211–220 of 238 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Out of curiosity, who is the world leader in banking? Going from Australia to the UK felt like going back in time 20 odd years.
I'm not sure about world leader, but in Norway/Sweden, they've had things like PayID (Vipps and Swish), MFA, etc. for a bit.
Even before this, Australia still had direct person-to-person transfers. They'd just take a day, and required an account number and name. I've written about this before, but American is terribly far behind on this: https://penguindreams.org/blog/the-american-banking-system-i... The closest thing we have in the US is Zelle, which is not a government mandated standard (like ACH) but a private standard created by banks…
Then you discover that:
1)You need an app to use it (because websites are so passe!) - an app that may or may not work, and will likely crash;
2)You will hit an arbitrary, hidden limit when you try to use it - as insultingly low as $300/week for an out-of-network bank.
These limits are not posted anywhere, and it takes 2 levels of computer service just to find out what they are.
3)The ClearXChange network (aka Chase QuickPay, etc) that didn't have these drawbacks has been shut down and replaced by Zelle.
After going through this, I am still mailing actual paper checks to pay my rent. It is simply easier for everyone involved, and there are no fees.
Even before this, Australia still had direct person-to-person transfers. They'd just take a day, and required an account number and name. I've written about this before, but American is terribly far behind on this: https://penguindreams.org/blog/the-american-banking-system-i... The closest thing we have in the US is Zelle, which is not a government mandated standard (like ACH) but a private standard created by banks…
The US is in dismal shape compared to the UK and now Australia--And its pretty infuriating. Although from what I understand on March 16th, 2018 the US will at least get same-day ACH. However, it will still be batch processed only two times each day--During banking hours no less! https://www.nacha.org/rules/same-day-ach-moving-payments-fas... There is a NPR planet money on why the US has such an archaic system: https:…
I'd argue the system this sort of replaces, bank numbers + account numbers, was still better than the US. It provided next day transfer between banks and intra day transfers between the same bank. All for free.
Even before this, Australia still had direct person-to-person transfers. They'd just take a day, and required an account number and name. I've written about this before, but American is terribly far behind on this: https://penguindreams.org/blog/the-american-banking-system-i... The closest thing we have in the US is Zelle, which is not a government mandated standard (like ACH) but a private standard created by banks…
Aussie here. I never knew that the U.S lacked this. We've had this feature for decades. Within the same bank, it's instant. Inter-bank it can happen the same day depending on the banks involved and when they run their batch processing. I always considered this a primitive system for not being instant.
It was all a bit bizarre, considering how much time both banks needed to spend on a routine transaction...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They will do that, but it's cumbersome I think, especially if you had a large group ordering a lot of different things. And even more so if there was drinking involved. Now I just charge it to my card, snap a pic with my phone of the receipt and send to everyone at the table, and they can just swish the money over the next day or on the train home when they have time to deal with it. Keeps the accounting out of a fun…
But they are supposed to account for your orders and not just bill you out of thin air, right? So what is so cumbersome of keeping track of the orders. It is literally biggest part of their job - taking an order and remembering correctly who ordered what.
Getting caught in the middle of billing disputes wouldn't be fun either. Easier to just require someone pay the whole thing.
Even before this, Australia still had direct person-to-person transfers. They'd just take a day, and required an account number and name. I've written about this before, but American is terribly far behind on this: https://penguindreams.org/blog/the-american-banking-system-i... The closest thing we have in the US is Zelle, which is not a government mandated standard (like ACH) but a private standard created by banks…
From what I've heard, countries like Australia are often the trial place for systems like this. So it shouldn't exactly be a surprise or concern that the US doesn't also have these services (yet).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US is in dismal shape compared to the UK and now Australia--And its pretty infuriating. Although from what I understand on March 16th, 2018 the US will at least get same-day ACH. However, it will still be batch processed only two times each day--During banking hours no less! https://www.nacha.org/rules/same-day-ach-moving-payments-fas... There is a NPR planet money on why the US has such an archaic system: https:…
> and now Australia I'd argue the system this sort of replaces, bank numbers + account numbers, was still better than the US. It provided next day transfer between banks and intra day transfers between the same bank. All for free.
Even before this, Australia still had direct person-to-person transfers. They'd just take a day, and required an account number and name. I've written about this before, but American is terribly far behind on this: https://penguindreams.org/blog/the-american-banking-system-i... The closest thing we have in the US is Zelle, which is not a government mandated standard (like ACH) but a private standard created by banks…
Aussie here. I never knew that the U.S lacked this. We've had this feature for decades. Within the same bank, it's instant. Inter-bank it can happen the same day depending on the banks involved and when they run their batch processing. I always considered this a primitive system for not being instant.
It used to make me laugh when Americans would describe Australia as 'like the US 10 years ago'.
Then I would write them a check.
Then I would try and send a text message that wouldn't go across networks as had always worked in Australia for years...
In Australia leaving in the 1990s I had never written a check because even then B-Pay was around and people did direct deposit for rent and things.
But Australia probably has about as many banks as California, so we have a much smaller problem.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
N26 is a bank, they have a license. Given their growth I think they didn't do too bad overall, and I've never had a problem using their MasterCard as my main payment method while living in Germany. Granted, I wouldn't have used them as my main bank two years ago, but I think they got there. And while video chat is better than PostIdent, I don't think a trip to your local post office is that bad compared to the altern…
I think his point was that you made it sounds easier than it really was for some reason. Regarding the second bank you wrote, "and that was it." In reality, you admit that there was tons of paperwork that took days to receive. So, no, that wasn't "it."