[JCharante]

For smaller quantities (sub $1000) USA's Zelle allows for free instant transfers 24/7 with email/phone number. It does have daily limits but if a business was dealing with $15k MRR or $30k MRR then surely they would just buy a POS. So if you wanted to act as a merchant selling $200 of groceries out of your garage in your neighborhood in the US then you could feasibly do it using Zelle. Basically all banks support it. You might say that requiring a bank account is a barrier but they're literally free at many banks. You can even create a bank account completely online with companies like Charles Schwab.

[alsodumb]

The difference is the extent of adaptation, especially in the business space.

You zelle a friend, sure, yet almost everyone I know use either Venmo or cash app (neither of which are interoperable). Everyone in India uses UPI with different flavors (Google Pay, Whatsapp Cash, Paytm, PhonePe, etc.)

Can you pay for Starbucks or a slice of pizza with Zelle? Probably not. Can you pay like 10 cents to someone selling tea in rural India with UPI? Probably yeah.

[signatoremo]

Nobody uses Zelle to pay for a slide of pizza in the US because credit/debit cards are ubiquitous. Everyone and their dogs have one. Apple Pay and Google Pay make it even more convenient. Zelle and Venmo are for person to person money transfer. Different application. Also, FedNow is supposed to be available within a few months - [0]

UBI is a very good system, no need to exaggerate to feel superior.

[0] https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/about....