[KingMachiavelli]

If people were depositing their money with the Fed then traditional banks wouldn't have (as many) deposits.

How are you getting money into this "FedAccount" does your paycheck get sent directly to it? Do you first send money from another bank? If it's the former option then real banks will have less money to lend, if it's the latter option then it's no different then using Zelle or any other intermediate.

Honestly what you want sounds exactly like what the Fed is building which is a common electronic exchange platform. I agree with the other points in that I hope this is mandatory to some degree.

> If people then want to invest their money, then they can make that choice individually.

I think you're underestimating how much such a service (if it accepted direct ACH from your job) would impact our current banking system. Companies would just bypass actual banks and send all paychecks to everyone's "FedAccount" that would be billions of dollars moved. Money in real banks is lent out, money in a "FedAccount" would/couldn't be (if banks have fewer deposits then they can't get as much money from the Fed). This isn't just adding a minor service for the government to provide, it would be a complete redesign of our monetary policy. A lot of countries wish they could have a banking environment as diverse as the US, it's a huge feature not a bug.

[lotsofpulp]

> How are you getting money into this "FedAccount" does your paycheck get sent directly to it? Do you first send money from another bank?

No, electronic money is just a number in a database. The US government can give you an account number like any other bank does now. Of course, you would still have the option to use a non US government electronic money account.

>If it's the former option then real banks will have less money to lend,

Yes, currently banks are earning money for an inefficiency from back in times when cash was the primary money. A lot of their purpose is obviated with todays’ technology of computers, databases, and instant communications.

> Companies would just bypass actual banks and send all paychecks to everyone's "FedAccount" that would be billions of dollars moved.

Possibly, if that is what people want.

>Money in real banks is lent out, money in a "FedAccount" would/couldn't be (if banks have fewer deposits then they can't get as much money from the Fed).

Banks can still offer people interest to entice them to deposit funds with them rather than the US government.