Crypto vs Traditional Banking: How THAT Compares

Crypto and traditional banking both move money, but they work in fundamentally different ways. A bank is a central institution that holds your money and processes payments on your behalf, within set hours and rules. A decentralised crypto network — like the ones THAT runs on — settles payments directly between people, on-chain, around the clock. Neither is "better" at everything. Here's how they compare on the things that matter when you actually spend, and where THAT fits.

Hours and availability

Banks largely operate on business hours and weekdays, and many transfers don't clear on weekends or public holidays. A crypto network never closes — payments settle 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, regardless of the date or time.

Fees

Bank and card payments carry a range of fees: card-processing fees (often built into prices by merchants), plus charges on cheques and on domestic and international transfers. Spending THAT in the THAT app has no card or bank fees and is sponsored, with only minimal on-chain costs — and paying wallet-to-merchant cuts out the payment processors that sit in the middle of a card transaction.

Speed

Card payments, cheques and bank transfers can take anywhere from seconds to several days to settle, and often pause on weekends and holidays. A THAT payment settles on-chain in seconds — on Polygon, in roughly two seconds — at any time.

Custody and control

With a bank, the institution holds your money and can limit, freeze or deny access to your account for a range of reasons. THAT is non-custodial: you hold your own keys, and no provider sits between you and your funds. That control comes with responsibility — there's no bank to call if you lose your keys, so securing them is on you.

Access and identity

Opening a bank account requires identity verification (KYC) and, usually, government ID. Creating a non-custodial crypto wallet generally needs only an internet connection and a phone — though buying or selling crypto for cash on an exchange still involves KYC in most places. That lower barrier can matter for people without easy access to traditional banking.

Privacy

Bank records sit on the bank's private servers. Crypto networks are public and traceable — anyone can view transactions — but they're pseudonymous: an address isn't tied to your identity unless you link it, for example by buying through a KYC exchange. So crypto can be more transparent and more private at the same time, depending on how you use it.

Reversibility and recourse

This one cuts both ways. Bank and card payments can sometimes be disputed or reversed, which gives you recourse if something goes wrong — but it also means payments can be frozen, declined or charged back. Crypto payments are final: once sent they can't be clawed back, which removes chargeback risk for merchants but puts the onus on you to send to the right place.

How THAT fits

THAT is built to make crypto genuinely spendable — a non-custodial wallet and a merchant directory in one app, with THAT (a fixed-supply, ERC-20 asset on Ethereum, bridged to Polygon) that you pay businesses with directly, rather than through a card that converts to cash (crypto debit cards vs spending crypto directly). It isn't trying to replace every function of a bank; it's focused on the thing banks make slow and costly — paying, instantly and directly, in the real world. See how to pay with crypto, or compare the best crypto for everyday spending in Australia.

The bottom line

Banks offer familiarity, recourse and broad acceptance; crypto offers control, speed and round-the-clock, low-cost payments. For spending in particular, paying directly with THAT removes the middlemen, the delays and the fees. Download the THAT app to try it. This is general information, not financial advice.