I had no idea it was the opposite in the UK.
Edit: with the exception of writing physical checks, of course. I use those when the receiver doesn’t accept Venmo or Apple Pay.
For payments to friends we use bank apps. Usually the receiver generates a QR code for the payment on their phone, which you scan from your bank app, sign with a pincode, and the payment is executed immediately. If you are not near you can also use their account number to transfer money instantly.
However, I have cashed some cheques - a tax refund cheque and a refund for my remaining balance when I closed a utilities account.
They have the advantage, for the sender, that you can discharge your responsibility to offer a refund by sending a letter, rather than having to interact with the other party. Of course these days you could email them a link to a web form.
The GP was saying they use wire transfers between friends day-to-day which isn’t the case in the US.
No, there's already Zelle, which is fairly popular now, though not as ubiquitous as instant bank transfers in other countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelle_(payment_service)
The larger banks have their own systems that only work within the bank; some smaller banks offer systems that work with any bank that offers the same system.
ACH exists, and I've used it to move money between accounts I own, but there is some friction to set up. I don't know anyone who uses it for C2C payments.
That seems rather excessive. Why on earth are Polish bank accounts so long?
