Congratulations you have just eroded the bitcoin system and established the old banking system again. Cluster = bank. Inter-cluster settlements = inter-bank settlements (aka Target2)

Not quite. These "clusters" or third party payment system overlay providers still can't create an infinite amount of coins. Further, we could check to block chain to see how much they are holding. But yeah, just because there are bitcoins out there doesn't mean people are going to instantly be cured of their mental illnesses.