System Change

Derek and Stella passed Jacks on the way out. After explaining what they were up to, Jacks left to go see what the rest of the group had been up to all day.

The walk was short, as the bank was only a few businesses down from the Crown Restaurant. Derek followed Stella inside a building almost as tall as the hotel, but just as grand. Inside, there were multiple desks with workers, and one big counter at the back with people lined up.

“Do you have at least 1,000 gold on you right now?” Stella asked.

Derek nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good. Follow me.” She led Derek to one of the desks with a worker seated behind it.

The worker looked up from the desk to see Derek and Stella approaching. “Ah, Miss Brighton. How may I help you today?”

“Jared, this is Derek Hunt.” She motioned to Derek. “He needs to open an account with the bank today. We are in partnership, and it would make our lives much easier if he had one.”

“I see.” Jared replied, then motioned to a seat across from him. “Mr. Hunt, please have a seat and I will get you taken care of momentarily.”

Derek sat. “Thank you.”

Stella put her hand on Derek’s shoulder. “I’ll be back shortly. There are some accounts I need to take care of while I’m here.”

“Okay.”

Soon after Stella left, Jared finished signing some documents and put them away. “Good afternoon, Mr. Hunt. Do you know what sort of account you would like to open today?”

“What kind of accounts do you have?” Derek asked.

“We have business and personal accounts, with varying tiers of each. So, to get started, would you like your account to be business or personal?” The man asked.

“Personal, but I may open a business account at some point. Am I right to think that I can give access to the business account to multiple people.?”

Jared nodded. “That is correct. Any party indicated by you would have access.”

“That’s good.” Derek said.

“Now, what tier account would you like? Tier one accounts are for those who wish for an easy place to safely store what little money they have. The limit to this tier is 100 gold, and it costs 50 silver a year to maintain.” Jared explained.

“I’ll be dealing in the tens of thousands of gold.” Derek said.

“I see. That leaves tier three and tier four accounts, but being in business with the Crown, I suspect you will want to open a tier four one. The minimum you must have to open the account is 1,000 gold. There is also a 1,000-gold insurance and maintenance fee. However, there is no maximum limit on the account. The account draws a .005 percent monthly interest for the holder, so, with enough funds, it is possible to negate the account cost.” Jared explained.

Derek did some quick math in his head before replying. “Do you have a lot of customers with over 200,000 gold in their accounts?”

The man nodded. “We do, as we are the only bank in the kingdom, and we are backed by Savannah. You are paying for the safety and insurance of your money, along with ease of use.”

Derek nodded. He knew how banks worked, and this one didn’t seem to be all that much different. It didn’t seem like they had a savings account, though. Derek decided to ask. “Do you not have a savings account?”

The man frowned. “I’m afraid I’ve never heard of something like that.”

Derek nodded. “That makes sense. I’m from another… kingdom. I was just checking to see the differences in the banks.” Of course, there were multiple kinds of savings accounts that just weren’t possible for a world like this one to have. Especially those that involved combination savings and investment accounts.

“Could you explain this ‘savings’ account?” Jared asked. “I have to admit, I am quite curious about how other kingdoms manage money.”

“It’s simple, really. There are multiple types of accounts. Savings accounts have a higher interest yield for the customer and are usually better secured. But it seems that your regular accounts are already quite secure. Some accounts have penalties for using the money in them within a set time period or using them too often.” Derek explained.

“One of the reason savings accounts are good for banks is that it allows the bank to have more money on hand to lend. You do give loans, correct?”

Jared nodded. “We do.”

“So, savings accounts make it where people don’t want to take their money out, whether it is because they want the increased interest on their account or because they don’t want to incur penalties or fees. Therefore, you have more money for loans. So, if the savings account draws one percent interest on 5,000 gold, then you turn around and give out a 5,000-gold loan at eight percent, you profit well. Of course, there are other factors, but I’m not too versed in those. I’m sure someone in the banking industry could figure that out.” Derek finished explaining.

Jared sat silently for a moment before speaking again. “Interesting.” He finally said.

“Though, since you have a monopoly on banking in the kingdom, savings accounts may not benefit you as much.” Derek said.

