Small e-commerce operators pay through the nose and a hidden fee is that most e-commerce operators have almost zero defense against a refund claim because their transactions are card not present. The refund is often a penalty plus the full amount of the transaction (incl. the fee) too. 
PayPal doesn't work for many people; frozen funds, deplatformed - basically very very few rights and high fees.
The question I ask any FinTech is whether or not the current centralised ways of doing things add enough value to the economy relative to what they take out; I'm not convinced that's the case for much of the transactions that are going on.

This author is likely a Pseudo-intellectual and doesnt understand what he is talking about, its probably pointless to even ask him as it seems he is more concerned about promises typically no one ever makes who understands cryptocurrency. 

Sorry @supermeatboy but you read too much twitter and dont seem to have even attempted to utilize bitcoin in a realistic fashion. Every promise you claim was made is just an illusion in your head, no one who read the white paper and understood the protocol expected anything like this from cryptocurrency.

@TaskMaster4450   I totally agree with You AND will further weaken the viewpoint of this misleading post.

On Oct. 16th of this year, $194 MILLION was sent via Bitcoin from one side of the planet to the other...

It took LESS than 30 minutes AND cost 10 CENTS...

https://www.google.com/search?q=On+Oct.+16th+of+this+year%2C+%24194+MILLION+was+sent+via+Bitcoin&rlz=1CAACAP_enUS814&oq=On+Oct.+16th+of+this+year%2C+%24194+MILLION+was+sent+via+Bitcoin&aqs=chrome..69i57.1482j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

With traditional banking (( THIEVES ))... it can take 4-5 days OR 4-5 WEEKS depending on many variables....       

AND the average COST is $10,000 per million being sent.

THIS is WHY Bitcoin is HATED by the world's CENTRAL BANKERS, because they will become irrelevant IF the common people wake UP and their Awareness grows to Higher levels... 'and for many other reasons, which I won't go into in this reply. 

Bitcoin is attacked daily... the common people need to understand they are being manipulated as MUCH or even MORE than ALL the cryptos combined, including Bitcoin. (( This does not mean all cryptos are viable, functional or have utility. ))

The sad fact is that this misleading Post has currently made over $121... I wrote a Post OVER a Year ago stating that Bitcoin was being manipulated by the Central Bankers and I made less than $5... hence I rarely Post... just mostly curate.

I'm a semi-retired Investment Banker who lost my JOB + CAREER because I spoke the truth ( was a Whistle-Blower )... which may have been a Good Thing because I took care of my Father, got rid of his Cancer and learned many things, on a much deeper level than I would have if I continued to MAKE so much money.   

REAL Wealth is not always measured in paper currencies (( backed by Nothing with absolutely no Intrinsic value whatsoever))... 

There are other forms of wealth that may be MORE important... like kindness, awareness, compassion, Good Health, Good Family/Friends, patience, Love, etc... Sorry 4 the extensive rant.

Cheers 2 Everyone reading this !!

You are correct. I could have been more precise there, but the article already is pretty lenghty.

Basically I adressed the consumer perspective, where transactions are either free or even rewarded via cashback ( which of course also has drawbacks, but the majority either does not care or is accepting them). Merchants would probably not want to speculate on the price of crypto and hence convert it to fiat immediately, which comes with fees as well. Therefore i would not think it's as viable as accepting traditional means of payment.

To your second point, I acknowledged that, if I may quote myself: "Bitcoin transactions are expensive. Undoubtedly you are able to send millions of dollars abroad for a relatively small fee."

And LN might bring a change, but I really wouldn't hold my breath for it to take BTC to the mainstream.
Thanks for commenting, appreciated!