system than a replacement. As long as banks remain in power, Fiat will continue to dominate the mainstream economy. Remember that you can live without crypto, but not without banks. Just my opinion

[Alucard1]

The bank is really important in our daily lives, even though you are working and paid off BTC, you still need a bank to cash it out. Banks and cryptocurrency are both important and they have a different purpose in our lives and most probably, still, a lot of people don't know about cryptocurrency so they still prefer banks and wouldn't mind cryptocurrency. Even though a mass adoption happens bank is still really important.

[nicecrypto]

Unfortunately, at the moment it is not possible the banks are still necessary, not everyone uses or is familiar with crypto, then taking gold to near is difficult and dangerous, in a future when the adoption of crypto will be worldwide we could finally give the goodbye to banks

I believe that is what we would all want to happen, a future where banks are no more and crypto transactions will be the days mode of payment but I also believe that crypto as we see it now might not be this free to trade if I might use that phrase because, I think the question of the Government losing control of their countries Economics financial power through crypto adoption will be checked. Hence we might see a super regulated cryptocurrency space even though I don't see any future where Banks will no longer exist.

[Ewox]

I think it is possible to live without banks because there are a lot people who still keeps their money in safes or with them without having to deposit them in their bank. At least that’s what I know of in the country I live wherein there are a lot of poor people who can’t even reach the deposit limit account monthly. But it would be great if ever it’ll happen wherein people would not need to use fiat money and go to the banks to withdraw or deposit, that’s why cryptocurrencies; hence Bitcoin was created in the first place.

[Slow death]

this is a very complex subject, but I am of the opinion that banks are not going to disappear. we have hundreds of people who receive wages in the bank and are discounted life insurance, health insurance, cars and many other things and when that person needs it they just need to activate the system.

I will give some examples:

if a couple who has 3 children and father of children works for many years and dies, the bank pays the children the life insurance that the father took out at the bank

but the same will not be able to deal with cryptocurrencies, if by chance the same father saved money in a wallet the chances of being lost forever in case of his death are very high

this is because most people will not give the woman a private key or password

[djangofan]

• I think any individual should be able to act as a bank as long as they do not lend more than the Bitcoin they have on reserve.
• Given that Bitcoin is sub-dividable to ~ 1700 trillion  remaining units, I see no reason for fractional reserve lending.

Fractional reserve enabled banks to be the most profitable business on the planet, earning 50%++ yearly interest on their reserved money.   You have to be kidding me that they got away with this unnecessary theft for so long.

[nicecrypto]

I think it is possible to live without banks because there are a lot people who still keeps their money in safes or with them without having to deposit them in their bank. At least that’s what I know of in the country I live wherein there are a lot of poor people who can’t even reach the deposit limit account monthly. But it would be great if ever it’ll happen wherein people would not need to use fiat money and go to the banks to withdraw or deposit, that’s why cryptocurrencies; hence Bitcoin was created in the first place.

OK right as you stated but you didn't say they are using Bitcoin or crypto instead!!! I believe the argument to this Living without Bank is to using crypto. Those people still have their fiat money in their houses and still spends fiat even though some of them do not met the deposit limit and i think that parts a but hash cos once you are able to open the account with the initial deposit, you can deposit any amount yu can monthly or even zero the account if you want in some banks in my country.

So world wide crypto adoption is still a long way from now as most crypto enthusiast think and I don't see a reason where both Fiat and crypto cannot coexist.

[Kittygalore]

According to World Bank in 2017, around 1.7 billion people are unbanked which means that there isn't a lot who uses banks or any mobile money provider and they can still live which means that the question can be answered with a yes, it is possible to live without banks, even my parents do not have one and they are still doing good so I think that it is enough testimony to prove that anyone can live unbanked.

World Bank Article

[FExpert]

I think it`s not possible. A lot of operations like loans/mortgages/credit cards and other are really help a lot of people to plan their finance and to reach their stability. Useful info about finance you can find at https://www.nerdwallet.com/ , you can also read there WHY its not possible nowadays :/

[Gyfts]

I would argue that maybe the banks themselves are not a problem. Well, the concept of banking is not a problem, but their social responsibility and their financial practices are. So maybe we should not be looking at a future without banks or banking but to a restructuring of the whole system that would see more checks being implemented to secure a safer way of doing business, and also hold banking institutions responsible for their actions. Cryptocurencies have shifted the way we perceive and handle our finances to a certain extent, so if the banks want a piece of it (and they do), they will have to bring something to the table, and that something might just be a complete reorganization of doing their business.

Agree. It's banks' malpractices which is the real issue here. If they did things in a fair and equitable way, then everything would be fine by now. But their actions has caused economies to sink, the rich to become richer, among many other things. Bitcoin was created in response to the financial crisis of 2008 because of banks' malpractices. Yet, it's still not independent enough to be used as a substitute of Fiat because of low adoption in the mainstream world. I'm sure that if Bitcoin were accepted by many merchants and businesses alike, it would've been possible to live without a bank. Imagine working for Bitcoin, and spending Bitcoin for goods and services anytime, anywhere. You could pay your mortgage, your bills, and even your loans with Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency without the need for a bank account. It would've been a dream come true, threatening the existence of central banks as we know them.

Nonetheless, we could say that banks aren't going anywhere. It's been shown from time to time that they adapt themselves to the latest trends in technology. With the announcement of CBDCs, living without a bank becomes a distant dream. We should accept the fact that it's practically impossible to live without banks. You can live without crypto though. Who knows what will happen in the future with both banks and decentralized cryptocurrencies in play? Just my opinion

Well, they could go somewhere if people mass adopted BTC. Mainly into the garbage can. But realistically though, people will never fully adapt therefore they will always be a reliance on fiats. How are you going to convince a lower class income level citizen that lives paycheck to paycheck to ditch his savings account?

Side note, banks will open up a "crypto" branch soon enough, so we can expect them to dip their greedy hands into Bitcoin. But thankfully, they can't create BTC on a whim.

[TopTort777]

How are you going to convince a lower class income level citizen that lives paycheck to paycheck to ditch his savings account?

About paychecks - how people are planning to live without banks, if they still use paychecks ? We are in 21st century and people still use pieces of papers as a payment. And it is even more complicated and takes more time to make a payment, not speaking about killing a tree when you want to pay.

Those who still hesitates if it is possible to live without banks - order your first cryptocurrency visa plastic card. There are plenty of options right now. Most of them offer different cashback options. And I promise, you will start to forgive to use your local bank card quickly, when doing your daily purchases.