Citigroup chair and CEO Jane Fraser, speaking at an event at the Council of Foreign Relations last evening, got around to fintech competition, leaving me thinking of a peeve I have with her biggest rival, J.P. Morgan Chase.
Noting that Citi has the largest global physical presence of any U.S. commercial bank, Fraser observed that especially abroad, customers are demanding instant digital ease in transferring sums among various financial accounts. They do so, in part, because their own currencies are wobbly and because they want always to have their money “at work” (earning yields). Well, good for Citi (although I’ve had my own electronic issues with one of its credit cards and quit using it as a result). But at Chase, America’s No. 1, bigger barriers at retail still exist.
To explain: Per Fraser, I care about yield, so when making large payments to Chase (for a home mortgage, e.g.) I do so with a check from an interest-bearing account elsewhere. Yes, a paper check. Over a weekend, that means three days or more of float before the funds process. Chase, oddly among banks, doesn’t take checks as payment at its ATMs. (It does take cash…ha!) It wants me instead to pay from another Chase account, which I could do online, but Chase refuses to offer interest* on its savings accounts, so no thanks. Instead I stand in a teller line–ideally short!–to have a Chase employee fill out and put through remnant hardware a paper form with my check. This takes a few minutes of employee time, plus my time, on each visit.
Now, Fraser’s counterpart Jamie Dimon is no slouch, so I assume this kabuki with checks is an anti-fraud measure. Or maybe Chase is intent on getting me to keep big balances in dead money so I can pay its other pockets more conveniently. For now, this is a standoff. I realize that fintech will get around to extracting my check amounts on the same day, and I will have to surrender. But at present, Jamie Dimon can do some waiting along with me. –June 12, 2026
*Okay, it pays 0.01% on the liquid “saving” vehicles I’m aware of.
Tim W. Ferguson 