The dawn of the online era brought with it global networks of payment platforms all handled without machines through virtual payment platforms. Many will remember the days before of paying with cards by phone or, more commonly, just withdrawing the money from an ATM.
Finding an ATM for your particular bank wasn’t always easy, so major banks around the world came together in what are called interbank networks. These systems will accept payments and withdrawals across many major banks in the country or sometimes the region, and many of the largest ones have been able to go worldwide with the service.
Allpoint
Allpoint is, by far, the largest multinational interbank network and one of the few to operate across multiple economic areas. You can currently find Allpoint machines across all of North America as well as Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
The biggest draw for the network is that according to Monito, there are usually no Allpoint fees to pay regardless of your bank. The network boasts over 250,000 ATMs worldwide and almost all allow withdrawals in the user’s home currency if they’re abroad and so avoid conversion fees.
The only drawback to the system is that it is purely an ATM system. Withdrawals are limited to $400 daily and deposits to $1,000 daily, and there are no extra features that some bank-specific machines support such as making payments either for private transactions or paying bills.
Star
While only in the US, the Star interbank network is the most widespread in the nation with over 2,000,000 separate ATMs around the country. Unlike Allpoint, however, Star comes with plenty of other features on top. Featuring a network of around half of the biggest US banks, Star has embraced the investment and kept up with all the latest developments in payment technology.
While the features on individual machines may differ, Star can support contactless transactions, mobile application scanning and even digital wallet transactions. This means that, through an appropriate wallet, you can interact with an ATM using Bitcoin tokens or other cryptocurrencies, as per UniverseNewsNetwork.
Star also provides services away from ATMs, notably point-of-sale machines for businesses to accept payments, as well as e-commerce payment platforms. These also accept the same digital wallet transactions alongside regular card payments, with the flexibility making it a popular option for online businesses.
Interac
Going north of the border, the biggest interbank network in Canada is Interac, with around 60,000 ATMs and 450,000 registered businesses. Compared to the other networks, Interac serves a much more critical purpose in the country with major card companies Visa and Mastercard having far less of a presence. For many, Interac is their primary point of payment and withdrawal.
It’s equally a key payment option across online Canadian businesses, being accepted for anything from groceries and bills all the way to things like streaming services and online casinos. In fact, on any of the online casinos listed on Vegas Slots Online CA players are able to use, Interac is seen as essential more than an added extra. In fact, it’s harder to find an online business without Interac as a payment option than with one.
JCB
As our final entry, we had to mention JCB. Not to be confused with the construction vehicle maker, JCB is the Japan Credit Bureau network. Despite being based in Japan, the network ranges surprisingly far around the world. The company no longer issues cards within the US, however, it currently operates across 24 countries including those as far out as Spain.
The network mainly operates within Asia, although JCB cards issued in foreign countries are still usable within the US and other areas within the Discover network. As an added bonus, mainly due to the enduring popularity of Hawaii as a tourist destination for the Japanese, using the Waikiki Trolley tour service is also free for JCB card holders. There are also reportedly talks underway for bringing the US back into the network, although when or how that would happen is unknown.
Regardless of where they operate, these Interbank networks remain an incredibly useful feature for all kinds of purposes. Remember that if you’re planning a move around the country or even outside of it, checking your network coverage can be important.
