Funny fact: As an US citizen it is INCREDIBLE HARD to open a foreign banking account. My local German bank simply rejects ALL US customers except when they want to invest a million or more. Because the paper work is HORRIBLE. I on the other hand can easily open a banking account in Finland, Spain, Great Britain or Greece. With some limitations even in Canada, Japan and Mexiko. For an US citizen: End Boss Level. Some even have fantastic service and interest rates.
And another thing were Europeans are better. Paying “fines” for overdrawing your banking account are illegal as are “fines” for failed withdrawals. We had them in the past for a while but the courts smashed that scheme to pieces. On the other hand, often banks do not even allow overdrawing. You hit Zero? End of the Line. Good Customers often get a credit up to some thousand Euro. I have specifically asked to limit my credit frame to €100. Because even while I don’t pay a fine for “overdrawing” I still pay absurde interest rates for overcharging - around 0,03% per day = 12,5% per year.
Then there is another thing, two of the five largest banks for end users in Germany are “cooperative banks” which means they are not allowed to make a profit. They are practically owned by their customers. They aren’t exactly “the banks with the best interest rates” but overall a lot more relaxed than the competitors. On the other hand… they don’t accept every customer. Mostly small businesses and farmers.
Also all banks are forced to cooperate a lot more than US banks which is why credit cards and their often absurd costs are mostly unknown around here.
Edit, I just checked if my bank also offers to refill my daily account from my other accounts if it reaches Zero… in fact it DOES. For Free.
Very good point I didn’t even consider that.
Even taking SFW pictures from random people without permission is a crime around here. Minors even more and mostly nude minors… you are going to be in a lot of hurt.
That is a mine field for everyone using a go-pro or taking pictures near the lake.
The same is true within the EU countries. But as far as I know the US also demands “real time access without notice to the bakn or owner of the account” and that is something which simply isn’t allowed within the EU. An US citizen can in theory agree to this but then only a few banks even have the technical framework to offer such an access.
Within the EU the police can also request banking data but need a signed court order and the data isn’t delivered in real time and by the bank itself and the customer gets informed afterwards.