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Comment by syntern | Hacker News Reader

As a non-US person who moved to the Bay area ~2 years ago, I have found found several difficulties with either method you have mentioned:

First, if you have just move there, and don't have a bank account, you don't have checkbook either (there are countries who has no checks at all) - no check by mail.

No utilities accepted credit or debit card, they always wanted to have a proper bank account number from me. Later on they have improved their system and now they offer online bill pay, with an extra "convenience fee" for credit cards. Hurray! (Although I am not sure if the bank account is still a requirement for opening.)

Btw. similar story applies for wireless service: I was required to provide my full employment contract to receive a simple phone number (at that point I had bank account, active employment...). How weird is that?

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The 'you don't need a bank account' method in the parent was the money order (there is also usually a way to pay in person, lots utilities do this in concert with convenience and grocery stores).

The wireless thing is because the phone companies treat the account as a credit account. The easy way around it is some prepaid plan (which is possible to fund in cash...). 5 years ago it wasn't such a good option. These days a $50 prepaid plan is at least reasonable, even if it isn't the best option.

The usual postpaid cellular account that most US providers want to sell is indeed a credit account. They're usually paying hundreds up front towards your phone, plus accepting the payments after you've used the service.

For cellular, prepaid seems to solve all of the problems everywhere I've been. I ordered a prepaid SIM card here in the US over the internet with nothing but a credit card number, has full data service and everything. Same thing everywhere else I've travelled in the last year.

Around the beginning of 2013, I took a trip to UAE, Norway, and the Netherlands. In each of those, I was able to get a prepaid SIM card at the airport for cash, with nothing but a passport for ID. All with phone, text, and data service.

I paid my electric in person before years ago before I started paying online and I had a problem with mail delivery and they didn't mail me a bill to mail back. It was simple.

I also knew someone who paid their phone bill in person every month because he was a teenager and didn't have a checking account, but had a cell phone bill.

I ALWAYS pay my electric bill with credit card. No fee.

When I set it up, it required a phone call to turn on, and my name, um, not sure what else. No bank account or anything else. Just a phone call with my name.

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