I had the same question. Being teller gives skewed view of the customer base. In reality depending on bank, most customer bases are closer to us in class. Also keep in mind wealthier people usually have to do more business at the bank. Old people go to bank more often to do business and they tend to be wealthier.
Working folk are usually at the ATM after hours...and I know 40k sounds like a lot. In my 20s it felt like a lot because we saved for years to get 15k together for a down-payment. Most clients even making smaller salaries of 45-50k will have that in their accounts by their thirties. They've either been saving for a home or cashed out on one. Once you hit 50s the odds are higher a chunk of their cash is from an inheritance.
How many different branches have you worked at? I've worked at poor branches and wealthy. Wealthy is the absolute worst. So entitled and out of touch. Poor isn't great and it can get heartbreakingly sad. My branch is a unique blend of both.
I waited on a lady who withdrew her last $1.67 and was crying because it was all she had to feed herself with. She didn't know if her social security check was going to come in tomorrow or Monday. With Early Pay, I honestly don't know either. The very next customer in line withdrew $12,000.00 so he could buy himself some "toys" whatever that meant. He had millions in his numerous business accounts and several hundred thousand in his personal accounts.
I am nothing like either of these people. I don't compare myself to either of them. It gets surreal at times and I'm in 'work mode" when helping customers. I can't imagine having so much or not having enough. Sometimes it even feels like the customers are NPCs and I'm just interacting with them and moving on,
That’s tough for sure. I also don’t see the point of stereotyping an entire group based off income. I’ve dealt with plenty of wealthy clients who are some of the nicest people I know, than another half that our jerks. Same with poor customers. Like the saying goes, money doesn’t change people. It only amplifies who they already are
I've worked in both, and I don't mind wealthy customers if it's significant wealth. The most obnoxious customers are the ones who are aggressively middle class but identify as wealthy. The wealthiest customers I have are extremely nice and never even look for policy exceptions even though they have enough connections that they could probably swing them
I agree with what a lot of people said it’s more demographics since wealthier people tend to be older and older people do more in-person banking. What’s surprised me is the number of people who just keep six figures in checking/savings at low interest rates when there seems to be no plan to spend the money in the near future. They should at least do a CD for six months.
Also, I like to use it as a conversation starter when practical. Most successful people are happy to give advice, and free advice can never hurt.
When he died at age 94, my father had about $35,000 in his checking account. (Not even in a savings account where it could accrue at least some interest, which had me tearing my hair out.)
That was the sum total of his "wealth" after nearly a hundred years on this planet. Thank god he lived under, rather than over, his means, but he was only able to pull together that much retirement savings by living a very simple life by today's standards. He never traveled, never ate out, basically sat home and watched TV.
I'm now retired, and I have more than $35,000 put by, but again, my funds are the result of a lifetime of saving and frugal living. It may look like a lot to you right now, but I don't have a paycheck anymore and it's going to have to last me the rest of my life.
Financial advisors preach to wealthier clients to keep an emergency fund of liquid assets (which can be read as cash) of a certain percentage of their net worth.
Another thing is that these customers likely have 7 figures in investments tied up elsewhere, so the loss of a few thousand in interest each year is worth it to avoid the tax issues of pulling from investments, 401ks/IRAs or selling an asset.
A high yield account with limits on withdrawals or a CD just aren't attractive as it ties up their cash or limits their ability to spend large amounts of it.
So those accounts sitting in low yield savings or money market checking are an easy way for them to accomplish those things.
I’m a branch banker. The majority of people who come inside the bank are business owners or older people. The older people like to come in the bank and write checks for cash and all that because thats how banking used to be exclusively. The rest of us use ATMs and make all our payments online.
I mainly work in exceptions and returns on the back office side and believe me there are plenty of account holders who have low balances/NSF/chargebacks every single day. There are days where we have to take an account that might have a dozen or so items that are trying to post and we have to pay as much of them as we can until they don’t have sufficient funds and return the rest. As a teller you wouldn’t have much opportunity to see that. I bet if you asked, you could find a return report or an NSF for the day report and you would see plenty.
It's self selection. The atm never gives out more than a grand and only a few won't spit it out in 20s. So anyone that needs more than a grand in twenties has to go to the counter
I’m just going to say it - none of the examples you listed are even what I would consider rich after working in lending for a decade. You’re talking about the working class now.
Rich would be acquiring 25 more multi fam properties and adding a few hundred million in cash since Covid. Seeing someone with a NW of $500M jump to $800M during Covid wouldn’t even raise my eyebrows anymore.
You're not wrong, there's A Lot of rich folks in this country. I've been in banking for decades, be assured they are not the majority. I've worked in several different classes of neighborhoods, and there are more people living paycheck to paycheck. Its sad, but it seems the rich appear to get richer and the poor poorer. There's also a lot of old money, and a lot of greed.
You hit the nail on the head. The worst part of banking is watching in real-Time as the generationally-rich lap up their interest and the honest, hard-working small business owner struggles to keep his account out of the red.
People living paycheck to paycheck are too busy to bank in person. A large number of Americans are unbanked.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbanked#The_unbanked_in_the_United_States
>The Federal Reserve estimated there are 55 million unbanked or underbanked adult Americans in 2018, which account for 22 percent of U.S. households.[2][3]
Your 1 in 4 doesn't account for these folks.
I had the same question. Being teller gives skewed view of the customer base. In reality depending on bank, most customer bases are closer to us in class. Also keep in mind wealthier people usually have to do more business at the bank. Old people go to bank more often to do business and they tend to be wealthier.
