Ok so I know this might sound weird coming from someone posting in personalfinance but hear me out. Im not trying to get rich quick or gamble on bitcoin or anything like that, im just really tired of getting scammed by my bank on literally every transaction.
Like I travel sometimes for work and the foreign transaction fees add up FAST. And dont even get me started on ATM fees, wire transfer fees, monthly account fees… its like they charge you just for having money with them lol
I keep seeing people talk about using crypto for payments and part of me is curious cause it seems like it could avoid some of these fees? But then I see bitcoin move crazy in like a week and im like yeah no thanks, I cant afford to have my grocery money lose 20% of its value overnight you know?
But then someone mentioned stablecoins to me which apparently dont fluctuate cause theyre pegged to the dollar. And apparently theres apps now where you can actually spend them at normal stores by connecting your wallet and just tapping to pay like you would with apple pay. No conversion fees, no waiting for bank transfers, just… spend it.
My questions are:
Is this actually stable or am i gonna get hit with surprise fees somewhere that i dont know about? Cause banks love hiding fees in the fine print
For people who use stablecoins, do you actually feel like its LESS risky than just keeping money in a regular bank account? Or is there stuff im not thinking about
If you need to convert back to regular money, are there fees involved or does that defeat the whole purpose
Im not anti crypto at all, im just really risk averse when it comes to my actual spending money. I dont wanna be that person who loses access to their funds cause some exchange went bankrupt or whatever. But if theres a way to use it that avoids both bank fees AND volatility that would be kinda perfect for my situation
Is there actually a way to use crypto without getting destroyed by fees and price swings?
byu/Hopeful-Intern-7178 inpersonalfinance
Posted by Hopeful-Intern-7178
15 Comments
Fidelity Investments and schwab reimburses atm fees, anywhere. Fideltiy credit cards have no foreign transaction fees
All problems have been solved.
Why would anyone use a cryptocurrency with its value tied to the dollar.
There are banks that offer unlimited ATM fee refunds, no account fees, no domestic wire charges, etc. Also not sure how using a cryptocurrency is suddenly going to solve your need for ATM withdrawals.
Are you sure you don’t just have a shitty bank account?
I have paid *zero* in bank fees. You need a new bank, not digital Monopoly money.
Look into opening a Schwab checking account.
There are always crypto fees for transactions, and typically you don’t know what they are until you make the transaction. It can fluctuate wildly
all your issues can be solved using a reputable bank
crypto can barely be used for anything aside from yolo gambling
Every on-chain transaction comes with a miner fee to process the transaction. Some custodians or exchanges may eat that fee for you, but likely the fee is still charged to you either as a percentage taken from the transaction or as an aggregate total invoiced to you monthly. The crypto transaction fee can also fluctuate greatly depending on crypto trends. You may also find the crypto custodian also charges you a fee per transaction as a way to make money from you.
I would find a credit card or online only bank with no physical location. These tend to waive ATM fees because they have no physical ATM location that is solely theirs.
generally, crypto is still speculative. If you are looking toward a stable coin, just go with the fiat instead. In the end, when the worlds economy collapses, none of it will matter.
You need a different bank, not funny-money. It’s not hard to not pay fees on everything you do.
Look for credit cards suited to the tasks you have in mind. A lot of travel oriented cards have no foreign exchange fee, better / worse ATM networks abroad, etc.
You’ve probably heard about the “wonders of crypto” from people who have a direct financial incentive to get more people involved with it. Cryptocurrency, despite the name, functions pretty terribly as an actual currency. Among other ‘perks’: if someone scams you or steals your crypto, you have absolutely no recourse. The money’s just gone. The only real reasons to use it are for criminal activity and gambling.
Decent travel cards have zero foreign transactions fees.
There is no use case for crypto except for money laundering, buying illegal goods (which isnt even anonymous actually), and speculation.
A stable coin is a tax dodge system invented to help crypto geeks day trade and arbitrage crypto prices without ever realizing gains or dealing with fees converting into real money.
It’s not a system that is holding real dollars, it’s a system where some guy in a trench coat is inventing Sillybux and telling you “trust me brah, this is really worth $1”. It isn’t and the only reason it appears so is because of the sheet number of delusional people desperate for that to be true.
Don’t use this for your bank.
Find a better bank. I haven’t paid bank fees in decades.
Or use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees when you travel. Why are you using ATMs?
I travel internationally all the time and I don’t pay int’l ATM fees because I use my Fidelity CMA (well, the local bank may charge a fee, but Fidelity reimburses me). I don’t pay foreign transaction fees because I use credit cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees (Capital One offers several that don’t have an annual fee). None of my banks charge monthly account fees.
You just need to move banks.
Yeah so this is exactly why i use Oobit with USDT. Stablecoins like USDT are pegged 1 to 1 with the dollar so theres no price swings, its literally just digital dollars. No foreign transaction fees, no ATM fees, no monthly fees. Way less than what banks charge. You connect your wallet to the app and tap to pay like Apple Pay at any place that takes Visa/Mastercard. If you travel your not getting killed by all those conversion fees and the stablecoin stays at $1 so no volatility.
Just get a credit card without foreign transaction fees. Crypto can be used for payments with minimal fees (Coinbase offers cards to help with this), but it is like using a sledgehammer when you need a screwdriver.
Your problem isn’t with crypto, it’s with your terrible bank.
You need to shop around for better one. Or maybe for a credit union. But based on how it sounds like you’re using your account, you might be better off with a better normal bank.
Switching to crypto is only going to solve one, maybe two, of these problems and introduce a whole lot mote.