Why is wire transfer so slow and expensive in the USA?

Question

I’m a foreigner but work for a US company. The company gave me some stock (on E*trade) which I sold, so there is some money, and I’d like to wire the money to another account, which is also in US (firstrade)

The wire took several days and charge me 25 US dollars. In my country, wire transfer between different banks is near instant and charge less than 1 US dollars.

So my question is, is it how wire transfer normally works in the USA? Or perhaps it’s because I’m a foreigner? If it’s normal, what’s the difference between US bank and other countries’?

In: Economics

Answer 1

Personal wire transfers in the US have lost ground to much quicker and more modern ways to move money. That’s the simplest answer.