So I called up BofA and they acted like I had two heads when I asked for this. What is a bank that does offer it and what is the additional cost?
Everyone likes to bloviate about how 'risky' FCMs are, but in the entire history of the futures industry almost no money -- of the hundreds of billions in aggregate seg funds -- has ever been lost. Maybe a tiny, tiny fraction of 1%. And nothing's ever been lost at a top-tier firm. Zero.
What jurisdiction ? US I guess ? I may possibly be wrong if its the US since I don't hold accounts there. But it may possibly be the case that the US is still in the last century since a Google does yield a Forbes article entitled "When will the US catch up on real-time payments" !! But certainly where I am and in many other countries I've had experience with, RTGS is most certainly available for all at any bank and at retail level you'll typically be charged the equivalent of anywhere between 30–60USD (depending on bank and your commercial agreement with them) for a RTGS transfer. Leave it with me, I'll try to do a bit of research and ask around.
Thanks, I am in the U.S. Doesn't surprise me we're behind the times, this is the place where you couldn't get a chip and pin card until a couple years ago.
Yeah, it always amazed me how many places in the US didn't even ask you to sign for a card transaction, just swipe and go ! Similar story with e-commerce, billing address validation on US sites is a relatively new "innovation". Guess it was just another thing to keep those famous US lawyers happy ! ;-) On the plus side, it was always very flattering to be asked for my ID when buying alcohol (and very depressing when even the Americans stopped asking for my ID !).
HSBC does too, internationally. They charge around 20-30 usd per wire. Which is fair. Some people on this board have an MBA and moan that such fee is outrageous, yet ignore the fact that it costs millions to maintain and upgrade payment networks. It's simple economics and I can assure that banks don't get rich by wire charges. I have studied and read bank balance sheet as part of earning my living and in fact most services surrounding cash transfers are a net negative to the banks. They lose money on offering this service. Most large banks wire funds out immediately if an online request is submitted. Even in the US.
I did not know there are tiers with FCMs. For heaven's sake, they are the used car dealers in finance. And yes, i can off the top of my head rattle down a list of a dozen issues with FCMs where clients lost money, sometimes huge chunks.