Yup, pretty much.
I can't imagine how Apple concluded that "It's exactly like Venmo in every way, but it only works for people with iPhones!" would make a particularly compelling value proposition.
I can't imagine how Apple concluded that "It's exactly like Venmo in every way, but it only works for people with iPhones!" would make a particularly compelling value proposition.
The sad part is that these apps are needed at all. In Australia the government just regulated that all banks must support free and instant money transfers and that email addresses and phone numbers be supported as addresses to send to.
So if your friend wants to send you money, you type their email on any bank app and it pops up with their legal name confirming you have the right person. The money shows up instantly.
Google Pay supports iOS which is why it used over Apple Pay in countries where iPhones aren't the dominate mobile OS.
Privacy is an area where Apple tries to differentiate. It’s not great that this is Apple only, but it’s also nice that it just works.
Like mobile money in Africa, various service providers will jump up to allow cross wallet transfers.
EDIT: Ok, maybe just in Germany.
And just to be clear: Paypal is an adverse company that tries to trick its users on every page.
I think it technically takes 24-48 hours to clear, but that doesn't tend to be an issue in practice. You'll get the push notification telling you the money has arrived and your balance will update in seconds.
It's a mess.
I wish this was faster, imagine paying online by scanning a QR code with your banking app. There would be non risk of chargebacks for merchants and fees could be basically zero.
You should give Wise and/or Revolut a try. The apps are way better, and probably one of the best features both have is virtual cards (Revolut has also a one-time card that is automatically destroyed after use). Note that you also get physical cards with both. I think Revolut has a few more features that Wise lacks, like travel and device insurance, but for the financial part, the features are nearly identical. Also, currency exchange rates are way better than traditional banks.