Bacs

British banks set it up in 1968 as a shared computer bureau so they could stop processing salaries and standing orders on paper. For years, companies submitted payment files on magnetic tape. The full name, Bankers' Automated Clearing Services, survives as Bacs. It handles two things: Direct Credit, which is how most Britons get paid, and Direct Debit, which covers the electricity, the phone bill and council tax.

The cycle hasn't changed since 1968: day one the file goes in, day two it's processed, day three the money lands. That sounds quaint next to Faster Payments, but for payroll known well in advance, predictability beats speed. The Direct Debit Guarantee, which refunds a wrongful collection immediately, has made the British trust Direct Debit to a degree few other countries come close to.