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Letter Re: Electronic "Cash" in the Event of a Banking Emergency?
Jim,
What if the banks were closed for a Bank Holiday by the President, for let's
say one week. Question: Could one still use their credit card? Or is the
system
intertwined? Keep up the great work you do and service you provide the world.
- David V
JWR Replies: In the event of a national banking crisis and
bank "holiday",
I predict that all bank doors will be closed and that every form
of electronic money will be inoperative (ATMs, debit cards, credit cards, et
cetera.)
You
might
be able
to write checks
at some local businesses, but don't depend on being able to do so. There is
even a smaller chance that some "Mom & Pop" stores will manually run a credit
card
slip for
later
processing, but that would be horribly naive of them. Nearly all
merchants now use "Point of Purchase" (POP) electronic processing via a phone
line to confirm credit
card purchases, but the POP systems will surely be "down.")
If you can afford to, I recommend that you keep at least $1,000 in greenbacks
on hand at all times.
