• You know that the money in your bank does not belong to you ?
• What do you mean ?
• It belongs to your bank, and you have the right to retrieve it upon request.
• So what, if I need the money, I get it.
• Generally speaking, yes. Except if your bank does not want it.

What can prevent you from retrieving your cash from your bank?

Unfortunately, the list is long, and getting longer every day.

Beside trivial causes such as information system shutdown, employee unavailability, bank internal policies (amount, frequency of retrieval), bank customized application of regulatory constraints, we have recently witnessed a very worrying event since it happened in a well-established western democracy. We are referring to the decision by the Canadian government to use commercial banks to punish a very standard demonstration by truckers who were protesting against their restriction of circulation. The banks were asked to freeze truckers’ accounts if they persisted in their blockade.

This is the illustration of what happens when you do not own your cash. As it is the property of your bank, when the bank must choose between its own interests and yours, there is no hesitation.