[arethuza]

One of the reasons the UK government bailed out the major banks here in the last financial crisis is that they feared what would happen if the retail banking system stopped working - if our chip-n-pin cards and ATMs suddenly stopped working.

I did wonder if it might be sensible to keep a chunk of cash somewhere safe for unpredictable times - having plenty of cash on tap won't help much if it is tied up in a bank that has just stopped working.

[pkamb]

Does the UK not have something like FDIC Insurance?

[arethuza]

I meant physical cash, not a number in a computer system somewhere. I don't use cash that often - which made me wonder about having a roll of cash stashed somewhere.

[hugh3]

At the very least, it's worth having dealings with multiple banks (eg your savings account with one and a credit card with another). It wouldn't take a financial collapse to make your money temporarily vanish -- I mean, how long was Playstation Network down for? It's entirely conceivable that one day a major bank will have a serious computer problem that'll shut them down for days.

Or failing that: heck, what happens if you lose your wallet? Yeah, a few hundred bucks (or quid) in a piggy bank isn't a bad idea.

[jswinghammer]

No very few countries do.

[pgh]

Yes, the UK does have something like FDIC. It's called FSCS http://www.fscs.org.uk. Moreover quite a few EU countries have something similar too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposit_insurance