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Dear Bankers...

I seem to have posted a string of rants lately. Perhaps it's something to do with it being half term this week (parents will understand). So here we are, fresh and revitalized(ish) on a Monday morning, and I think it's time to take on the bankers.

No, not about the ridiculous bonuses earned by those in certain sectors of the business. Nor even about their abysmal handling of world finances leading to the recession. This is more practical everyday stuff. When will banks learn that weekends are trading days?

The high street banks make a pretence of being open on Saturdays. Some even open their branches on Sundays (though not many). But this is a zombie-like facade. Underneath everything is dead. Can anyone explain to me why it is that electronic transactions made over the weekend don't go through until Monday? Is there something special about banks' computers that mean they have to rest over the weekend? Despite all the so-called modernization and the ability to put through transfers almost instantly during the week, at the weekend everything grinds to a halt. If I make a transaction on Friday evening, it won't appear until Monday.

I think this ridiculous lapse in service is only acceptable if banks agree to stop charging interest over weekends. After all, if they aren't working for us, why should we pay? The most bizarre thing is that in computing terms it must be harder to delay things over the weekend than just to put them through. They have gone out of their way to give us bad service. And that seems inexcusable.

Photo from Freefoto.com
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