Banking Is Better

I have been chastised a bit for my posts that portray things that are different in England in a maybe, somewhat possibly, just a tad... negative light. Therefore, I thought this time I would point out a couple of things that absolutely the States should adopt. Definitely better on this side of the pond. In both instances, it has to do with money.

The first thing is called 'Chip and Pin'. Now it isn't such a novel concept as most of us our familiar with it because of a debit card. You put your debit card in a machine (whether to check out of the supermarket or get money), it reads your chip, you enter the pin and magically, money is taken out of your account. Here in the UK, they have the exact same system for credit cards. Brilliant! No signing of pieces of paper, if your wallet or bag is stolen they can't use it in person and they bring the card reader to your table in a restaurant so your card doesn't leave your sight (that's the photo in this blog).

The second cool thing is personal payments to other people (say THAT three times fast). If you owe someone money - you just get their bank details - it comprises of an account number and a sort code, and you can go online with your bank and just transfer money directly to their account. It is more than brilliant. Seriously. No checks (or cheques), no mailing anything, no going to the bank - just out of your account and into someone else's account. It's fairly secure as well meaning just because someone has my account details doesn't mean they can get money out of my account - only put it in.

There you have it. When it comes to paying for things, Britain is better. Well, at least for now. Just wait until Apple reads my blog and I'm sure they will come up with something cooler. Ha.