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Comment by koonsolo | Hacker News Reader

You don't seem to know much about banking and large sums of money in practice.

Let me give you an example which I know exists: EU airliner buys an airplane at Boeing. How do you transfer the money?

This is how they do it today: They are at Boeing where the transfer needs to go through. The money needs to be transferred then and there. So airliner calls their bank to transfer the money. But there is a 9 hour difference, so they need to wait when EU bank opens, but before the US bank closes. Call the bank, transfer first to UK bank (I can't remember why they had to do this :(), confirm money is there. Then transfer from UK to US, confirm that the money is there. This all before the US bank closes of course. Very cumbersome and James Bond like.

And I'm not an expert in international money transfers, but I'm guessing it's not 0.

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That’s not how large transfers work at all though. Banks have international agreements, or go through 3rd parties that have. You’ll also never be expected to pay right then and there, if you’re a respectable enterprise entity, the other part will expect you to pay and the funds to arrive within reasonable time, which can be half a year later.

As for the transfers themselves, they are typically free. You’re such a big customer to the bank, and so is the recipient to their bank, that the banks are earning their money without taking transfer fees.

The most important part, and the reason things like bitcoin will never replace old school banking, is that you can roll the money back or cancel if you decide to walk away from the deal like Norwegian just did for 90something Boeing aircraft that they can no longer afford because of corona. Sure you’ll spend a few years in legal, but that’s besides the point.

That walkback depends on trust, honor, and suability between all actors involved. You can walk back a bitcoin transaction, too, if you have those preconditions. Just ask the other guy to send the money back.

> That’s not how large transfers work at all though.

Except for the fact that this is exactly how it works today.

So you are in the airline industry? You know first hand how airliners buy airplanes. Please explain to me how it happens at your end.

Because what I explained is first hand knowledge on how it actually works. (Boeing 787 Dreamliner)

You assume, I know.

What you describe is the process of buying a laptop on Ebay.

When you buy a plane, perhaps you have already payed months ahead, perhaps you'll pay five years later, perhaps you pay on a monthly basis, perhaps you don't pay at all but transfer the rights do to something

it is all contractual obligations, sometimes money does not even trade hands

etc.

the idea that you would need to wait for a bank to open to transfer money while watching the timezones is completely unrealistic

Except for the fact that this is exactly how it works today.

So you are in the airline industry? You know first hand how airliners buy airplanes. Please explain to me how it happens at your end.

Because what I explained is first hand knowledge on how it actually works (this was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner)

You assume, I know.

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