> I still don't get it. My bank's app lets me send money to people via interac e-transfer.

You don't get it that most banks do not do that? I am unsure why you are confused about that?

Every bank in Canada does it, even the tiny credit unions. It's common throughout Europe. I don't know about Australia, but they probably have it too. I don't know, just another example of Americans being backwards and thinking everyone else has the same problems. I seriously can't believe it's 2018 and this isn't mandatory for every bank yet.

Australia just got PayId this year which means you can send any amount of money to anybody who signs up via their banks and receive money in seconds.

Until last year you had to wait up to 3 days to do an interbank transfer but not anymore. (same bank transfer would usually clear within the day)

I have used it quite a bit since it was released and I have to say that it does the job. The only downside is that it is tied to your phone number and I am not really sure what the process is if you want to change it.

Perhaps it's the people's problem for not demanding a better system.

Many other countries in the world bank transfers are easy and free (within the country). I can transfer to anyone from my phone, and do all the time. No apps or special services needed.

IMHO America likes to hinge these arguments on "our system is too old, we're just too big, etc.", but when it comes down to it are just excuses to allow banks to continue fleecing their customers.

> It’s kind of a pain in the ass to add a new payer each time

This is one reason Venmo is successful. Paying someone is easy. Receiving money is easy. No one wants to spend 5 minutes setting up a payee on their phone when they’re splitting a dinner bill.

I don't know where you live, but most banks in the US don't have that, and if they do, the UI and messaging is often terrible.

In fact Venmo's popularity, in my mind, is directly related to US banks finally making a push for free user-to-user transfers (even if their apps still need massive work).