Originally Posted By: Dignan
Originally Posted By: StigOE
I don't know how the system is over there, but how about just setting up a bank account and then everyone can just transfer money to that account the same way they pay any other bill?

Not sure. I'm not sure if that's possible, though. You'd need to give everyone the account/routing numbers, wouldn't you?

I am not a banking expert, and am relying solely on my personal experience. That said:

You can use your bank's BillPay for anything, but unless you are a recipient that they have a good reason to have a direct-deposit relationship with, they're going to send out a check in the mail. This does save the sender the cost of a stamp, but I don't imagine that's your concern. You're still going to have to deal with opening several hundred envelopes, endorsing that many checks, manually transcribing that data into your database, etc.

You can have people have a bank transfer made, but it's going to cost them an outrageous sum, like at least $20.

You still have to deal with Paypal-like systems.

Since the last time I looked, though, it seems Amazon has entered the market with TextPayMe. I can't immediately find any limits or fees....

Also, mPayy. Free for P2P transactions. Can't find any data on maximums.

This space still sucks. Visa and/or MasterCard really need to get into this business. I guess there's not really any profit in it for them. Maybe laws need to be changed so that banks can start offering this service. (I can't believe I just suggested deregulating banks.)


Edited by wfaulk (23/07/2009 13:18)
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