That's assuming the bank you use has physical locations. A large number of banks exist now that are either geographically prohibitive for those that have moved, or more so simply lack any physical locations at all.
Obviously this would be more expensive for the consumer. I think if we can put a credit-freeze except for such applications in person, there would be people who go for it; I would.
Or asked differently: How do they handle that?
> Or asked differently: How do they handle that?
The same way the IRS handles it when you mail your taxes, they collect your social and some identifiers (banks tend to ask for driver's license, etc online).
I'm a bit surprised living in Switzerland, which has an image for those very discreet, secretive banks.
But you could not open an account with a local bank without showing your passport in person.
Even when I ran my own company and had the corporate account with a specific bank I had to show up at a branch in person showing my passport in order to open a pension account with the same bank.
This even applies for postal accounts.
Mailing a scan of your driving license would never fly. I don't think it would even be accepted as identification if you show up in person.