[ajtaylor]

The most interesting part was at the end when they talked about a proposal & vote to upgrade the payment network (and not even real-time like England's) which failed to pass. A later survey found that the prime reason was cannibalisation of existing revenue streams - aka wire transfers.

Having lived in the US, Ireland and Australia, I find the US banking system to be archaic compared to Ireland or Australia's. I can pay anyone up to around 1000 EUR/AUD in a few clicks. No fees or waiting days for money to show. It's brilliant!