Any advice on banks?

[michaelrc]

China's Guangdong summons Evergrande boss after debt repayment warning

China's Guangdong summons Evergrande boss after debt repayment warning

China's Guangdong province on Friday summoned the chairman of China Evergrande Group after the real estate developer said there was "no guarantee" it would have enough funds to meet debt repayments, while regulators sought to reassure markets.

www.reuters.com

Consumer Group Warns Governors About BlackRock Retirement Funds Relying on Chinese Companies

Consumer Group Warns Governors About BlackRock Retirement Funds Relying on Chinese Companies - The Stream

A consumer group has sent letters to multiple governors warning them about their states’ pension funds relying on an investment corporation with strong ties to China.

stream.org

Tether Owns Billions In Chinese Debt: Bloomberg Report

Tether Owns Billions In Chinese Debt: Bloomberg Report

A Bloomberg BusinessWeek report alleged that Tether holds billions of dollars worth of Chinese debt as commercial paper.

cryptobriefing.com

 

[SHNAGFNAY]

Stumbled upon a nifty little fintech called "Revolut" the other day - it looks like they're available in Sweden and service crypto transfers naturally - can't say anything more about them.

Is there anyone that can recommend Revolut?

I wonder if there are more alternatives in the same league. I could only find Wise, so far.

 

[daddycat]

Is there anyone that can recommend Revolut?

I wonder if there are more alternatives in the same league. I could only find Wise, so far.

I prefer a place where I can walk into a building near where I live and talk to an employee about my money, licensed by the country I live in, and with government insurance of my money.

 

[SHNAGFNAY]

I prefer a place where I can walk into a building near where I live and talk to an employee about my money, licensed by the country I live in, and with government insurance of my money.

I don't have any building to go into with my current bank, it is either through phone or the computer that things are handled. I am not going to switch bank totally; I plan to use both regular and a crypto friendly bank. All regular banks in Sweden have policies and block against crypto related transfers. I also need some services that these alternative banks don't have.

 

[Z...]

Is there anyone that can recommend Revolut?

I wonder if there are more alternatives in the same league. I could only find Wise, so far.

I find Revolut very good. I run a small business and out of principle I never got credit card machine, most clients got used to paying with cash or cheques, but for those who keep forgetting to bring cash - Revolut is great. Money is transferred via smart phone within a second.
I dont have a bank account with Revolut - just their plain debit card and thats all. They send you the card within a week and you install app with your virtual account and you are good to go.
They do keep asking me to uograde to Business Revolut but the perks they offer for this dont justify monthly fee. I am pretty happy with the simplest option.

Another good thing about Revolut is that if you are outside euro-zone, you can convert the money into any currency you need, Revolut has pretty good exchange rates ( much better than most banks) and then you can draw local cash with Revolut card from any ATM.
You can also send funds in any currency you choose to anyone who also has Revolut card with virtual account.
Overall I find Revolut reliable and safe.
I would not recommend it for banking simply because I have no experience with it in that sense, but to have a card with them while you have your normal account in the local bank - I find it very useful.

 

[Uperios]

At the beginning of the year I terminated my relationship with 2 banks (after reading their ESG policy):
- Unicredit (where I have a client more than 10 years), I found them not to care why I was leaving, giving an impression of arrogance (in the end they are a bank)
- Banca Transilvania (one of the biggest in Romania, also a client more than 15 years). They at least asked me why I was terminating my account. When I replied due to ESG policies: the 2 bank workers didn't know about it (which should not surprise me).
My choice for a bank is aprox 80% owned by the government (so maybe some accountability for suicidal decisions - economically speaking) and the oldest in the country. I looked on they don't have the ESG bullshit (maybe they will keep that way).

 

[Breo]

At the beginning of the year I terminated my relationship with 2 banks (after reading their ESG policy):
- Unicredit (where I have a client more than 10 years), I found them not to care why I was leaving, giving an impression of arrogance (in the end they are a bank)
- Banca Transilvania (one of the biggest in Romania, also a client more than 15 years). They at least asked me why I was terminating my account. When I replied due to ESG policies: the 2 bank workers didn't know about it (which should not surprise me).
My choice for a bank is aprox 80% owned by the government (so maybe some accountability for suicidal decisions - economically speaking) and the oldest in the country. I looked on they don't have the ESG bullshit (maybe they will keep that way).

I also consider changing my bank (member of Unicredit), 1. because of their declining service and 2. because of the global complex situation. As I am not experienced in banking and commerce - could you or anyone please explain what there is to consider with the implications of the "ESG policy"? I don´t get it.