A rant about banks

I feel like having a whinge today. I just went to pay some Ebay fees using Paypal and happened to notice that when you want to withdraw funds from Paypal into your own bank account, it takes from 5 to 7 working days for the funds to clear.  In this electronic age, all I can say is WTF is up with that?  It takes an instant to send an email.  It takes an instant for an ATM machine to dole out your money, it takes an instant for payments to be taken out of your account, and yet, it takes 5 to 7 working days for Paypal to relinquish out of their money grubbing hands, money which is rightfully yours anyway?!

Paypal isn't the only culprit of course.  All banks, building societies and credit unions deploy the same 'hang-on-to-the-money-for-as-long-as-they-can' tactics.  If funds are able to be taken out of your account instantly, why can't banks use the same super little instant-grab button and instantly pay you your money too?

No doubt they'll have some slick explanation for why this happens, which us helpless customers have to just pretend to believe, just like we have to nod and hand over fees to them for having OUR money in their banks to do with what they will. 

Banks suck, and yet they're entirely neccessary these days.  I don't know if there's anyone who still keeps their money tied in a sock under their bed, but I'm beginning to think that the odds that a crook would break into your house and steal your money are much less than having your money taken in all sorts of shady ways by the banking industry.