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> There is no way for me to immediately send $100 to anyone in the US without resorting to BTC or wire-transfers.

Paypal? Venmo?



Neither of those is immediate. It still takes 3 days to cash out.

But apparently you can use Western Union to send actual cold hard cash anywhere immediately. I know, I was surprised too, wouldn't know if my girlfriend didn't work there.


There are many services of this kind. Some (like Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria) have agents all over the world. Others are specific to certain corridors, often serving a specific diaspora. There's also the hawala system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala).

None of these options are free or close to free.


I can withdraw from PayPal and have it in my bank account instantly at no charge.


I waited 21 days after selling a item on Ebay. I hadn't used the account in awhile, but 21 days is hostage. I'm glad they are splitting it up.


I think they have some weird security rules. The 21 day thing happened to my brother after his first ebay sale. He phone them though and they released it immediately after verifying a few things.


Not only are they not immediate, you have to pay a fee.

In most developed countries, it's completely free to send money instantly from one account to another, even across banks and account holders.


Venmo doesn't charge a fee for debit or bank account transfers.




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