Why is banking (specifically money transfering) different than other kinds of business? Seems to me that money transfer is a particularly easy business for the market to regulate. A failed money transfer is a lot easier to spot than, say, a dangerously defective physical product.

A fraudulent one isn't though.

You're also dealing with especially sensitive data, life ruining data if it gets into the wrong hands.

You realize Google Checkout is often lamented on HN because it doesn't operate in many European countries? It is exactly for these reasons.

Much like copyright laws are abused for business protection, so are regulations. Certainly within the US it would be better to have a federal license framework in order to minimize friction.

What, that Google doesn't have money to put up bonds or buy the necessary expertise? I don't get your point.

More likely it's Yet Another Google Product They Can't Be Bothered To Finish (TM).

It's not about having enough money, but whether it is financially worth it. It's an ROI calculation that involves navigating several regulating bodies with what appears to be minimal payback. It certainly isn't a technical limitation.

If money transfer isn't lucrative, it seems weird to blame regulations for the fact that Google isn't staying involved with it.