I'm in the US. When I use my credit card there is no per-transaction fee, and no monthly fee outside of you know, the interest on the balance. Which I pay off monthly so it never accrues.
On the other hand bank transfers do have fees associated, and I'm not even sure how I'd go about initiating one. That does make transferring funds between individuals a pain. Cash and check are standard but each has its drawbacks.
PayPal sorta, kinda, addresses these difficulties but they claim their own pound of flesh on the transactions. I suspect it's a great startup opportunity but it's a regulatory minefield, and the entrenched behemoths are very efficient at maintaining the status quo.
In Germany, you enter the account number and bank number and you can send money to a person over your online bank. It's free and takes a day or two. This process can be optimized if they would standarddize the bank interfaces, but it's pretty good.
On the other hand bank transfers do have fees associated, and I'm not even sure how I'd go about initiating one. That does make transferring funds between individuals a pain. Cash and check are standard but each has its drawbacks.
PayPal sorta, kinda, addresses these difficulties but they claim their own pound of flesh on the transactions. I suspect it's a great startup opportunity but it's a regulatory minefield, and the entrenched behemoths are very efficient at maintaining the status quo.