the.com/giro
A bank transfer that moves money by pushing, not pulling, like a polite European handshake.
means A payment system (common in Europe) where the payer's bank directly transfers funds to the payee's account, rather than the payee drawing money out via check or card.
from From Italian 'giro,' meaning 'circle' or 'turn,' tracing back to Greek 'gyros' (circle, ring — the same root that gives us 'gyroscope' and the sandwich). The idea is money making a circuit, turning from one account to another. Italian banking practice used 'giro' for circulating transfers as early as the medieval merchant era, and the term spread through European banking systems, surviving today in 'giro cheques,' 'bank giro,' and the UK's old 'giro' welfare payments.
- origin
- from Greek gyros, meaning circle
- vs direct debit
- payer initiates, not the payee
- uk slang
- once meant the unemployment benefit cheque itself
- still huge
- dominant payment method across Europe, rare in US