My bank transfers to other banks take a couple of hours, but I don't live in the US. The money comes out of the account instantly though.
I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that a bank doesn't need transactions.
As for credit cards, that's great, but that doesn't address what he said, which is that it's an analog experience, which it isn't. Also, it depends on the bank, but there's generally an available balance and a credit limit. Credit card payments come out of the available balance instantly. I'm pretty sure that's running in a transaction. :)
What happens between then and actual acquisition is irrelevant.
Anyway, the point isn't the technical details, or how implementations differ. The point is that the argument presented is flat out wrong (in this case). Banks are a completely different beast to your web 2.0 startup. :)