A lot of this hassle is interfacing with the US banking system, not bitcoin itself. If banking was implemented as a push system vs. the current pull system with no real authentication that we have in the US because of legacy reasons, it would eliminate entire categories of fraud.
I've heard Europe is significantly better in this regard.
Supposedly bitstamp with it's SEPA integration? I don't know if it's much easier or not. I just remember people talking about how nobody uses paper checks in Europe and everybody uses the free / cheap online wire transfer interface in their bank website to send money to other accounts in the country. They use it to pay rent, send money for split meals, etc.
I've heard Europe is significantly better in this regard.