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> The future is direct payments without middlemen. direct payment can be good, but thats only part of the service. First, this is not a "card vendors are good

> The future is direct payments without middlemen. direct payment can be good, but thats only part of the service. First, this is not a "card vendors are good" they are a large buisness entity, with their own motivations. Visa/mastercard are outsized and should have proper competition. THe point of card vendors in the modern era is to provide credit and protection for both consumers and buisnesses. Credit is provided to allow instant settling of transaction, but it kinda morphs into escrow as well. But, in the US your level of direct payment options are frankly shite. In india, direct transfer is free and mostly instant, same in the UK/EU. THe UK/EU its a bit more unweildy, as you have to know the name, sort and account number of the person you want to pay. however payment is "instant" The problem is you don't really get fraud or protection. You can pay someone, and if you make a mistake you can phone your bank up and try and get them to reverse it. but there is no guarentee.

jraby3 3mo ago
In the US, Zelle payments are accepted by most major banks and are free and instant. I'm not sure how it could be better than that. It would be nice if more smaller banks used it as well, but the US has 5k different banks.
- KaiserPro 3mo ago
  But thats the point right, Zelle is an opt in. Bank transfers are universal and instant.
n4r9 3mo ago
In the UK you can send someone a Monzo link allowing them to pay directly and instantly into your account.
petcat 3mo ago
> But, in the US your level of direct payment options are frankly shite. This is completely untrue. > In india, direct transfer is free and mostly instant, same in the UK/EU. Zelle is an instant payment-by-email network created by the US banks and is accepted basically everywhere. And there are still other options like FedNow.
- juliendorra 3mo ago
  Zelle seems more complex in terms of access, slower, and less universal (inside the covered zone) than IBAN based instant bank transfers. Users need to enroll using their phone number and / or an email, when IBAN instant transfer is available by default. They say that transfers "often" happen in minutes, when instant transfer via IBAN happen in a few seconds, always. The FAQ also covers issues enrolling, which means that users are not guaranteed to be enrolled. It’s an out of band process with it seems email or phone number as the ID. It seems the recipient has to enroll beforehand which is another complication (IBAN being the bank number you have the guarantee that your recipient exists and can receive the funds instantly) Zelle feels more like a system added on top, IBAN instant transfer is an extension of the existing bank transfer system, used and found at the same place UI-wise.

jraby3 3mo ago

In the US, Zelle payments are accepted by most major banks and are free and instant. I'm not sure how it could be better than that. It would be nice if more smaller banks used it as well, but the US has 5k different banks.

KaiserPro 3mo ago
But thats the point right, Zelle is an opt in. Bank transfers are universal and instant.

n4r9 3mo ago

In the UK you can send someone a Monzo link allowing them to pay directly and instantly into your account.

petcat 3mo ago

> But, in the US your level of direct payment options are frankly shite. This is completely untrue. > In india, direct transfer is free and mostly instant, same in the UK/EU. Zelle is an instant payment-by-email network created by the US banks and is accepted basically everywhere. And there are still other options like FedNow.

juliendorra 3mo ago
Zelle seems more complex in terms of access, slower, and less universal (inside the covered zone) than IBAN based instant bank transfers. Users need to enroll using their phone number and / or an email, when IBAN instant transfer is available by default. They say that transfers "often" happen in minutes, when instant transfer via IBAN happen in a few seconds, always. The FAQ also covers issues enrolling, which means that users are not guaranteed to be enrolled. It’s an out of band process with it seems email or phone number as the ID. It seems the recipient has to enroll beforehand which is another complication (IBAN being the bank number you have the guarantee that your recipient exists and can receive the funds instantly) Zelle feels more like a system added on top, IBAN instant transfer is an extension of the existing bank transfer system, used and found at the same place UI-wise.