Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Re: TradeHill - Why we no longer accept Dwolla and an open letter to Ben Milne
by
Yeti
on 28/07/2011, 20:52:51 UTC
Here's a crazy "future" scenario:

Say Alice wants to send money to Bob. She types his bank account number and bank code into her bank's online banking website, sends the funds. It's free. She has a regular account, so she pays somewhere around $5 per month for that and nothing per transaction. She could also opt for no monthly fee and $.25 per transaction, but since rent, utilities, insurance, groceries, etc. all goes through that account, she's better off with the former. So the transaction is free and it is non-reversible, once sent it can only be refunded by the payee. Sufficient funds are checked before the transfer is initiated by the bank.

Now when is this going to be a reality? Wow, this has been actually possible for the last 28 years! In a far away country called Germany. And even if you didn't own one of those fancy BTX terminals back in 1983, you could send money on a slip of paper, also free of charge or with a small fee. And what's a check (or cheque)? I've only once got one, in the late 1990s. It felt ancient.

Since 2008 Alice can also live in Finland while Bob lives in Portugal and it's still free.

No need for any of those services (Dwolla, Paxum) here. Why is the US banking system still stuck in de Medici times? You don't need VC money, you need a 21st century banking system. Why would anybody still need to physically bring their paycheck to the bank?