I found the tc article rather funny. They are complaining about the banking system in europe, when in my experience it's the US banking system that's archaic. People are still dealing with cheques regularly! I haven't touched a cheque in years.
I don't know anything about the banking system in the US, but having moved to Germany from Britain four years ago, I thought the German system is archaic. When I moved, many online retailers wouldn't take credit cards or PayPal but you would have to transfer money to them from your account. Most everyone I know carry around large amounts of cash because if you are stuck without it, you will have to look for a cash machine that won't charge you. You can get cards that allow you to withdraw money without fees, I have one, but those are still rare.