Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform • Hacker News Board

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#141

Post by alkonaut » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:20 PM UTC

Gogogogirl wrote: post #60

alkonaut wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ALL the time. It's the replacement for cash. Looking at the past 6 months in my history: Split numerous restaurant bills. Paid someone who bought me a concert ticket. Bought some crap in a flea market. Bought a set of used wheels for my car. Bought a hotdog at the son's hockey game cafeteria. Bet the office sports tournament pool. Bought food in a hospital ward. Bought soda in a vending machine. Of these many happene…

Just asking, because I'm interested. Do you use it to pay Amazon? Your phone bill? You power provider? These are the areas I (Germany) currently use SEPA direct debit and would know how SEPA payments is used/replaced in other countries.

No (well, not quite), for online purchases in web shops I either just use my card or I use "bank direct payment" which goes via the same authorization (BankID smartphone app) used for both the direct to phone-number payments (Swish) and for online banking in most/all banks and other major companies and authorities.

I don't get paper bills for services such as phone/power/water/insurance/tv, they are delivered to my bank electronically and either paid automatically or I log in (BankID smartphone app) and confirm the payments.

So the transfer system isn't used for bills, but the same authorization system is used for bills/banking and direct transfer.

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#142

Post by a254613e » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:31 PM UTC

tethys wrote: post #53

baxtr wrote: post #13

Instant payments, aka “instant SEPA” will be available soon also in the EU https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/what-we-do/sepa-insta...

UniCredit introduced instant payments in Germany and Italy in November 2017, other large banks in Germany are due to follow this summer. https://www.unicreditgroup.eu/en/press-media/press-releases/...

Too bad everything else is abysmal when it comes to technology and payments in Germany.

Most places don't accept anything besides cash for payments. Opening a bank account still involves a ton of paperwork. Official mobile apps, if they even exist, are horrible. Waiting for 2 days for SEPA transfer, even though it's usually technically done within hours. No realtime transactions for card transactions (even though they have the data right away), etc.

Unless the "SCT Inst" becomes a law that every bank must obey, I doubt majority of banks will have it implemented even within 5 years.

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#143

Post by blablablaber » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:38 PM UTC

alkonaut wrote: post #41

wowca wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do people really transfer that much money between them on a regular basis? Everyone was touting this as the selling point for some of the crypto currencies, but I've always thought this is a non-issue. It's anecdotal but I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I needed to transfer money to a person and not to a company.

ALL the time. It's the replacement for cash. Looking at the past 6 months in my history: Split numerous restaurant bills. Paid someone who bought me a concert ticket. Bought some crap in a flea market. Bought a set of used wheels for my car. Bought a hotdog at the son's hockey game cafeteria. Bet the office sports tournament pool. Bought food in a hospital ward. Bought soda in a vending machine. Of these many happene…

Besides looking almost exactly as the written version of an advertisment used to promote the same solution(different name) in our country, what an extraordinary probe into your personal life!

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#144

Post by alehander42 » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:43 PM UTC

fiatjaf wrote: post #116

TekMol wrote: post #47

They spent one billion Australian Dollars to implement a national system for instant payments and have yet to convince banks to adopt it? And it forces users to hand out their phone number or email to strangers? Given that, Bitcoins $140B market cap does not seem too unreasonable. As it is international and gives users better privacy controls.

This is the anti-privacy, anti-Bitcoin system. And HN people are loving it!

And what is so private about Bitcoin? Cryptocurrencies have potential, but they're not really anonymous yet

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#145

Post by mstibbard » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:45 PM UTC

dawogfather wrote: post #132

jaimex2 wrote: post #118

Not sure why it says Commonwealth Bank is the only one open at launch. I'm with ING and got an email about it being active this morning.

Commonwealth own ing. They have for a faire while. That's why Commonwealth customers could use ing ATMs for free back when they still had fees

ING has ATMs? I don't think I've ever seen one, and thought it was partially why they offered to waive ATM fees for using our bank ATMs.

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#146

Post by bloodorange » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:48 PM UTC

icebraining wrote: post #128

bloodorange wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll be off topic I'm afraid but I did want to share my perspective on this. I've lived in two cultures - one where people split the bill and one where one person just pays for it and someone else does the next time and so on. I much prefer the latter approach and among well meaning people, it is hassle free. I believe this is so because on the long run, the differences don't add up to much. I think, in some way, for…

In the subculture I come from, splitting is the typical method, because many can't afford to just pay for everyone without risking going out of money before the next paycheck.

Agreed. I have experienced this when I had cashflow problems. I do not dare claim that either of the approaches has its own issues. I just stated how I felt about both ways of doing things and why I preferred one over the other.

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#147

Post by bloodorange » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:50 PM UTC

rco8786 wrote: post #123

bloodorange wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll be off topic I'm afraid but I did want to share my perspective on this. I've lived in two cultures - one where people split the bill and one where one person just pays for it and someone else does the next time and so on. I much prefer the latter approach and among well meaning people, it is hassle free. I believe this is so because on the long run, the differences don't add up to much. I think, in some way, for…

I’m gonna guess that the non-splitting country has a much flatter distribution of wealth?

Interesting.

You are right indeed but might I ask how you made this connection? I never thought of it this way. One reason for it is probably that between my friends and me, there wasn't much disparity in income/wealth at the time when I was fortunate enough to be able to spend time with them regularly.

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#148

Post by therealmarv » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:51 PM UTC

Double_a_92 wrote: post #126

therealmarv wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never ever seen a SEPA transfer real cross border go through in a few hours in my life!

12 hours was the fastest for me...

ok, that I've seen I think :)

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#149

Post by tpxl » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:55 PM UTC

raarts wrote: post #135

hocuspocus wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Old-school SEPA transfers take only a few hours between modern banks, even across borders. SCT inst is gradually coming. Bear in mind the SEPA area covers some 500 million people, it's no small feat compared to much smaller domestic markets (Nordic European countries have been ahead of Australia in this regard).

Last September I was in Armenia. I paid at a supermarket with my debit card. I immediately opened my banking app for my Dutch bank, and the amount was already withdrawn.

The withdrawal is instant, however the recipient waits for a few hours to a few days.

Re: Australia’s new real-time banking payments platform

#150

Post by hocuspocus » Tue, Feb 13, 2018, 2:57 PM UTC

a254613e wrote: post #142

tethys wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UniCredit introduced instant payments in Germany and Italy in November 2017, other large banks in Germany are due to follow this summer. https://www.unicreditgroup.eu/en/press-media/press-releases/...

Too bad everything else is abysmal when it comes to technology and payments in Germany. Most places don't accept anything besides cash for payments. Opening a bank account still involves a ton of paperwork. Official mobile apps, if they even exist, are horrible. Waiting for 2 days for SEPA transfer, even though it's usually technically done within hours. No realtime transactions for card transactions (even though the…

Credit and debit card acceptance could definitely be better (even though I was doing all right in Berlin), but I don't agree about opening bank accounts:

- N26: it took me literally 10 minutes. Identification via video chat.

- comdirect: as far as I remember, I mailed them one 4-page form, dropped by the post office for the PostIdent and that was it.

- Postbank (I needed an IBAN quickly while waiting for comdirect ;) : I walked in, everything was done in 15 minutes.

Now try the same thing in France. Online banks typically ask an initial wire transfer from another French bank since they cannot check your identity directly. And then you need to provide proof of address and salary payslips (or tax receipts). And in the end it easily takes 3-4 weeks to receive all documents and your payment card.