Bank accounts are very convenient, as long as customers can access their funds at any given time. Citibank users will have experienced some issues in this regard. Customers in several US states were unable to access their accounts on Friday, due to a “technical issue.”
Putting one’s trust in a bank or another financial institution is quite a challenge these days. After all, these are the same companies who caused the financial crisis we are dealing with to date. For most consumers, however, having a bank account is second nature, and there is no direct need to change a winning system.
Citibank Users Take To Social Media
At the same time, it is also the obligation of said bank to provide customers with access to their funds at all times. Technical difficulties can occur at any given time, but they will affect a lot of customers. The recent Citibank issue goes to show how bad things can get when relying on centralized services.
When users across different US states took to social media, the scope of this Citigroup outage became evident. As a result of this undisclosed technical issue, consumers could not access their bank accounts through PC or mobile banking. Moreover, debit card transactions were not possible, and withdrawing from an ATM would cause issues as well. Not a fun experience on a Friday, or any other day, for that matter.
This is another excellent example of how the traditional financial ecosystem is failing left, right, and center. When consumers cannot access their funds or make transactions, there is no point in using a bank. Cash is always a better option in this regard, even though it can be annoying to deal with. Trusting a centralized entity which actually controls one’s money should not be something to look forward to. Despite all of the warning signs, consumers continue to do so.
Bitcoin is a far better way to store funds and transact in real-life. The cryptocurrency offers financial freedom, free from the shackles of any bank or government in the world. Moreover, there is a global appeal to this one currency, rather than dealing with foreign exchange processes. Although adoption of Bitcoin remains relatively small for the time being, the cryptocurrency is the only way to achieve complete financial freedom.
Source: Reuters
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