Banks have one advantage in this area. The have government regulations and many other laws making it hard to organize competition, such as anti-money-launderin

Banks have one advantage in this area. The have government regulations and many other laws making it hard to organize competition, such as anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer laws. Look at what happened to E-Gold. It was a threat to traditional banking, laws were changed, and the business was declared illegal (and many of the operators went to prison for violating laws that were passed after they started operating).