“Oh? You have more than one bank where you come from?”

Derek nodded. “Yeah. Dozens, if not hundreds.”

“How interesting. May I ask, what kingdom do you come from?”

Derek laughed. “The United States of America.” Derek said. At least what’s left of it. He thought. “I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.”

“You are correct. I have not.” Jared confirmed. “Thanks for the information. Now, should we get back to business?”

Derek nodded. “I’d like to open up a tier four account. We’ll start small.” Derek dumped 5,000 gold on the desk. “Take a thousand for the fee, then deposit the remaining.”

“Very well.” Jared moved the pile of gold over to one side of his desk, then pulled out some papers. “This is the typical bank contract for a tier four account. Please read, sign, and inject your mana signature here.”

Derek did as he was told. There wasn’t anything in the contract that wasn’t explained beforehand, other than termination of the account if sufficient funds were not available to cover the fee within six months of owing it.

“Thank you.” Jared made a copy of the papers and gave it to Derek. “This is for your records.” Then, he pulled a black card out of a locked desk drawer and placed it on a rune on the desk then injected his mana into the rune. “I have activated your banking card according to the contract. Please place your mana signature on the card via the rune.”

That’s what that was. There was a card in the ring he took off of Malcolm. He had scanned over it, but didn’t pay it any attention. Now, he knew why the City Lord didn’t actually have that much gold on him. Derek injected the card with his mana.

“You may now take the card.” He slid the card across the desk to Derek. “For your first deposit, I will handle it, but for future deposits and withdrawals of 1,000-gold or less, or if you need information about your account, please use one of the tellers over there.” He pointed at one of the lines of people. “If your deposit or withdrawal is greater than 1,000-gold use that counter.” He showed Derek a counter with many less people in line.

“Okay.” Derek said. “If I die, what happens to the card?” He asked, thinking about the City Lord’s card.

“When you die, your mana signature disappears, and we are notified. After which, your account goes to your next of kin or someone you have designated. If you do not have any kin, it would be best to designate someone just in case you die.”

Derek nodded. There goes that idea.

“If you would like to open a business account in the future or take out a loan, you can come back to me or one of the other workers here.” He explained. “Same for adding others to the account.”

“Will do.” Derek said.

“Please wait here for a moment.” Jared took the pile of gold and stood. He walked past one of the counters and into a closed room. Two minutes later, he came back. “I have deposited your gold. Inject your mana and look at the side of the card.”

Derek did so. Instantly, the mana was absorbed and a blue 4,000 appeared on the side of the card, near the top.

“The top row is gold, the middle is silver, and the bottom is bronze. If you lose your card, there is a 200 gold replacement fee for tier four members.” The man said.

Derek nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Now, this card has built in runes to transfer the balance to other cards. Take a look at the other side when you inject your mana.”

Derek did, and multiple strange symbols appeared on the other side of his card.

“When you wish to transfer, all you have to do is activate the card’s runes, then, while touching the other person’s card with yours, will the amount to be transferred. Both parties must be willing the same amount or the transfer will fail.” Jared explained.

“That seems easy enough.” Derek said.

“Congratulations! You are now a member of the Savannah Bank.” Jared smiled.

Derek put the card away and reached out to shake the man’s hand. “Thanks for all your help.”

The man took his hand and shook it. “It was my pleasure. Please come see me if you have any questions or concerns.”

With that, Derek stood and walked back outside. He waited against the wall for Stella to come out. After around ten minutes of waiting, she finally appeared through the doors of the bank.

“Sorry about that. It took longer than expected.” Stella said.

“No worries.”

“So, did you get everything you needed?” She asked.

“I set up a personal account. I’ll come back if or when I need to make a business one.” He answered.

“That’s good. Did he teach you how to transfer?”

“Yeah.” Derek pulled out his new card. “How much was it again?” He asked.

“13,465 gold.” She answered as she pulled her own card out and activated it.

Derek activated his card and placed its rune side against the one in Stella’s hand. He thought about taking that amount from her card, and instantly, both cards glowed blue, then stopped. When he checked his balance again, the number read 17,465.

He let out a breath. “That’s going to make life a little more simple.”