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I'm not OP but I had to wire money earlier this year when I bought a house. To accomplish this, I had to drive to my nearest bank branch (1 hour drive), talk to

I'm not OP but I had to wire money earlier this year when I bought a house. To accomplish this, I had to drive to my nearest bank branch (1 hour drive), talk to a bank teller for 15 minutes while she filled out forms and printed out papers I had to sign, and then they told me the wire would probably arrive in time for the house signing (3 hours later). This was to send ~$15k. Compare this to sending USDC on [smart contract enabled blockchain] which takes a few clicks and minutes at most. For arguments sake I will point out the downsides to using crypto in this case: 1. Most people don't want to manage their own wallet 2. USDC is centralized so there is some amount of risk 3. If you send it to the wrong wallet, RIP to your money FWIW, I was just as scared of sending the wire transfer to the wrong place as I was when I send crypto. And with crypto you can quickly send a small test amount first. You can use something like DAI which is less centralized than USDC if that risk is a concern. Wallet UX will improve over time

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
ericd 5y ago
You might want to switch banks, I wire money a couple times a month, it takes about 5 minutes via their website, it goes out very soon after initiation (if it’s within business hours).
aardvark179 5y ago
That’s a failing of the US banking system, but not of banking systems everywhere. In the UK you can send up to £250,000 within 15 minutes, and you can generally do this online.
- arcticbull 5y ago
  And one that's actively being remedied by both RTP (already rolled out to many customers) and FedNow in 2023.
twic 5y ago
People are probably tired of hearing this, but this is not a problem with wiring, it's a problem with US banks. When i bought my home in the UK six years ago, i phoned my bank, told them how much i wanted to send and to who, and they did it, with the money arriving straight away. If the amount had been less than 20k, i could have done it online rather than over the phone; the back-end payment machinery is the same, but i suppose the bank think there's less chance of a normal customer making a mistake with a large transfer if someone walks them through it. My bank is rather old-fashioned; more modern banks let you make large transfers online or through their app: https://www.starlingbank.com/blog/high-value-payments/ https://www.starlingbank.com/blog/high-value-payments/ That page mentions that "one of our team members may need to double check a few details before the payment can be made" - again, that's nothing to do with the machinery, that's in case you match some pattern looking for fraud or money laundering etc.
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago
  > People are probably tired of hearing this, but this is not a problem with wiring, it's a problem with US banks. I have a US bank and I can send wires online. It's really not uncommon. I don't understand how or why the OP is banking with an outdated bank an hour away from his house when there are good options that can be accessed entirely online. There are a lot of behind-the-times banks in the US, though. If you're stuck in one, considering switching.
  - DennisP 5y ago
    My credit union can do wires online too, but only up to a certain limit, which wasn't high enough when I bought my house.
    - robryan 5y ago
      Banking in Australia with ING I could simply call them up and have the limit raised for a one time payment such as a house deposit which can then be completed online.
- Kinrany 5y ago
PragmaticPulp 5y ago
> I'm not OP but I had to wire money earlier this year when I bought a house. To accomplish this, I had to drive to my nearest bank branch (1 hour drive), talk to a bank teller for 15 minutes while she filled out forms and printed out papers I had to sign, and then they told me the wire would probably arrive in time for the house signing (3 hours later). This was to send ~$15k. Compare this to sending USDC on [smart contract enabled blockchain] which takes a few clicks and minutes at most. You really need to switch to a modern bank that doesn't force you to go in person to do a wire. That's insanity. Fidelity has free wire transfers, no need to go into a bank: https://www.fidelity.com/customer-service/choose-eft-or-bank-wire https://www.fidelity.com/customer-service/choose-eft-or-bank...
zepto 5y ago
You are just using a bad bank. The bank I use lets you initiate a wire via their iPhone app, and then they simply call to confirm security details etc. Far easier and safer than anything crypto has to offer. Not to mention that it’s a complete fantasy to expect all but the tiniest number of sellers to accept crypto today, so the comparison is between something that exists today and works very well, and something that is only imaginary.
- almostkorean 5y ago
  The bank I use is PNC, looks like it is currently the 7th largest bank in the US. To be fair, in the past month they opened a new branch which is a 10 minute drive, so that makes the first part a lot better. I am also lucky enough to live in a fairly high population area. After seeing the other comments I guess this wire transfer issue is specific to the US. I agree that a tiny number of sellers would accept crypto payment today, but what do you mean exactly when you say it is "only imaginary"? Transferring USDC is very real and exists today. I don't expect the average person to ever transfer USDC the way it is done today, it would be a terrible user experience. But I'm trying to figure out the disconnect between what I see as a powerful financial primitive and what you see as imaginary
  - cyounkins 5y ago
    I left PNC when they started charging me $3 per check image viewed online through their web interface. I didn't believe it until the charges actually accumulated.
  - zepto 5y ago
    > I don't expect the average person to ever transfer USDC the way it is done today, it would be a terrible user experience. Therefore the service you are comparing against is one that only exists in your imagination, and is not real today.
mbesto 5y ago
> For arguments sake I will point out the downsides to using crypto in this case: Which are all reasons why someone makes you drive to the nearest bank. As others have pointed out, these issues are highly US centric, as sending money in the UK/EU can be done almost instantaneously. And so, if they can be done almost instantaneously in other countries it means the technology is not the barrier, but the politics. Thus crypto's only advantage is not a technology one, but a political/market/bureaucratic one. One good thing about crypto is that if it does take off and becomes a legitimate threat to wire transfers, then banks will change their tune VERY quick, and then once that system is in place then we can have all of the nice things that help protect your money in a US bank accountant (FDIC insurance, access to financing, fraud protection, etc.) with the advantages of crypto. There is a reason the Winkelvoss twins store their crypto wallet pass-phrases in bank vaults. For the record - I have my own thoughts about how bad the US finance system is, but I think crypto advocates love to ignore why these systems exist in the first place.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

ericd 5y ago

You might want to switch banks, I wire money a couple times a month, it takes about 5 minutes via their website, it goes out very soon after initiation (if it’s within business hours).

