Electronic Funds Transfer
EFT
Overview
What
is EFT ?
How it works
What it costs
EFT Setup
Why EFT ?
Why
ANYPAY ?
> General info
Glossary
EFT background info
History
EFT is used
since the mid-sixties, when banks first invented nationwide electronic
clearing systems in order to replace paper-based clearing with more
economic methods.
In the US, for example, EFT is used since 1972, driven mostly by insurance
companies, who wanted to automate the monthly billing of their customers.
Regional differences
There are huge discrepancies between the usage of EFT in different countries.
While in the US, EFT is just about to get big as a payment method for
consumer purchases, direct debit is the most commonly used non-cash
payment method in Germany.
Did you know that:
-
EFT transactions for businesses cost only a few cents or are even free of charge with some banks in Europe and Japan ?
-
Most Germans know their bank account details by heart while many US accountholders not even know where to look them up ?
-
Credit card holder penetration in the UK is only 50% of the US value, 30% in Germany ?
-
Direct Debit is about 5-10 times (online: 10-20 times !) more popular for paying mailorder bills in Germany than credit cards ?
-
There is no such thing like a "checking" account in most countries ? Mostly, accounts in such countries are called "giro-" or "current-" accounts.
Links
USA:
www.nacha.org
www.directdeposit.org
UK:
www.bacs.co.uk
www.directdebit.co.uk
www.directcredit.co.uk
Germany:
www.bundesbank.de
Next: Glossary
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