UI automation is necessary for accessibility

a) even within a country there is very high regulatory friction (true for at least 2 of the biggest blocks in the world)

b) despite that friction, there are a number of places that do accept universal, distributed, micro-payments. And I find it as easy, if not easier, to use than the "retail friendly" stuff.

E.g., I topped up my kid's eSIM and I can just open the app on my Linux desktop, type my password (optional - my desktop is already obviously secured, but belt and braces), copy the address and amount from the payer's site (or the payer's processor) and send the payment. And it clears within a few minutes.

With the "retail friendly" stuff you prefer, the flow is similarish, but I type stuff (CC card) into the processor form, plus I have to type more stuff to satisfy algorithms, then I have to wait while it redirects through 1 or more websites - which sometimes fails - then I have to open an app on my Android phone, so I have to authenticate to my phone, then open the app and authenticate on it with another PIN, then I have to confirm the push notification - which sometimes will have failed to arrive. Then I have to go back to the website and click on a button there, and then wait for it to redirect back from the processor iframe or page to the original site. Also, sometimes, for whatever reason, the bank decides something is suspicious and blocks stuff and I have to phone them - sometimes that can take quite a while. Sometimes I'm abroad, and this can be a real PITA because of timezones (plus, cost of international phone calls - maybe I was buying the eSIM cause that was my Internet and phone access!).

I don't really see the major UI win for the "retail friendly" thing, the distributed Internet money micro-payments thing is actually a /lot/ easier and _far more reliable_ for me. But YMMV.

Also, because I want to have a phone that isn't a complete blob of god-knows-what crap from some big mobile company and all the companies that paid them to push their crap into said blob, and instead run a bit-more-open/far-fewer-blobs OS on my phone, this "retail friendly" app sometimes has failures after updates and I have to spend an hour on the phone to the bank to get them to clear some weird failure condition that so I can reauthenticate my phone. But that's another discussion.

Finally, the internet, distributed micro-payments thing is still very young. It is kind of normal that early technology still doesn't have optimal UI or adoption. If "it must have optimal UI and UX" is a precondition for believing anyone should use it, then... it's catch-22 (esp. if a great part of the UX hinges on adoption).

Again, perfect is the enemy of good. Despite the lack of perfection, there are many use-cases where distributed Internet money beats the "retail friendly" stuff. And in time, it can go from "good enough for these use-cases" to "good enough for more", and with enough time, maybe we see enough adoption that the regulatory friction becomes unsustainable (particularly as our generation, which is driving the regulation because of vested interests, ages out of holding the reins of power).