This story was originally published in The Highlight, Voxs member-exclusive magazine. To get early access to member-exclusive stories every month, join the Vox Membership program today.If you want to observe a particularly American problem, go open your phones Venmo app. Click on me and then click on transfer. If you have a balance in your account, youll be given two options. Option one gives you your money for free but in up to 3 biz days. The other option is instant, but comes with a price tag of 1.75 percent of the transfer, going up to $25 for large transactions. Getting access to your own money comes with a price, either in time or in cash.The problem is relatively trivial when it comes to settling up restaurant bills with your friends, but for more life-critical things like rent or paychecks, these delays really matter. Its an especially embarrassing situation when other countries, like Brazil, Japan, and the UK made instant bank transfers ubiquitous and affordable years ago.If you work through the full costs of what Americans pay for their payment system, Dan Awrey, a professor at Cornell Law School and an expert on payment systems, told me, its probably the most expensive payment system in the G20 by a pretty significant margin. The Brookings Institutions Aaron Klein, one of the few vocal advocates for instant payments, has estimated that the costs to consumers from delayed payments, from overdraft fees to interest on the loans Americans take out to cover their expenses, could be as much as $10 billion a year.In fairness, the US is trying to do better. For years, the Federal Reserve has been building out an instant payments system called FedNow, meant to supplement or eventually supplant traditional ACH (automatic clearing house) transfers, the slow but cheap multiday check-clearing system now used for many transactions, like paychecks and rent payment. So far, though, its been largely a bust. The services most recent quarterly report, for Q3 2024, reported only 336,000 transactions. By contrast, the Fed processed 5 billion ACH transfers that quarter; next to that, FedNow is a rounding error.FedNow offers faster payments, at a low price to banks, which could help workers get paychecks earlier and move money between accounts more easily, possibly avoiding costly overdraft charges. Why have so few banks switched over?Klein describes it as a case of industry sabotage. Banks maximize profit, Klein summarizes. The slow payment system is more profitable to them.How money movesTo understand why, lets back up for a second. How, exactly, does money move around the banking system right now?The main method, familiar from getting direct deposited paychecks or depositing physical checks, is ACH. This is known as a deferred net settlement system. Individual checks are not processed on their own: If my granddad sends me a check for $50, and I deposit it in my checking account, my bank does not, the second that happens, add $50 to my balance and tell my granddads bank to debit $50 to his balance. Instead, a few times a day the payment authority (in the US, this is almost always the Federal Reserve) will collate millions of check payments made, and then deduct or add the total amount that specific banks owe or are owed when all those payments are processed. This is the net part of net settlement. Once their own books are settled, banks then confirm the charges in individual checking or savings accounts.ACH has changed and sped up over the years, but this basic approach remains. Even so-called same-day ACH often dont post the day theyre initiated. (Zelle, the instant peer-to-peer payment system offered by many banks, is just a wrapper on ACH payments still take days to settle, even though funds are made available earlier than usual to customers.) So payments arent processed in real time, but in batches at regular intervals. That means waiting.Who benefits from this system? Not the people sending or receiving payments, of course. But banks benefit in a few ways. While payments are processed, the sending bank can still use the money being transferred (the float, in finance jargon) to make profitable loans.The systems sluggishness used to be an even bigger problem back when checks needed to be physically present at the bank where theyre deposited before a transaction could be processed. Banks had to use car and plane courier services to schlep checks around and on September 11, 2001, with planes grounded, $47 billion in mid-process payments were stuck, unable to settle. To avoid a repeat of that experience, Congress in 2003 finally passed the Check 21 Act, eliminating the requirement for checks to be physically present. That cut check processing times by one day on average, which per one study, saved check recipients over $1 billion a year, money that used to accrue to banks.While Check 21 reduced float revenue for banks, delays in ACH mean they still get some. If the payments were instant, that source of profit would be gone.Payment delays can also lead to problems like account overdrafts, which in turn allow banks to charge consumers fees. The average fee costs users $27 per overdraft; in 2023 alone, banks earned $5.8 billion from the fees. Most large banks only earn a small share of their revenue from fees charged to checking and savings account holders, of which overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees are the most common type. JPMorgan Chase earned 2.1 percent of its revenue that way per the most recent data available, while