Subj : Cash for coin..
To   : Rob Mccart
From : August Abolins
Date : Sun Oct 19 2025 15:13:00

Hello Rob!

** On Sunday 19.10.25 - 08:48, you wrote to me:

 AA>> Just got back from the credit union to get coin. Very disappointing
 AA>> experienc
 >> First of all, they needed to look up my account even though I was paying
 >> cash hey said it was to record WHO they were receiving money from. I
 >> assume they a me the person on the other side of the till is potentially
 >> giving them counte it? They even asked me to confirm my account on their
 >> system with my date of th.

BTW.. your quote system is cutting out (and cutting off) words.


 RM> Yes, I was a bit surprised when I stopped at a RBC (Royal Bank of Canada)
 RM> where I have an account to get some change for laundry machines and they
 RM> made me log into my account before they would let me give them a $10 bill
 RM> for coins..  I guess they are doing that everywhere.

And there is nothing it seems that we can do about this trend.

I have tried to offer $5 or $10 bills minimum in exchange for  
coin from people who come to my shop.  That seems to have  
curtailed making as many visits to the bank for coin.  But,  
still the tendency seems to be that coin diminishes and I  
eventually need a top-up supply.  WHAT the heck are people  
doing with their coin? - my guess, laundry machines and coffee  
shops?

Several handfuls of coin accumulate at home after my basic cash  
purchases over time.  But I rarely have enough to supplant the  
coin/change requirement at the shop.

After the clerk grimaced after my questions for the requirement  
of needing a bank account for a simple cash-for-coin exchange,  
she apologised if this process will take longer than expected  
since "we don't carry much cash anymore".  They are in the  
*business* of moving cash/coin and they don't have enough to  
for a small $400 transaction? That's pathetic.

I already refuse to step into the credit union to make regular  
deposits. There is a fee for every deposit - and the physical  
cash portion has a supplemental "handling" fee of its own now  
too! - so, now I tend to pay my bills in cash where I can.

This book is illuminating.. but most of it simply chronicles  
the enshittication of the banking system and there is really  
nothing we can do about it:

 Fleeced: Canadians Versus Their Banks | Paperback
Andrew Spence
Sutherland House Books
Business & Economics / Banks & Banking / Finance - Financial Engineering / Free Enterprise & Capitalism
Published Sep 24, 2024 | Sales (#36848)
$17.95 US / $19.95 CA list price

"[]Infuriating customer service.

"[]Chequing accounts that demand exorbitant fees.

"[]Credit cards that charge outrageous rates of interest.

"[]Mutual fund expenses that torpedo your investments.

"[]Loans departments that refuse to support Canada's small businesses.

"These are just a few of the many ways chartered banks abuse their dominant position in the Canadian financial system. Fleeced: Canadians Versus Their Banks is a stunning expos‚ of the inner workings of our six major banks, demonstrating how they are set up to avoid competing with one another, squeeze their customers, evade risk, stifle innovation, and produce staggering profits that enrich bank executives and shareholders-all to the detriment of the broader Canadian economy.

"With clarity and wit, Andrew Spence, a veteran financial services executive, excoriates not only the banks, but the regulators and politicians who refuse to stand up for consumers and initiate urgently needed reforms of Canada's costly banking system.

-- 
  ../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
 * Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

.