Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

So, I tried Dwolla

blog.goodstuff.im

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 151 posts

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#131

Post by SeanDav »

hoi wrote: post #110
kalleboo wrote: post #107

> While there are no really good alternatives to moving money domestically except via check Does the U.S. really not have customer-to-customer wire transfers from regular banks? I'm continually amazed by how terrible your banking system is.

It truly is shit. Japan's isn't great either. UK's probably the best I've experienced in all the countries I've lived in. Hong Kong comes a close second.

I found South Africa to have a far easier banking system. When I first moved to the UK, I found their banking system very antiquated compared to what I was used to.

That was some time ago, so things are likely better in the UK since then. Hard to tell as I am part of the system and haven't got anything to compare it to now.

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#132

Post by eli »

joe_fishfish wrote: post #120
stinky613 wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think your impression of American shopping is accurate. Many people pay with credit cards because they don't want to deal with loose coins and because credit card transactions can be viewed online. Anything I put on my Visa card I pay off in full at the end of the billing period; there are no fees, charges, or changes in prices that hit you when you use a credit card.

In the UK we can do all that with debit cards, only there's no monthly bill to occasionally forget to pay.

I get refunds (i.e. negative fees) when I buy something on my credit card. I'm not aware of any debit card that offers that.

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#133

Post by tragomaskhalos »

ok_craig wrote: post #6

The other day I was trying to make some kind of transaction with Dwolla, and before I could, they asked me a series of questions to verify my identity. The questions had obviously been pulled from a background check based on my name that I didn't know they had done. It was asking me what the price of a house was when I originally bought it, and what street I lived on in a given time period. Outside of this being real…

The "background check" questions for verifying your identity will have been drawn from a credit reference agency or similar. It may seem creepy, but actually if you want to verify someone's identity online and mitigate the risk of identity theft, the alternatives are limited. Of course the fact that they mixed you up with your Dad is unfortunate to say the least; your date of birth should have disambiguated you.

What they should have done is explained this, rather than just baldly present you with what appear to be alarming and intrusive questions.

Having different levels of service depending on the level of identity assurance is sensible for many applications, but for a funds transfer system I agree that it does not seem sensible.

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#134

Post by homosaur »

jonknee wrote: post #104
homosaur wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ANY company can do this including your employer. A dogshit group of villans I used to work for pulled money from an employee's bank account that had been deposited from a paycheck because he took two weeks vacation to train for a new job. Was it legal? Almost certainly not, but it happened.

It's a pain, but setting up multiple accounts can help combat this (an account to receive deposits before moving them somewhere else).

After this happened to my friend, I set up my deposit account as a sort of shell account where anything that enters gets transferred by the bank into a separate account.

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#135

Post by obviouslygreen »

etfb wrote: post #66

America is a funny place. You can get 127 varieties of salad dressing at your local supermarket, but you can't pay for it except with cash, unless you want to be hit with credit charges, and when you do the prices are not as marked. Australia, in sharp contrast, has laws requiring that the price on the shelf matches the price at the register -- some of them even allow you to get incorrectly-priced items for free, alt…

...people really only use credit cards for online purchases or when they're already living beyond their means. (Which means the use of a credit card in day-to-day spending is another warning sign!)

Ridiculous, unsubstantiated, and false. The US is not perfect, but neither are your ideas about credit cards and the people who use them. I, much of my family, and many of my friends use credit cards for all of our daily expenses and pay them off immediately, or at least before the bills are due. It's convenient and lets you keep a small cash stash on you that rarely gets used just in case you need it.

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#136

Post by kfcm »

aneth4 wrote: post #128

Moving 5 figures of needed funds through Dwolla immediately after opening an account. Come on - that's just pricelessly stupid, and I'm not surprised it raised flags. The clown is the person who would do such a thing. And he expects the funds to be available almost instantly. Send a few hundred or thousands of dollars to test an entirely new payment method first, and to establish that it works. Anyone involved in tec…

He wasn't sending 5 figures; he was receiving it.

And why is he a clown for assuming his "verified with state and federal ids" Dwolla account could receive such amounts, and he could get it?

It's a business account--5 figures is nothing. This may have been his test.

Getting in the way of business? I do give them demerits.

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#137

Post by Anderkent »

obviouslygreen wrote: post #135
etfb wrote: post #66

America is a funny place. You can get 127 varieties of salad dressing at your local supermarket, but you can't pay for it except with cash, unless you want to be hit with credit charges, and when you do the prices are not as marked. Australia, in sharp contrast, has laws requiring that the price on the shelf matches the price at the register -- some of them even allow you to get incorrectly-priced items for free, alt…

...people really only use credit cards for online purchases or when they're already living beyond their means. (Which means the use of a credit card in day-to-day spending is another warning sign!) Ridiculous, unsubstantiated, and false. The US is not perfect, but neither are your ideas about credit cards and the people who use them. I, much of my family, and many of my friends use credit cards for all of our daily e…

Then why not just use a debit card, and if you turn out to need that cash stash, use your credit card then? Or take any kind of loan, most of which will have better terms than your credit card anyway...

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#138

Post by obviouslygreen »

Anderkent wrote: post #137
obviouslygreen wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...people really only use credit cards for online purchases or when they're already living beyond their means. (Which means the use of a credit card in day-to-day spending is another warning sign!) Ridiculous, unsubstantiated, and false. The US is not perfect, but neither are your ideas about credit cards and the people who use them. I, much of my family, and many of my friends use credit cards for all of our daily e…

Then why not just use a debit card, and if you turn out to need that cash stash, use your credit card then? Or take any kind of loan, most of which will have better terms than your credit card anyway...

That's a choice you can make, but it's not relevant to the point I'm refuting. :)

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#139

Post by aianus »

Anderkent wrote: post #137
obviouslygreen wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...people really only use credit cards for online purchases or when they're already living beyond their means. (Which means the use of a credit card in day-to-day spending is another warning sign!) Ridiculous, unsubstantiated, and false. The US is not perfect, but neither are your ideas about credit cards and the people who use them. I, much of my family, and many of my friends use credit cards for all of our daily e…

Then why not just use a debit card, and if you turn out to need that cash stash, use your credit card then? Or take any kind of loan, most of which will have better terms than your credit card anyway...

Please point me to "any kind of loan" that has better terms than my credit card. My credit card company literally pays me money to lend me money for a month at a time. I'd have to be an idiot not to take them up on that offer.

Re: So, I tried Dwolla

#140

Post by toast42 »

I use Dwolla to transfer less than $500 every month for splitting rent, utilities, etc. I've never once had a problem, they're just kind of slow sometimes.
Post reply on HN