Bank of America got 2.7 percent. But a small handful of banks are heavily dependent on the fees to survive.Woodforest National Bank in Texas, for instance, earned 22.4 percent of its revenue, over $192 million, from fees on account holders as of last year. Thats more than the $154.6 million in profit the bank made last year: Without fees, theyd have been in the red. There are several banks in that situation. First National Bank of Texas earned depositor fees worth over three times their profit margin in 2024. Gate City Bank in Fargo, North Dakota, had fees worth more than twice its profits. So too did Arvest Bank in Arkansas, owned by the Walton family of Walmart fame. While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been pushing to lower these fees in recent years, with some success, that seems likely to end with the Trump administrations move to defang that agency.Outside the formal banking system, check clearing delays create demand for expensive, and sometimes predatory, services like check-cashing that charge customers money for deposits that would be free at a normal bank. According to Brookings Klein, about 70 percent of people using check-cashing services already have checking accounts: They just want the money now. Instant payments would remove the market for check-cashers, as well as revenue for banks reliant on overdraft fees.Whatll it take to get fast payments?All that said, it would be overly simplistic to blame slow payments in the US entirely on bank greed. Consumers arent exactly demanding faster payments, because credit and debit cards allow them to experience many payments as though theyre instant.Theyre not actually instant settlement on credit and debit card networks happens in net, batched fashion, just like ACH and the fees involved are exorbitant. Demand for something better than what we have hasnt been great because what we have is reasonably efficient. Timothy Massad, as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2014 to 2017The major credit card networks vary dramatically in what they charge, but for credit transactions, the fees are generally in the 1 to 3 percent range. Retailers pay that every time they charge a credit card. Debit fees used to be in that range, too, until Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, which set a cap, currently at 21 cents plus 0.05 percent of the transaction amount. But some debit transactions, like cashing out your Venmo, still fall outside that cap hence the 1.75 percent fee for getting your Venmo cash. Its not just Venmo, either, as banks like PNC also charge around 2 percent to get your cash immediately.Credit and debit fees are ultimately passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. But theyre usually paid by the retailer and thus hidden from customers, giving them little reason to object; theyre not listed on a receipt like a sales tax.For individuals, the fact that we have a very extensive credit and debit card industry and then more recently mobile banking and apps on your phone those have made people feel fairly satisfied, Timothy Massad, who served as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2014 to 2017 and works on payments issues, told me. Demand for something better than what we have hasnt been great because what we have is reasonably efficient.Among small retailers, the demand for something better is greater, and louder. Fights against high retailer fees charged by Visa and Mastercard are now a mainstay of congressional politics and the courts; just last year, the two networks agreed to cap fees after a decades-long antitrust suit by retailers. The stakes here could be large: Empirical research Awrey is working on now, he said, is finding that for many small businesses, card swipe fees can eat away a large share of their net margins, and could make the difference between viability and failure. If you look at the squeezing of small business margins, he says, a surprisingly large extent of that can be accounted for by merchant fees and interchange.But itll take more than retailer anger to turn a system like FedNow from its current near-moribund state into something that, say, Vox uses to send me my paycheck, or that I use to send my rent to my landlord. A common thread among countries that have made the transition, like Brazil and the UK, Klein says, is a central bank that fought hard to adopt the new system and overcame objections from banks worried about losing out. That push can yield big dividends. In Brazil, the rollout of the Pix instant payments system has pushed normal transactions at stores away from expensive debit and credit cards and toward Pix, meaning retailers pay lower fees, and dont pass the cost onto consumers. According to research by the Ohio State University economist Sergey Sarkisyan, Pix also spurred much more competition among traditional banks and enabled more Brazilians to get interest-bearing accounts and loans, resulting in benefits for the average Brazilian of around $380 per quarter.But here in the US, the Federal Reserve is not exactly motivated to launch a push like that. Payments are, perhaps understandably, not a focus of the Feds Board of Governors, which is preoccupied with monetary policy and bank regulation (Have you ever met somebody who said that theyre excited to serve on the Federal Reserve Board because they want to focus on payments? Klein asked me. Indeed, Ive met several people excited to serve on the Board and none of them wanted to focus on payments.)Without action from the Feds governing body, the issue falls to the agencys staff, which does not tend to want to rock boats, certainly not those of client banks. But not rocking the boat might mean saddling us with a costly, decrepit, out-of-date payment system for many more years to come.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More:

