The worst part is, that the fee for a card payment is shared between Visa/MasterCard and your bank. Bank transfers within a country are often free of charge, b

The worst part is, that the fee for a card payment is shared between Visa/MasterCard and your bank. Bank transfers within a country are often free of charge, but are quite uncomfortable to make (typing numbers) and usually are not sent immediately (so that you can not pay this way in a grocery store). Banks have no interest in making bank transfers easier or faster, or opening up to cheaper competitors of Visa/MasterCard. Meanwhile, people happily keep their money in a bank, seeing that all bank services are free and that it "can not get any better". I think, if anyone is to replace Visa/MasterCard, they should also make their own bank (a place where people keep money in a long-term).