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Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

bitsaboutmoney.com

31–40 of 185 posts

Re: Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

#32
post #14

As someone who's not entirely opposed to crypto, this was an interesting read. Mostly in terms of the following: I sort of assumed that one of the factors (among many, for sure) limiting widespread adoption of crypto was that the thing we (in the US) already have was probably pretty smooth? And reading this, seems like it really ain't. Interesting that crypto hasn't made inroads here. I mostly get why, incumbents don…

> Interesting that crypto hasn't made inroads here A funny thing happened, 10 years ago crypto transfers were free, and bank transfers cost $15 or more. Today the opposite is true, many bank transfers are free, but sending crypto costs about $10.

That's not really true of crypto if you consider any chain but Bitcoin and Ethereum. You can send USDC on Arbitrum (an Ethereum L2) for Also, as the article points out, international transfers are still painful. Paying $10 to transfer money internationally is probably still a very good deal for most people.

Re: Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

#33
post #22

As a South African, it's weird seeing this presented as a strange/futuristic idea. I pay most of my bills through bank transfers and it's the standard way for two people with bank accounts to send money to each other. As long as you know someone's bank and account number, you can send them money. All local online retailers, investment brokers, etc, support bank transfers, with some[1] even providing discounts for pay…

SA banking regulations are meant to be extremely sensible[0]. It's possible that the US has very strange ones that not only enable some awful things, but also disable good ones.

[0] Source: worked for African Bank for a bit, years ago

Re: Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

#34

I've always wondered why big banks don't implement a lot more technologies, and I guess this gets to some of it. But it does seem like banks would have the incentives to kill services like Venmo and Stripe overnight. Like why are there not clear and straightforward banking APIs that let me create virtual cards and why doesn't my app let me just transfer money directly to my friend's bank account (I get global being a…

India has done this for more than a decade at this point with IMPS and NEFT, and recently UPI. And I'm sure several other countries have them too, but for some reason the US chooses to remain backwards in this case.

Re: Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

#35
Didn't get a mention in the article but Singapore's PayNow is magical. Direct bank-to-bank transfers that operate instantly 24/7, and for free. QR code-based so it's not uncommon to pay at retail outlets with this method; some shops will only accept PayNow or cash, because they're free. You can also pay directly to someone's NRIC (national ID number) or mobile number so you don't have to tack in their bank details or get a QR code from them.

Honestly the only thing that isn't perfect about this system is that there's no hyperlink standard. If you want to pay a PayNow QR code on your phone, you have to screenshot the QR code and then share it to your banking app. Would be nice if you could just tap the QR code. Other than that it's hard for me to imagine a better payment system.

Re: Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

#36

For me as a consumer in the USA, one of the biggest advantages for credit cards over bank transfers is where the money is in case of dispute. With credit cards, I still have the money in my possession, the dispute process is about the credit card company trying to get paid. With a bank transfer, the money is gone from me, and the dispute process is about me trying to get my money back. Even with the same policies on…

And you’ll still have that option, you’ll just likely pay for the privilege with the 3% fee pushed back onto customers who opt to use credit card rails. Think of it as a dispute insurance premium for less than high confidence transactions. An early example of this is T-Mobile’s recent decision to remove their autopay discount if you use a credit card instead of a deposit account (their CC interchange fees are materia…

[deleted]

Re: Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

#37
post #14

As someone who's not entirely opposed to crypto, this was an interesting read. Mostly in terms of the following: I sort of assumed that one of the factors (among many, for sure) limiting widespread adoption of crypto was that the thing we (in the US) already have was probably pretty smooth? And reading this, seems like it really ain't. Interesting that crypto hasn't made inroads here. I mostly get why, incumbents don…

> Interesting that crypto hasn't made inroads here A funny thing happened, 10 years ago crypto transfers were free, and bank transfers cost $15 or more. Today the opposite is true, many bank transfers are free, but sending crypto costs about $10.

I use Bitcoin a lot and I typically pay 10 cents for LN payment, and 50 cents for onchain. There have been very short periods when fees have peaked and you had to pay 10 bucks if you wanted it instantly.

Re: Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

#38
"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose above the great mountainous island of Tremalking. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning."

Re: Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

#39
post #22

As a South African, it's weird seeing this presented as a strange/futuristic idea. I pay most of my bills through bank transfers and it's the standard way for two people with bank accounts to send money to each other. As long as you know someone's bank and account number, you can send them money. All local online retailers, investment brokers, etc, support bank transfers, with some[1] even providing discounts for pay…

The comparison between SA bank transactions and UPI is pretty superficial. Precisely because the sender needs to know banking details about the receiver and to confirm the transaction on the receiver side you need access to the receivers bank data. UPI does not require either of those! It’s pretty great, and what modern bank transfers will look like.

SA bank transfers, like non-US bank transfers, are newer, cheaper and faster than their US counterparts, but aren’t fundamentally different in the mechanics and the edge cases. More in the regulations and market forces on banks.

That’s not to say they aren’t good! They certainly are in comparison to US bank transfers. But UPI does compare closer to sci fi.

Re: Bank transfers as a payment method (2021)

#40

I've always wondered why big banks don't implement a lot more technologies, and I guess this gets to some of it. But it does seem like banks would have the incentives to kill services like Venmo and Stripe overnight. Like why are there not clear and straightforward banking APIs that let me create virtual cards and why doesn't my app let me just transfer money directly to my friend's bank account (I get global being a…

Plenty of banks are competing with Venmo and Cashapp. They use Zelle[1], it's zero-fee and included in most bank apps already.

But it's not intended for business payments like Stripe or PayPal, or Venmo for business.

[1] https://www.zellepay.com/get-started

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