I am a part of a small but passionate group in Denmark, who advocates for giving everyone an account in the national bank at birth.
This account would be able to attach a featureless debit card (using our national standard payment system "DanKort"), and have the same interest rate as the national Bank (so for now, slightly negative).
Employees of the national bank is already able to get accounts like this. So there is precedence.
This is obviously not a particular attractive not sophisticated "product", but it is awfully hard to hurt yourself with, and will have all the functionality that allows you to function in a modern society.
Make banking a choice, and force the banks to make sufficiently attractive products to convince me to participate willingly.
How does “giving everyone an account in the national bank at birth” correspond to making a choice? How about, instead, you give people the option to open an account with the national bank? That sounds more like a choice.
This account would be able to attach a featureless debit card (using our national standard payment system "DanKort"), and have the same interest rate as the national Bank (so for now, slightly negative).
Employees of the national bank is already able to get accounts like this. So there is precedence.
This is obviously not a particular attractive not sophisticated "product", but it is awfully hard to hurt yourself with, and will have all the functionality that allows you to function in a modern society.
Make banking a choice, and force the banks to make sufficiently attractive products to convince me to participate willingly.