We need a system that is easier to use even than the current internet banking.
To send someone money electronically I need their account number and sort code - an 8 digit & 6 digit number. It is very easy to make a mistake when typing those sorts of numbers - a mistake you can't easily make when writing a cheque.
Thankfully there are check digits, so most mistakes should be caught.
But yes - Paypal is good for sending money, but sadly isn't run by the banks themselves. I do wish they'd sort out a "transfer by email" system themselves.
Thankfully there are check digits, so most mistakes should be caught.
Really? I've heard many tales of payments gone astray with mistranscriptions. Apparently if the unintended recipient, and/or their bank, isn't very helpful, it can be very, very hard to resolve.
Until I read your comment, I was pretty sure that account numbers and sort codes don't have check digits, and that the lack (and consequent problems for users) were part of the rationale for developing IBANs, which do have check digits. But IBANs are not (yet) widely used for customer electronic transactions within the UK, SFAIK.
To send someone money electronically, I need their email address and MY account information. I sign into my account *first* so it's not possible for me to screw that up, I put in their email address and a message, and I set up an authentication question and an answer.
They receive an email.
The email contains a link, and the link takes them to the Interac site for this transfer. If they use any of the major banks, they answer the question, sign in to their bank, and boom, they have the money deposited. If they don't use a major bank, they get a code that they give to their bank and the bank handles it as an Interac transaction, and this sometimes takes a day or two.
It is possible to do something similar using Paypal, but that means a) both parties having a Paypal account and b)......well using Paypal, complete with their hefty fees.
There *are* fees associated with email money transfer - $1.00 for the sender, unless they have a bank plan that includes free email money transfers (most have at least one a month) and sometimes $1.00 for the receiver for "using Interac with another bank" if the source account and the destination aren't at the same bank - again, asssuming your plan doesn't handle that.
But it's EXTREMELY convenient, and if you get money transfers with your plan and the recipient uses the same bank, that's no charge at all, and at no time do you need to know anything except the email address of the recipient, and at no time do *they* need to know anything except the answer to the question you asked.
Here in the UK transfers are free, but you need the other person's bank account/sort code to put the money into. Which works, but I do always feel nervous that I've transposed a number or something similar.
If the banks had moved to a system more like yours people would probably be very happy.
Here in the UK we are in the unusual position of receiving free personal banking. It's a historical thing, and the banks do keep on muttering about bringing in fees, but essentially all bank accounts and the corresponding cheques, electronic transfers etc. are completely free.
There are fees if you go overdrawn or something, but no fees for everyday banking.
It really depends on the bank and the account, in Canada. Most of them have a nominal fee that is then waived if the amount in the account stays reasonably high, and then charge you per-use for things that the plan doesn't cover. It's like a cellphone contract - texts are pay-per-use unless you have a texting plan, calls are X per minute or Y minutes free per month, data is $stupid per KB but you get a certain amount free per month, etc.
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To send someone money electronically I need their account number and sort code - an 8 digit & 6 digit number. It is very easy to make a mistake when typing those sorts of numbers - a mistake you can't easily make when writing a cheque.
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But yes - Paypal is good for sending money, but sadly isn't run by the banks themselves. I do wish they'd sort out a "transfer by email" system themselves.
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Really? I've heard many tales of payments gone astray with mistranscriptions. Apparently if the unintended recipient, and/or their bank, isn't very helpful, it can be very, very hard to resolve.
Until I read your comment, I was pretty sure that account numbers and sort codes don't have check digits, and that the lack (and consequent problems for users) were part of the rationale for developing IBANs, which do have check digits. But IBANs are not (yet) widely used for customer electronic transactions within the UK, SFAIK.
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This one validated my account, but not one that was a single digit different:
http://www.postcodeanywhere.co.uk/demos/bankvalidator.aspx
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To send someone money electronically, I need their email address and MY account information. I sign into my account *first* so it's not possible for me to screw that up, I put in their email address and a message, and I set up an authentication question and an answer.
They receive an email.
The email contains a link, and the link takes them to the Interac site for this transfer. If they use any of the major banks, they answer the question, sign in to their bank, and boom, they have the money deposited. If they don't use a major bank, they get a code that they give to their bank and the bank handles it as an Interac transaction, and this sometimes takes a day or two.
But: Super-simple, super-easy.
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It is possible to do something similar using Paypal, but that means a) both parties having a Paypal account and b)......well using Paypal, complete with their hefty fees.
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But it's EXTREMELY convenient, and if you get money transfers with your plan and the recipient uses the same bank, that's no charge at all, and at no time do you need to know anything except the email address of the recipient, and at no time do *they* need to know anything except the answer to the question you asked.
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If the banks had moved to a system more like yours people would probably be very happy.
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There are fees if you go overdrawn or something, but no fees for everyday banking.
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Half the time I sign in I get a banner recommending I move to an Ultimate Personal Reward account.