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There are basically easy bank transfers in the U.K. which are almost always very fast but they aren’t used for most payments. You’d use them to transfer between

There are basically easy bank transfers in the U.K. which are almost always very fast but they aren’t used for most payments. You’d use them to transfer between friends/family and paying for something like rent (with a standing order) or moving money between accounts. While the payments industry (ie Mastercard/Visa) is a big one, they do actually provide a service. The cards allow people to buy things on credit (so stores can let people buy things on credit without needing their own collections departments or taking on default risk) and they provide various consumer protection mechanisms (which consumers want even if they won’t care about buying things on credit and paying back the loan over a long time). It also isn’t obvious to me that this market won’t see disruption. There are a lot of BNPL firms trying to get in on it, for example.

pfranz 4y ago
In the US, I've generally avoided debit cards (but still would recommend them to people who aren't good at budgeting) because while disputes are settled you're missing the money. My brief experience in other European countries is that debit cards are common, but credit cards aren't. I've heard this is because of strict caps on fees, which means few promos and benefits (like the US has). Sweden has a digital p2p service called Swish. Small businesses seemed to prefer it, but was a little annoying because you had to key in the code or use your camera to scan their QR code. This wasn't a huge hassle for sending money to friends. From what another commenter said, the UK requires you to manually key in the sort-code and account number. I can see that preventing adoption for casual purchases. I was never sure of what protections I had around fraud with other payment options. I imagine consumer trust will be difficult to build.

pfranz 4y ago

In the US, I've generally avoided debit cards (but still would recommend them to people who aren't good at budgeting) because while disputes are settled you're missing the money. My brief experience in other European countries is that debit cards are common, but credit cards aren't. I've heard this is because of strict caps on fees, which means few promos and benefits (like the US has). Sweden has a digital p2p service called Swish. Small businesses seemed to prefer it, but was a little annoying because you had to key in the code or use your camera to scan their QR code. This wasn't a huge hassle for sending money to friends. From what another commenter said, the UK requires you to manually key in the sort-code and account number. I can see that preventing adoption for casual purchases. I was never sure of what protections I had around fraud with other payment options. I imagine consumer trust will be difficult to build.