Community Q&A
Questions
3,063 questions answered by experts in payments, banking, and financial services.
What type of U.S. or foreign banking setup is suitable for clearing thousands of instant, fully settled transactions between institutions and customers?
In financial technology, how does one bank request funds from another bank?
Why haven’t electronic payment systems completely replaced paper cash and coins?
Why have online micropayments failed to become widespread?
How can my company start issuing virtual prepaid debit cards?
How can I receive payments from a U.S. organization if I only have a Bank Alfalah account in Pakistan?
In 2014, what was the biggest unsolved challenge facing the banking industry?
How do banks determine the locations for installing ATMs?
What is a good investment strategy for a 22-year-old in India?
What is the best approach to adding Bitcoin as a payment method for recurring subscriptions on my website?
Online Payments: What challenges would a Square-like startup face in Asia?
What systems do companies use to automatically deduct monthly loan payments from customer bank accounts?
Online Payments: What banking solutions support peer-to-peer and peer-to-business lending startups?
Are you looking to resell a payment gateway?
Online Payment Processing: Does PayPal rely on the SWIFT network to communicate with acquiring banks, or does it use another method?
What upcoming innovations can we expect in ATM technology?
Where can I complete online tasks in exchange for money?
How does data actually move behind the scenes when transferring funds within the same bank or to another bank?
Can payment-card issuers decline a transaction when the merchant does not provide billing-address information?
Online Payments: What are some alternatives to Payoneer?
What electronic payment options are available for businesses in Canada?
Which countries accept M-PESA or similar mobile money systems?
As a merchant, are there extra fees—beyond standard merchant service fees—when accepting internationally-issued credit or debit cards at POS? And what about online transactions?
How much capital is required to start a bank?
What does Islamic banking involve, and what ethical, legal, or religious considerations are associated with it?
In which countries is M-PESA (or similar systems) accepted?
As a merchant, do I pay extra fees (beyond standard merchant fees) when accepting international scheme cards at POS or online?
How much capital is typically needed to start a bank?
What is Islamic banking, and what ethical, legal, and religious principles shape it?
As of May 2014, how many people owned at least some Bitcoin?
Does Ripple have the ability to cut off a merchant it disapproves of?
Which Pakistani tech companies are building their own products rather than only doing services?
Can Dwolla send payouts to bank accounts located outside the United States?
Are there alternatives to SWIFT for international bank transfers, especially for sanctioned countries?
What occurs when a card placed on authorization hold gets cancelled?
Where can I find data on how widely local payment methods are used in ecommerce?
How worried are Venmo’s investors about the company not being licensed as a money transmitter in every U.S. state?
What happens to a Western Union transfer if I lose my identification before picking it up?
Can multiple cryptocurrencies achieve broad adoption at the same time?
Is there a dependable method for identifying fees within a bank statement?
What steps are involved in opening a Swiss bank account?
Is there anything you can do early on to avoid PayPal freezing or limiting your account without cause?
When you reach a checkout page, what factors influence your decision to complete the purchase?
Why hasn’t Shopify added Bitcoin as a supported payment method?
In what types of locations would people most like to see Bitcoin ATMs installed?
What are the main issues and current trends in international payment systems?
What do you think the future of payments will look like—will it run on the Ripple protocol or on upgraded versions of existing systems from the 1970s?
If we build a P2P money-transfer app and operate as an agent under a licensed provider like PreCash, what is a rough cost estimate?
Demographics: What is the typical average income in developed nations?
What factors result in better conversion rates during online credit card processing?
Why don’t U.S. banks offer remittance services similar to Xoom’s?
How does an international remittance transfer actually work step by step, and who are the parties involved?
Are there U.S. banks that offer deposit accounts in foreign currencies such as EUR or GBP?
Why are U.S. coins printed with the obverse facing upside-down relative to the reverse?
Once I share my checking account and routing numbers for ACH, what stops someone from pulling funds without my consent?
What does a fraud investigation or fraud management officer actually do?
How does Western Union determine the purpose of transferred funds?
How costly is it to launch a payments or mobile wallet startup?
Will mobile phones remain just a tool to initiate payments, or will they become the primary payment instrument themselves?
How can a system protect against password guessing attacks, and how do banks stop repeated PIN guessing on stolen cards?
Why is the value of the U.S. dollar falling in Pakistan?
In banking, what does the abbreviation DFV stand for?
Do remittance providers require exclusive agreements with their international partners or agents?
Where can I obtain data on the total volume of money moving through international remittance pathways?
Where can I access the official NACHA (ACH) specifications?
Why don’t mobile network operators make better use of spare capacity on home Wi-Fi routers to improve their networks?
How did Quora manage to attract so many subject-matter experts to the platform?
How do money transfer firms like Xoom and Western Union operate behind the scenes?
SWIFT/MT940: How can the closing balance date be determined when MT940 reports arrive in multiple pages and sequences around midnight?
What is the best way to transfer money from the U.S. to Pakistan?
Can companies place a memo-post on an account—via ACH or other means—before the actual funds arrive?
Can a non-bank institution move money from one person’s bank account to another person’s bank account?
Why is PayPal not available in Pakistan?
Why has PayPal failed to become the universal standard for internet payments?
How would you describe Bitcoin in simple terms to someone with no technical background?
Why have credit card dimensions been standardized at about 86mm by 54mm?
How can I purchase Bitcoin?
If the U.S. heavily regulates Bitcoin, would it create opportunities for other countries?
Why hasn’t PayPal introduced its own virtual currency?
Why do traders feel uncertain or nervous when markets continue climbing?
What has been your experience using 2Checkout for accepting online payments?
Can I set up an online store that accepts international credit and debit cards?
Does the Ripple Gateway alter the way Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are transferred?
In what ways might Bitcoin change the world?
Why does the IRS treat Bitcoin as property while FinCEN treats it as a form of currency?
As a tourist in San Francisco, can I simply walk into a bank and open an account?
What steps are needed to build a CCAvenue-style payment gateway in India, and what functions does a gateway perform?
What must a startup do to become a Payment Gateway, ISO, or PSP, and what risks are involved in taking on these roles?
Are there any countries that are close to being cashless, relying mostly on digital payments and cards, and will this trend continue?
Why do U.S. banks ask customers to explain why they are withdrawing funds?
How could a brand-new retail bank be designed today to outperform incumbents like Bank of America and Chase, including which less-obvious features to add or omit?
If Bitcoin aims to decentralize finance, why did financial systems become centralized in the first place?
In what respects are credit cards superior to cash or checks as payment tools?
How do contactless payment cards function in practice?
In what ways is Moven’s banking service different from Simple, GoBank, and Bluebird?
Given today’s instant digital world, why can’t online bank payments be credited to the recipient immediately, and why do legacy rules still apply?
What are the biggest user-experience challenges facing mobile wallet products?
How do Swiss banks handle and use the funds deposited by their clients?
Does the World Bank impose interest on the loans it provides?
What is the distinction between a clearinghouse and an exchange?