Thanks to the Internet, our connection has become more and more international. As a result, international banking is also becoming more and more crucial to us in order to continue enjoying this interconnectedness as it often comes with a price - we often have to pay for commercial services that provide us with it.
This interconnnectedness includes not only online communication beyond national boundaries but also access to books published in other countries. In both cases I have to rely on international banking, which is still dominated by one declining superpower.
I don't think it's fair and justified to weaponize this dominance to force their one-sided opinions upon other countries that refuse to accept them, especially when these opinions are also unfair and unjustified.
Though neither Israel nor the new country where I live now are sanctioned by this superpower, I suffer from the economic sanction against a certain third country that involves international banking - I can't pay for books published in that country, so I can't buy them, and when I visit that country, I have to carry cash.
These days I'm realizing that international banking is still far from being truly international even without these weaponized economic sanctions. Credit cards that are allegedly international are tied with bank accounts in a specific country, so if you leave it for another country, a number of obstacles you've never imagined exist are waiting for you.
Recently I was told and stunned that I must visit the physical branch of the Israeli bank where I still keep my account in order to order and/or receive a new credit or debit card. This must also be the case in other countries.
One of the main reasons why I find it rather unrealistic to return to Israel is its high cost of living. The amount of private pension I'm supposed to receive in about five years is not bad in Israeli terms, but may not be enough if I'm to live in the same neighborhood in Jerusalem where I used to live.
So I've even started looking for ways to transfer monthly payments from my private pension fund linked with my bank account in Israel to my another bank account-to-be in another country, especially if this new country should remain sanctioned economically. In short, I haven't found any viable solution as long as the present international banking is weaponized by this declining superpower. In the meanwhile I've started reducing my dependence though this has turned out to be much harder that it seemed.