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Comment by jasonv | Hacker News Reader

My ex- asks me for $$ to cover a child expense and in Apple Cash she can have it a few seconds later, transferred right in Messages. Banks can do this, and they have integrations with Zelle and Venmo, but it isn’t as seamless, not by a mile (or a few km).

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Yikes, interesting that banks don't try and facilitate it easily. Is it an issue of scale? Or just that they can get away without it ... or relegate the job of 'consumer' banking to other corporations e.g. Google or Apple

There's very little incentive for US banks to implement these features due to a combination of regulatory burden, technology, and most US bank users aren't even aware things could be more convenient, it's just a given that banking sucks and that's how it is.

It's not just that, either. US banks have been slowly working on faster payments system (RTP, run by Clearing House Payments Co since 2017) and then in late 2019 their regulator, the Federal Reserve, told them "hey, we're going to make a competitor to this new system."

There is some merit to the idea of Fed-operated system here, but, well, let's just say that investing money into a system only to end up competing with your regulator doesn't really help banks feel like they're in a stable regulatory environment where they'll be rewarded for doing the right thing and making investments in the future.

Interestingly, Visa and MasterCard have huge incentive to facilitate easier payments.

UPI has become so easy that I see people using it over credit/debit cards all the time.

In India, Visa and MasterCard responded with no-pin-code swipes for small transactions.

So it has (probably) caused some changes.

Still waiting for Apple Cash in the UK. Is it available anywhere other than in the US?

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