It seems that they've pivoted to a Venmo-like model. Here in the UK, we don't have single app that has the wide network like Venmo does in the US (there are plenty of apps, just with small networks.) Myself and my friends have found Circle to be a good option. I'd encourage other folks to give it a try.
What are the advantages of using Circle or other apps over just transferring money? UK bank transfers are free and instant, I can't see what an app could add to that?
Circle's interface is much easier to use than the banking apps and websites I've used. You don't need to enter the sortcode/account number, like you typically need to with the banks. And the fact that it's so easy and fast means that people typically pay each other instantly (at the bar, restaurant, cinema, whatever) rather than waiting and potentially forgetting. I like it because you don't need to remind people, or be reminded yourself.
Granted this a rather provincial point of view, but Circle and Coinbase are the only two companies I'm aware of allowing residents of the state of New York to convert bitcoins to cash and vice-versa. This is because the state of New York instituted a virtual currency license called BitLicense[1] that treats commercial bitcoin transactions as "money transmission"[2].
Ripple was also issued a Bitlicense[3] recently, but their virtual currency is not bitcoin. Haven't seen word on Coinbase's Bitlicense approval, but they applied last year sometime and are expected (or perhaps already have received) their license.
(The UK system of account number/sort code does allow you to set up malicious direct debits against other people's accounts e.g. http://hoaxes.org/weblog/permalink/clarksons_account_gets_ha... - BUT the direct debit guarantee system is supposed to make them all reversible, and you can't DD to arbitary accounts, you have to be a verified merchant.)
All you need is a routing number and an account number to initiate a transfer of funds in either direction. PayPal and others use this as verification of account ownership by initiating a small deposit and withdrawal, prompting you for the amount.
I found it really surprising hearing similar anecdotal stories about banking in the US.
But how does it really work? Is it done on a requester side - i.e. I can request money to my bank account having details of someone's else bank account wholly without their permissions? How could such lax security be allowed in modern age? When paranoid EU banks decline my transactions to my own accounts with other banks, confirmed by 2-factor auth, it's impossible to fathom how one can electronically take money from someone else's account.
What does one actually do with the account number and routing number? The UK system has account number and sort code but does not seem to have an epidemic of this problem, because you can only use those for direct debits.
