Chequemate

What are banks for? Until recently I thought they were for looking after depositor’s funds and enabling the transfer of monies between deposits. But have you tried recently asking one to handle a cheque, from a local or a foreign source? Apparently, cheques are no longer issued by, or acceptable in Australian banks! All movement of money has to take place electronically. Also, cash is on the way out, and there are fewer branches to service us. Post offices will deal with Aussie cheques (Who or what is issuing them now?), but not foreign ones.

All this is to enable banks to reduce their outgoings (staff wages, rents, insurance, etc) and satisfy the shareholders with higher dividends, but not to keep their clients happy. At the rate this change is happening, our only future access to our savings will be via a ‘hole in the wall’. Perhaps we will have to return to keeping our funds in the form of gold bars hidden under the floorboards!