Japanese post offices provides banking service. Why cant we do it as well?

[Le Gaucher]

Most customers need just basic banking services.. Deposit and withdraw cash.

Post offices exist everywhere .. And can easily add retail banking service with little overhead.

Post offices can invest the money in long term treasury bonds.

Food stamps / Unemployment insurance etc now use bank issued debit cards ..This can be replaced with postal debit card.


NJ uses bank of America debit cards..( yeah fuck the banks.. We dont need the bastards to profit from unemployment)

It all makes so much sense..but I guess it threatens easy profits..

[Vinca]

1. The GOP wouldn't go for it because it would mean hiring more government employees.

The 2 ladies at my local post office can barely keep up with processing passports along with the mail.

[DFW]

4. Many countries in Europe have this

In Germany, at least, there is often a full-time employee on hand just to handle banking customers.

[Ezior]

5. Though Deutsche Post is not a government agency, it's a private corporation

And, strangely, Postbank is no longer owned by Deutsche Post. So when there are Postbank employees at a post office, this is just a cooperation between two independent private corporations who share only the "Post" part of their names.

[DFW]

7. The were separated on paper, but the physical presence of the Postbank remained where it was

The USPS is still a government agency, but it's structure is similar to that of a private corporation. At this point, I doubt Congress would approve its going into the retail banking business, seeing as how they want to privatize just about everything else the government does.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. We used to have Postal Savings, but back in the 60s bank branches became...

more common and started giving better interest rates, so the program was cancelled.

Don't kid yourself about it being so easy. Offering deposit accounts means deposit insurance, added security for the expected debit cards and moving cash around, and other expenses banks are already set up for.

[FBaggins]

6. Also worth noting...

They privatized that system.

[Not Ruth]

3. 7-11 makes more sense, they are open 24 hours, have fast service and are id verification pros

[drray23]

8. the french ones do as well.nt.

[procon]

9. Republicans have been trying to privatize the PO for years by eliminating

services and tying up their funding in unnecessary spending schemes. While it makes perfect sense for the PO to offer basic banking services, and most other Federal services as well, the Republicans will never allow them to achieve success. They will break up the postal services and auction them off to corporate giants to compete with other shipping and delivery companies.