Category De-Banking

Jan 29 2024

No Cash Accepted


Posted originally on Jan 29, 2024 By Martin Armstrong |

cashless society electronic money

Businesses are increasingly preventing customers from using cash as NO CASH ACCEPTED signs line Main Street. No federal law requires businesses to accept cash, but some states and cities have implemented laws mandating businesses to do so. COVID accelerated the push toward a cashless society, as physical cash was seen as unhygienic. Then the US mint faced a physical currency shortage as Americans hoarded their cash. Cashless businesses are now widely accepted and normalized in our society.

Around 6 million Americans who do not have a bank account, and therefore are blocked from participating in our cashless society. This particularly impacts the poorest in our nation, as a recent survey found that 40% of unbanked individuals do not have enough liquidity to meet the minimum balance required by banks. The FDIC found that one-third of respondents simply do not trust the banks and prefer cash for privacy purposes.

Then there are those who use prepaid cards or tools like CashApp that fall in “underbanked” bracket. The latest estimate found that 19 million households fall under this category. Combined, one in five Americans are either unbanked or underbanked, and according to the government, these individuals are merely attempting to avoid taxation.

Another lesser known fact is that banks often charge stores for physical currency. Additionally, the costs of providing and handling physical currency, such as the need for security, transportation, and storage make it more costly for businesses to use cash. The crime wave across blue cities is a contributing factor as well, as it is not uncommon to see signs stating that a business does not have cash on hand to deter thieves.

There is no federal law that requires banks to charge for change, but federal law generally allows banks to charge non-interest charges and fees. Interchange fees are transaction fees that the merchant’s bank must pay whenever a customer uses a credit/debit card to make a purchase, which is why you will often see a surcharge of around 3% at certain businesses to cover this expense. So businesses are faced with fees for all transactions whether they go the cash or card route.

JunkFeesBanking

The 2010 Dodd-Frank ruling permitted businesses to set a credit card minimum of $10, as the interchange fees nulled the profits on small purchases. Debit cards are treated as cash, whereby there is no set minimum by law.

They will soon force the unbanked and underbanked into the banking system, which is one of the reasons why the Biden Administration continually talks about erasing junk fees so that the 40% who claim they cannot meet the minimum balance are not excluded from government oversight. The push for a cashless society is a global phenomenon tied to the DPI and other initiatives that aim to centralize our individual data.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=QZbHs_pfo8w%3Ffeature%3Doembed
Aug 28 2023

Debanking Gold Dealers


Armstrong Economics Blog/Banking Crisis Re-Posted Aug 28, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5yW8IVqaqdM%3Ffeature%3Doembed

I reported previously that a dealer I knew suddenly had his credit line closed. I have warned that besides banks preparing for the coming CBCDs closing local branches in the USA as well as in Britain, I seriously question if they will allow people to buy precious metals and use cryptocurrencies post-CBDC. This is about control, and they want to shut down what they view as the underground economy, which they estimate is 20%-35%, and this is about increasing their taxation to automatic theft. This is the net result of Direct Taxation, which the Founding Fathers warned would happen, so they prohibited any form of Direct Taxation in the Constitution. The Socialists seized power and pushed for the income tax in 1913, and that has been a slow grinding process that led to eventually owning nothing and being very miserable – not happy.

Welcome to the Tyranny of Republics that NEVER Represent the People as History Warns

Jul 28 2023

The Bankers Who Are De-Banking Those They Just Disagree With


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Jul 28, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

https://youtube.com/watch?v=IislQRXKhQU%3Ffeature%3Doembed

I want to stress that I have been getting emails that the same trend is emerging in the United States. Some banks have embraced WOKE, and with it, they are engaging in DISCRIMINATION. This equality only works when you agree with them. If you disagree, you are to be cast out of society, de-banked, and unable to even survive, pay a mortgage, or food.

Chase had debanked Dr. Mercola. I too was debanked by Chase after sending bonuses to our overseas employees. They did not ask for any explanation – they just closed the account. This is becoming common these days.

Apr 25 2023

The Great De-Dollarization Fraud of a Lifetime


Armstrong Economics Blog/USD $ Re-Posted Apr 24, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Marty; I was in a board meeting and I just wanted to let you know one guy who is there simply because his family had a stake in the company with zero worldly experience, started ranting about the end of the dollar he probably read on that biased _____________________. I asked this fool, should we then move all our company funds to Russia or China since Brazil is too small of an economy? Should we stop dealing with Americans? He had no response.

