28 year old's startup wants to completely kill credit cards

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Dwolla, a startup based in Des Moines, Iowa, offers an innovative payment system that bypasses credit cards, charging a flat fee of $0.25 per transaction regardless of the amount. This model is particularly attractive for businesses, such as landlords, who can save significantly compared to the typical 2.9% plus $0.30 fee charged by PayPal. While some participants express skepticism about Dwolla's potential to disrupt the market, citing the need for widespread adoption and the lack of direct consumer benefits, others argue that cutting out credit card companies could lead to lower prices for consumers. The discussion highlights the challenges of changing consumer payment habits and the necessity for broader acceptance among merchants to achieve significant market penetration. Overall, Dwolla's approach could reshape transaction costs, but its success hinges on overcoming adoption barriers.
  • #61
DaveC426913 said:
Y'know...

:rolleyes:

One day your money may have a hiccup. And you'll be on hold, asking those nice people with their accents where it's gone. Perhaps it's time to move your home branch to a slightly more bricks & mortar, flesh & blood management?
Guess I'm screwed: my bank doesn't have branches! All they have is interest bearing checking, atm fee rebates and an ap for my droid to instantly deposit checks via the phone's camera! :(
 
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  • #62
russ_watters said:
Guess I'm screwed: my bank doesn't have branches! All they have is interest bearing checking, atm fee rebates and an ap for my droid to instantly deposit checks via the phone's camera! :(

Do you have a solution to the safety deposit box issue? The last brick & mortar bank account I have is purely to be able to have a safety deposit box, given all banks I've checked locally say they won't sell one unless you have some other relationship with them.
 
  • #63
PAllen said:
Do you have a solution to the safety deposit box issue? The last brick & mortar bank account I have is purely to be able to have a safety deposit box, given all banks I've checked locally say they won't sell one unless you have some other relationship with them.
Buy a nice old fire-resistant Mosler safe and keep the valuables at home. They are so honkin' huge and heavy that your biggest expense will be getting the movers to get it to your place. Still, you can find safes in the classifieds from time to time. Forget the little Sentry safes. If they are small enough for one or two people to lug off, they are worthless.
 
  • #64
DaveC426913 said:
Y'know...

:rolleyes:

One day your money may have a hiccup.
No problem, Dave, If I really want face-time with a human, I can do that in any branch world wide. The most convenient one is about 50 yards walk from where I work. But there's no benefit in making that my home branch.

In any case that's not where my main financial assets are. Most UK retail banks have a lousy record for "financial advice" and investment products.
 
  • #65
AlephZero said:
No problem, Dave, If I really want face-time with a human, I can do that in any branch world wide. The most convenient one is about 50 yards walk from where I work. But there's no benefit in making that my home branch.

The point is face-time with the same human.

I am a "remote banker" too, but I sure want to have the option of being on a first name basis with someone when I need something from my bank.
 

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