move your money

Last week saw the UK launch of the "Move your Money" campaign, which aims to encourage people to move their accounts from the big casino banks to other institutions that operate more sustainably and for the benefit of the communities they serve, such as credit unions or the co-operative bank. There is an excellent overview of the options available to UK customers in last Saturday's Guardian:

Unhappy with big banks? You could move your money

You can find more info on the campaign sites of:

Move your Money (UK)
Move your Money (US)
Bankwechselkampagne "Krötenwanderung jetzt!" (Germany)

I've been slightly ahead of the (UK) wave and started moving my finances in November, though there are still some things left to move like insurances. (I have to admit though I was stung into action by hearing from someone who switched their finances to a credit union 20 years ago.)

While I'm not sure whether the gambling boys up there in the upper floors of those shiny skyscrapers actually notice what we're doing down here in the real world, I think it is important to withdraw their apparent legitimation, the pretence of doing a useful service to the real economy. If they are just left with their casino operations, it will be easier to legislate against them and to let them crash.




So while they are busy with the bonuses, and incidentally we're also celebrating the international year of the co-operatives, move your money now!