Separating a fool from his money seems to be a never-ending fact about humanity.

Cheers

You are the only sane one out there these days

PY

REPLY: I know what you mean. The people promoting this BRICS nonsense have no understanding of the real world. Institutions cannot park billions in Brazil, China, or Russia. Especially in the face of war. The reason the Euro has failed as a serious reserve currency is that there is NO NATIONAL EURO DEBT! Institutions have to still jockey between the various risks of each country and all the Euro did was transfer the foreign exchange risk to the bond market. Sorry, I just do not see where the dollar is in some state of collapse.

When they came to me to create the Euro, I warned them that there would be no single interest rate without the consolidation of the debt. But Kohl never allowed the German people to vote on joining the Euro, so he would not allow the consolidation of the debt. I was told then that they just had to get the Euro started and they would worry about consolidating the debts later. Of course, that never came. Hence, the volatility in FX simply moved to the debt market. The bottom line – the US dollar is still the ONLY place for major institutions to park money – PERIOD! They are not buying Brazil, China, or Russia.

World Trade as a percent of total world GDP PEAKED in 2008 at 61%. It has been in a bear market that will not bottom before 31.4 years taking us into 2040. The sanctions on Russia have divided the world economy and killed SWIFT but it has also ended globalization. To think that the BRICS can replace the dollar with ZERO capacity for international capital to park in such markets is the delusion of absolute fools. China will surpass the USA, but only after 2032.

So here we go again. This nonsense is leading unsuspecting people to follow the piper to divest of dollars and move into what exactly? Most of this is propagated by the gold bugs who will NEVER listen. They hate the dollar because they think gold will rise then. What kind of a world will exist if their doom and gloom were a reality? You might not have any place to spend your wealth. I own gold NOT as an investment, but because of its neutrality.

There is such a major fraud going on with digital currencies with people reporting that the latest scam is using social media to tell people to transfer all their cash to a digital wallet, and BTW – here is the link! If you believe that one, perhaps you would like to buy the Brooklyn Bridge. NYC has a deficit and they will sell it for all the money in your savings. Wake up!

These people remind me of the famous drawing of a fool and his cat.

Mar 28 2023

Leaked Texts – Liberal Govt Plotted to De-Bank Freedom Convoy Protestors Before Invoking Emergencies Act


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Mar 28, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Tyrant Justin Trudeau gave the green light to the Western world to begin de-banking citizens based on political beliefs. New text messages emerged that show the Liberal government pressured banks to freeze accounts long before the Emergencies Act (EA) was invoked amid the Freedom Convoy (also known as the Trucker Convoy).

Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022, but plans to punish protestors began weeks prior. Senior advisers at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Ben Chin and Tyler Meredith began discussing plans to de-bank protestors on February 7. “But we are talking with banks and insurance companies about how they can act on their own and what helpful signals we might be able to send,” one text message stated.

The Liberals wanted to “keep the heat off the bank branches,” as many were reluctant to freeze accounts. The government was also concerned that people would retaliate directly against the banks. So how could they “safely” lock out hundreds of people from the economy? “One thing I should add- from what we hear most of the big banks are actually doing a lot of work already within the terms and conditions of existing account agreements to manage flow of funds if they suspect someone or something. That’s an angle we are looking at,” another text exchange stated. They looked at every angle possible to justify their actions.

The day that the Emergencies Act was invoked, Canadian Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland happily froze C$8 million from 267 people, as well as 170 crypto wallets. She was able to act quickly because the plan was already in place. Freeland demanded an “economic incentive” to end the peaceful protests. Freeland also ordered the blacklisting of over 200 trucking companies. Not only did she blacklist companies, but she shared their personal data with foreign entities:

“According to the Inquiry, the RCMP shared this blacklist with Canadian contacts at foreign banks, including the Bank of China, BNP Paribas of France, State Bank of India, Habib Bank of Pakistan, Citibank of New York, ICICI Bank Limited of India, Hana Financial Group of South Korea, Mizuho Financial Group of Japan and Wells Fargo & Company of San Francisco.”

Yes, she even shared information with China. This was the first time in Canadian history that the EA was invoked to freeze bank accounts. Since his government experienced zero backlash as there are no checks and balances, other governments have since begun freezing the bank accounts of protestors, journalists, average citizens, and anyone who dares to disagree with Big Brother. This is yet another reason why people do not trust the government or banks. Our computer model indicates that the volatility in the banking sector is far from over.