I had $50 in venmo, which I used to purchase groceries, because my bank account is currently negative.
Instead of using the $50 in my bank account, instead, a week later the $50 came out of my bank account, not touching the Venmo balance at all.
So now I have an overdraft fee, effectively meaning I paid 1.5 times for those groceries.
I don’t have “overdraft protection,” I’ve told my bank I don’t want overdrafts to go through, but fuck me for being poor I guess.
Online banks have one major drawback, and that is the difficulty they typically have with getting cash into them.
Checks/Transfers/Etc? no problem.
But getting cash into it is a big PITA.
Is that not the purpose of their ATM networks? Though I never use them, I read some offer deposits that way.
I’ve always direct deposited or scanned checks. If someone needs to send me cash, it’s always through some service like Zelle, ACH, or online bill pay.
I don’t like to carry cash. Cards, digital wallets, & ACH meet all my needs. I can see how that’s a PITA for those who do, though.
ATM networks are typically for withdrawing money without a fee.
I dont think I’ve ever seen one that lets you deposit your cash at, for example, a gas station atm or anything… Feels like there’d be way too many liabilities… but who knows, maybe there is one that lets you.
More than maybe one. Some also accept deposits through stores. I’ve never used them or needed to.
It was easy to adapt away from cash, and I prefer the safeguards of credit & mobile pay.
No thanks, I prefer cash. Credit cards and debit cards can be disabled at a whim. Prone to being fucked up by computer error, don’t work when the internet is down, or during a disaster with no power.
Cash always goes through, though. Cash will always remain king.
That’s the beauty
Unless you carry around a huge supply of cash at all times, you’ll be in the same bind withdrawing cash: ATMs & account ledgers run on power & networks.
That’s also a problem: anyone can use my cash. If they steal it, I have no way to disable it, and it’s more difficult to recover. If I lose it, it’s most likely gone.
Not in terms of security or recovery.
I could withdraw cash, and carry it around, but then it won’t earn high interest.