My experience of opening a bank account
My parents for some reason wanted me to open a bank account in the bank which also has their account.
It is a nationalized bank and every time I visit this particular branch I generally find the bank branch is quite crowded. This makes banking quite cumbersome.
Opening a bank account needs an introduction
I had to take my parents along because the bank always needs a new customer to be introduced by an existing customer of the bank.
In my case I took my parents as they are the best introduction I can hope to get.
The commute to the bank
The bank is a good 30 minutes drive.
So I & my parents visited the bank branch using the family car as walking to the bank in the summer heat is not a good option.
Parking Charges
The bank branch is located in the market and to park I have to park the car in the paid parking.
Account opening requires paperwork
I was aware of this so took my ID proof and photos with me.
The bank clerk did not have the bank opening form and seems it is a document in short supply so he asked an assistant to get it from the store room.
This process caused me to wait for about 20 minutes to wait for the form.
Luckily I could fill the form and returned to the counter where I had to stand in a long que.
When My turn came I was told I should come back the next day because the internet was not working and without that the branch could not process my credentials.
I return the next day
Next day I reached the bank early at 9.30 AM that is the time the bank opens for public dealings.
Luckily the internet was up and after 15-20 minutes the form got processed.
Next I was supposed to go for my biometric but sadly the biometric system was not working and thus I offered to wait but the bank officer suggested I return the next day.
Was the next day going to be successful ?
Time would tell I was beginning to lose my cool but my parents told me to be patient.
For good measure I retuned after two days to the bank with the hope that the biometric system would be working.
My heart skipped a beat when I discovered that the lady doing Biometric was on leave.
When I expressed my dismay and disappointment I was told that it is required to come to the bank with sufficient time at hand and it would be no exaggeration that so many people there were coming back day after day for the same purpose.
Some of these tasks were as simple as getting their account statement or getting a RE-KYC done.
For the uninitiated the RE-KYC is a process where a bank account holder has to visit the bank in person with photograph and original documents to prove their identity.
This visit can be one a year or more often depending upon the banks discretion.
Finally my account got opened
On my sixth visit I was able to get my account opened and had to maintain a minimum amount of money which I have to keep locked for the time I want to keep my account with the bank.
What did it cost me to get a bank account?
- The cost of getting my passport sized photographs taken and printed
- Cost of photocopies being made as the bank does not do that for you
- Cost of transportation to and from the bank which included fuel as well as the parking charges.
- Most importantly time and
- My peace of mind can we put a price to that ?
I was clueless why I did all this
After taking so much trouble and multiple visits to the bank in the 42 degree C summer heat and risking a heat stroke almost every day I had lost a sense of purpose why I even need a bank account.
To this my parents informed that I should feel happy that I have a bank account as it is not easy to get one. Based on my experience I agree.
Moreover now the money in my account would earn a 3% interest per annum.
Listening to this I felt my head spinning. I chuckled and reached out to my computer and showed my parents my wallet of my hive account.
When I told my parents that the HBD that I hold and earn can be put into savings and this would earn the account holder 20% annual returns.
This was the time my parents looked at me in disbelief.
When I told them that anyone can get a hive account and earn 20% rate of earning without any documentation or going to a bank my parents looked at me in more disbelief.
My parents are still wrapping their heads around the idea of how hive works and the idea of a 20% rate of return on HBD savings.
In addition there are no fees or minimum balances to be maintained.
Is HBD saving a better option to beat inflation
The inflation is in the range of 7 % and the bank account gives a return of 3% in my saving account.
In case I put money in a term deposit then I get about 7% even this return does not help one beat inflation.
However a 20% return on HBD in the hbd savings would any day be better opportunity to beat inflation.
Conclusion
Besides Hive being a web 3.0 platform the hive wallet can serve as a bank to the unbanked as well as the banked population of the world.
However for this to work more efficiently we need to have more business accepting Hive and HBD as a mode of payment.
In addition if there is a fiat to hive gateway that the normal folks can use to fund their hive accounts then it would be a big plus to all the present and future hive users.