There are three main reasons: (1) a huge long tail of financial institutions and (2) an incredibly strong enforcement and justice system, and (3) a lack of new

There are three main reasons: (1) a huge long tail of financial institutions and (2) an incredibly strong enforcement and justice system, and (3) a lack of new financial institutions. The United States has around 40x more financial institutions than the United Kingdom (8x when adjusting for population differences). The US has such a long tail of financial institutions because of regulatory and market forces. The US regulators/lawmakers have traditionally provided incentives for smaller financial institutions because of the belief that they fill a very important role in powering our diverse economic engine (a belief I hold as well). This has made change harder to impose and coordinate. Most United States payment schemes are inherently insecure. Both checks and ACHs simply require the routing number, account number, and name on the account. There is no concept of a one-time use token. So why is the US not plagued with fraud? Our enforcement and justice systems are perhaps the strongest in the world. The secret service and FBI devote an incredible amount of resources to investigating financial fraud, and punishments are typically harsh. Finally, the lack of new bank charters granted by the regulators (especially post 2008) has reduced competition and innovation in the space. Banks are able to levy high fees as a result. The amount lost to fraud each year is generally more than covered by these fees (with the exception of small financial institutions) so there is not a strong incentive for change.