It's this exact sentiment that drives many to crypto, despite the challenges in spending it at this point.

Who said you have to deal with a bank? That's not written into law, is it?

Try a credit union if you want to avoid banks.

Is the experience that different?

I've never tried one, but I assumed the level of bureaucracy must be similar in order to defend against fraud and fulfill regulatory requirements.

It is absolutely different.

I can walk into my credit union's offices - they have just two branches - and talk to someone with decision making power. An actual human being picks up the phone if I call. Their customer service has been impeccable despite some complex asks.

I am unlikely to be able to do this if someone steals my crypto.

(My security question when calling in was once "you sent an email last week that made my boss very happy, what was it about?")

Pros of a credit union: many processes are still manually-controlled

Cons of a credit union: many processes are still manually-controlled

There's a lot of scenarios where that's the lesser of two evils, though. And god it's nice to be able to walk into a branch, explain the situation to someone, and get "Let me see what I can do. There, all fixed" in reply.

Instead of "Oh, the system won't let me do that."

At my previous credit union (before moving), the local branch manager knew me and my family (mom, husband, etc) by name. And she either (1) had actual power to make things happen or (2) could just call the person that did in any given circumstance.

This is a medium sized credit union, with a dozen or so branches.

Banks are for-profit and credit unions are not-for-profit. Banks will do whatever they think they can get away with to increase their profits, which affects every interaction you have with them. I've had accounts at Citibank and now multiple credit unions, and I regret ever having had accounts at Citibank. They were constantly making things difficult in new ways. I don't know how the bureaucracy compares, but how they treat customers is definitely different.

The main difference is that a credit union actually wants clients at your income level. They're not necessarily more competent.

The main difference is size. I have an account at the #4 biggest credit union by assets. It would be about 80th if banks and credit unions were ranked together. I previously had an account with what's currently the 4th largest bank, and it was a totally different experience that I won't repeat.

At that level of assets, you're usually not thousands of branches, it's probably just tens, and the organization is small enough to be based on empowering people to use their brains as opposed to strict script following and zero thinking.

Credit unions are a bit more flexible than a small bank though, because of shared branching. It's not as good as they say it is, but you can go to selected other credit union branches and get limited teller services.

Doubly infuriating because it's Cliff Stoll they fucked-with.

At least I know never to do business with Citi.