aardvark179 5y ago

That’s a failing of the US banking system, but not of banking systems everywhere. In the UK you can send up to £250,000 within 15 minutes, and you can generally do this online.

arcticbull 5y ago
And one that's actively being remedied by both RTP (already rolled out to many customers) and FedNow in 2023.

twic 5y ago

People are probably tired of hearing this, but this is not a problem with wiring, it's a problem with US banks. When i bought my home in the UK six years ago, i phoned my bank, told them how much i wanted to send and to who, and they did it, with the money arriving straight away. If the amount had been less than 20k, i could have done it online rather than over the phone; the back-end payment machinery is the same, but i suppose the bank think there's less chance of a normal customer making a mistake with a large transfer if someone walks them through it. My bank is rather old-fashioned; more modern banks let you make large transfers online or through their app: https://www.starlingbank.com/blog/high-value-payments/ https://www.starlingbank.com/blog/high-value-payments/ That page mentions that "one of our team members may need to double check a few details before the payment can be made" - again, that's nothing to do with the machinery, that's in case you match some pattern looking for fraud or money laundering etc.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
> People are probably tired of hearing this, but this is not a problem with wiring, it's a problem with US banks. I have a US bank and I can send wires online. It's really not uncommon. I don't understand how or why the OP is banking with an outdated bank an hour away from his house when there are good options that can be accessed entirely online. There are a lot of behind-the-times banks in the US, though. If you're stuck in one, considering switching.
- DennisP 5y ago
  My credit union can do wires online too, but only up to a certain limit, which wasn't high enough when I bought my house.
  - robryan 5y ago
    Banking in Australia with ING I could simply call them up and have the limit raised for a one time payment such as a house deposit which can then be completed online.
Kinrany 5y ago

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

> I'm not OP but I had to wire money earlier this year when I bought a house. To accomplish this, I had to drive to my nearest bank branch (1 hour drive), talk to a bank teller for 15 minutes while she filled out forms and printed out papers I had to sign, and then they told me the wire would probably arrive in time for the house signing (3 hours later). This was to send ~$15k. Compare this to sending USDC on [smart contract enabled blockchain] which takes a few clicks and minutes at most. You really need to switch to a modern bank that doesn't force you to go in person to do a wire. That's insanity. Fidelity has free wire transfers, no need to go into a bank: https://www.fidelity.com/customer-service/choose-eft-or-bank-wire https://www.fidelity.com/customer-service/choose-eft-or-bank...

zepto 5y ago

You are just using a bad bank. The bank I use lets you initiate a wire via their iPhone app, and then they simply call to confirm security details etc. Far easier and safer than anything crypto has to offer. Not to mention that it’s a complete fantasy to expect all but the tiniest number of sellers to accept crypto today, so the comparison is between something that exists today and works very well, and something that is only imaginary.

almostkorean 5y ago
The bank I use is PNC, looks like it is currently the 7th largest bank in the US. To be fair, in the past month they opened a new branch which is a 10 minute drive, so that makes the first part a lot better. I am also lucky enough to live in a fairly high population area. After seeing the other comments I guess this wire transfer issue is specific to the US. I agree that a tiny number of sellers would accept crypto payment today, but what do you mean exactly when you say it is "only imaginary"? Transferring USDC is very real and exists today. I don't expect the average person to ever transfer USDC the way it is done today, it would be a terrible user experience. But I'm trying to figure out the disconnect between what I see as a powerful financial primitive and what you see as imaginary
- cyounkins 5y ago
  I left PNC when they started charging me $3 per check image viewed online through their web interface. I didn't believe it until the charges actually accumulated.
- zepto 5y ago
  > I don't expect the average person to ever transfer USDC the way it is done today, it would be a terrible user experience. Therefore the service you are comparing against is one that only exists in your imagination, and is not real today.

mbesto 5y ago

> For arguments sake I will point out the downsides to using crypto in this case: Which are all reasons why someone makes you drive to the nearest bank. As others have pointed out, these issues are highly US centric, as sending money in the UK/EU can be done almost instantaneously. And so, if they can be done almost instantaneously in other countries it means the technology is not the barrier, but the politics. Thus crypto's only advantage is not a technology one, but a political/market/bureaucratic one. One good thing about crypto is that if it does take off and becomes a legitimate threat to wire transfers, then banks will change their tune VERY quick, and then once that system is in place then we can have all of the nice things that help protect your money in a US bank accountant (FDIC insurance, access to financing, fraud protection, etc.) with the advantages of crypto. There is a reason the Winkelvoss twins store their crypto wallet pass-phrases in bank vaults. For the record - I have my own thoughts about how bad the US finance system is, but I think crypto advocates love to ignore why these systems exist in the first place.