> banks could roll their own private "exchange" currency to do near real time transfers to any other bank
If only US banks already had access to some sort of shared currency they could use for such transfers!
Snark aside, this just seems like a horrible use for a crypto currency. Block chains are an interesting tool to solve a lack of trust when you're willing to give up some speed and convenience. Banks have full trust in themselves, the central banks, and the clearing houses that make the financial system work; they just need to update their systems to be faster.
When your problem is that you have trust and need speed, a solution which sacrifices speed to work in situations where you don't have trust is probably not a good option.
No bank has full trust of any other entity. It's not black and white. They use ratings (either Standard and Poor's or others) to determine the risk involved in a liability. Even the U.S. Government has a certain amount of risk.
>>>No bank has full trust of any other entity. It's not black and white.
Banks basically have full trust in each other and central banks, actually (for these kind of transactions, not investments or whatever). If you're a bank and you fuck up to the degree where you don't properly handle ACH and other transactions, guess what happens: you're no longer a bank, the government swoops in and takes over, and everything gets sorted out and you go to jail.
> No bank has full trust of any other entity. It's not black and white.
For interbank transfers, it is. That's simply how the financial system works.
> They use ratings (either Standard and Poor's or others) to determine the risk involved in a liability.
No. The reason why your $50 ACH transfer to your cousin takes so long to clear isn't that recipient bank is checking Standard and Poor's to see if Wachovia is good for it.
If only US banks already had access to some sort of shared currency they could use for such transfers!
Snark aside, this just seems like a horrible use for a crypto currency. Block chains are an interesting tool to solve a lack of trust when you're willing to give up some speed and convenience. Banks have full trust in themselves, the central banks, and the clearing houses that make the financial system work; they just need to update their systems to be faster.
When your problem is that you have trust and need speed, a solution which sacrifices speed to work in situations where you don't have trust is probably not a good option.