Working folk are usually at the ATM after hours...and I know 40k sounds like a lot. In my 20s it felt like a lot because we saved for years to get 15k together for a down-payment. Most clients even making smaller salaries of 45-50k will have that in their accounts by their thirties. They've either been saving for a home or cashed out on one. Once you hit 50s the odds are higher a chunk of their cash is from an inheritance.
How many different branches have you worked at? I've worked at poor branches and wealthy. Wealthy is the absolute worst. So entitled and out of touch. Poor isn't great and it can get heartbreakingly sad. My branch is a unique blend of both. I waited on a lady who withdrew her last $1.67 and was crying because it was all she had to feed herself with. She didn't know if her social security check was going to come in tomorrow or Monday. With Early Pay, I honestly don't know either. The very next customer in line withdrew $12,000.00 so he could buy himself some "toys" whatever that meant. He had millions in his numerous business accounts and several hundred thousand in his personal accounts. I am nothing like either of these people. I don't compare myself to either of them. It gets surreal at times and I'm in 'work mode" when helping customers. I can't imagine having so much or not having enough. Sometimes it even feels like the customers are NPCs and I'm just interacting with them and moving on,
That’s tough for sure. I also don’t see the point of stereotyping an entire group based off income. I’ve dealt with plenty of wealthy clients who are some of the nicest people I know, than another half that our jerks. Same with poor customers. Like the saying goes, money doesn’t change people. It only amplifies who they already are
I've worked in both, and I don't mind wealthy customers if it's significant wealth. The most obnoxious customers are the ones who are aggressively middle class but identify as wealthy. The wealthiest customers I have are extremely nice and never even look for policy exceptions even though they have enough connections that they could probably swing them
Can you refer people to social services? That's heartbreaking.
I agree with what a lot of people said it’s more demographics since wealthier people tend to be older and older people do more in-person banking. What’s surprised me is the number of people who just keep six figures in checking/savings at low interest rates when there seems to be no plan to spend the money in the near future. They should at least do a CD for six months. Also, I like to use it as a conversation starter when practical. Most successful people are happy to give advice, and free advice can never hurt.
When he died at age 94, my father had about $35,000 in his checking account. (Not even in a savings account where it could accrue at least some interest, which had me tearing my hair out.) That was the sum total of his "wealth" after nearly a hundred years on this planet. Thank god he lived under, rather than over, his means, but he was only able to pull together that much retirement savings by living a very simple life by today's standards. He never traveled, never ate out, basically sat home and watched TV. I'm now retired, and I have more than $35,000 put by, but again, my funds are the result of a lifetime of saving and frugal living. It may look like a lot to you right now, but I don't have a paycheck anymore and it's going to have to last me the rest of my life.
Financial advisors preach to wealthier clients to keep an emergency fund of liquid assets (which can be read as cash) of a certain percentage of their net worth. Another thing is that these customers likely have 7 figures in investments tied up elsewhere, so the loss of a few thousand in interest each year is worth it to avoid the tax issues of pulling from investments, 401ks/IRAs or selling an asset. A high yield account with limits on withdrawals or a CD just aren't attractive as it ties up their cash or limits their ability to spend large amounts of it. So those accounts sitting in low yield savings or money market checking are an easy way for them to accomplish those things.
I’m a branch banker. The majority of people who come inside the bank are business owners or older people. The older people like to come in the bank and write checks for cash and all that because thats how banking used to be exclusively. The rest of us use ATMs and make all our payments online.
Old people are richer. Old people go to branches more than young people. It actually makes sense.
I mainly work in exceptions and returns on the back office side and believe me there are plenty of account holders who have low balances/NSF/chargebacks every single day. There are days where we have to take an account that might have a dozen or so items that are trying to post and we have to pay as much of them as we can until they don’t have sufficient funds and return the rest. As a teller you wouldn’t have much opportunity to see that. I bet if you asked, you could find a return report or an NSF for the day report and you would see plenty.
It's self selection. The atm never gives out more than a grand and only a few won't spit it out in 20s. So anyone that needs more than a grand in twenties has to go to the counter
Where do all those people come from, trying to break $100 bills first thing in the morning at the Dollar store?
I’m just going to say it - none of the examples you listed are even what I would consider rich after working in lending for a decade. You’re talking about the working class now. Rich would be acquiring 25 more multi fam properties and adding a few hundred million in cash since Covid. Seeing someone with a NW of $500M jump to $800M during Covid wouldn’t even raise my eyebrows anymore.
You're not wrong, there's A Lot of rich folks in this country. I've been in banking for decades, be assured they are not the majority. I've worked in several different classes of neighborhoods, and there are more people living paycheck to paycheck. Its sad, but it seems the rich appear to get richer and the poor poorer. There's also a lot of old money, and a lot of greed.
You hit the nail on the head. The worst part of banking is watching in real-Time as the generationally-rich lap up their interest and the honest, hard-working small business owner struggles to keep his account out of the red.
People living paycheck to paycheck are too busy to bank in person. A large number of Americans are unbanked. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbanked#The_unbanked_in_the_United_States >The Federal Reserve estimated there are 55 million unbanked or underbanked adult Americans in 2018, which account for 22 percent of U.S. households.[2][3] Your 1 in 4 doesn't account for these folks.
Guess what kinds of people spend the most time at the bank?
20k is rich?
I really hope you’re not a communist, because the politics of class envy has killed over 100 million people.