This story was originally published in The Highlight, Voxs member-exclusive magazine. To get early access to member-exclusive stories every month, join the Vox Membership program today.This past fall, I set out to get rejected as often as I could. A healthy fear of rejection lives inside most people, and has some of us in a chokehold. Being rejected is seen as, at worst, an embarrassing personal failure, and, at best, an obstacle standing in the way of our hearts desires: a dream job, a thriving social circle, a first date with a gorgeous future partner. Last year, it dawned on me that I was actively avoiding rejection in my writing career in order to keep myself safe and small. So I set my sights on denial.I dreamed up a project called November of NO and gathered an online group of 15 people to join me in my quest. Well build resilience by inviting nos into our lives, all in the pursuit of getting to yes, my pitch went. The point was to make rejection itself the goalpost to reduce the fear and stickiness around it, and simultaneously get closer to our objectives. We set goals to eagerly get rejected from job applications, film grants, pitches (my personal goal as a freelance journalist), and other targets of our yearnings. Each week, we logged our attempts, rejections, and finally, any yeses we received.I aimed to get three pitch rejections a week, or 12 in total. When I shifted my attention to rejection rather than success, it felt so much easier to do the work my perfectionism-forward world was topsy-turvy, and getting a no was suddenly worth celebrating. By the end of the month, I had racked up seven rejections and landed three new editorial assignments. Sera Bonds, a November of No group member who has long worked in nonprofit development, says she sent out around 80 total asks that month. It was also her first time tracking the number of rejections she received, even though rampant rejection has been a part of her work for 30 years.I dont take it personally when friends cant hang out, or my teenagers say no, she says. A no is actually a yes to something else.I feel like about five years in, I really learned that theres a critical mass of nos you have to get to get to the number of yeses you need, and it really has nothing to do with me, Bonds says. When I ask somebody for money, or Im looking for a contract or a collaboration, most of the time the reason they say no is something on their end. So now I just trust it, and I dont take it personally.Bond says that attitude has seeped into other parts of her life, too. I dont take it personally when friends cant hang out, or my teenagers say no, she says. A no is actually a yes to something else.Learning to see rejection as opportunity rather than failure can lead to more satisfaction in many aspects of life, from work and personal goals to dating and building strong relationships, experts say. And research has long shown that having high rejection sensitivity can mean developing low self-esteem; avoiding closeness in relationships, especially romantic ones; and is linked to a higher risk of other mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Plus, failing, regrouping, and getting back up again builds resilience. As the adage goes, you miss every shot you dont take and even missed shots can help you take better aim. Ryan C. Warner, a psychologist and consultant, trains his leadership and business clients to adopt a rejection mindset, which means learning to approach rejection rather than avoid it. Its teaching individuals to deliberately seek out situations where they may fail and, ultimately, that helps build confidence that they will succeed.That emotional pain that we experience from rejection gives our brains a signal: Hey, somethings wrong.Our aversion to rejection is deeply rooted in evolutionary psychology, Warner says. Fitting into social groups helps ensure our survival, so we instinctively learned to avoid any behavior that caused a negative social reaction. Rejection triggers a response in the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotions as well as our fight or flight instinct.That emotional pain that we experience from rejection gives our brains a signal: Hey, somethings wrong, Warner says. You need to react, or you need to avoid, so you dont feel that pain anymore. When this is constantly reinforced, it will ultimately recreate that fear of future rejection internally, [and lead to] avoidance.Some neurodivergent people might experience rejection aversion even more acutely. Some 6 percent of American adults have ADHD, and people with ADHD can experience rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD), or intense emotional pain when faced with rejection. Anushka Basu, a 29-year-old finance writer based in India, was diagnosed with ADHD after experiencing extreme social anxiety during college, and later RSD, which she says starts subtle but, eventually, freezes my body and mind. It was a long process for Basu to learn how to better handle rejection, she says. It starts with friends and family pointing out your shortcomings, she wrote in an email. Then, we go on to internalize it, and before we know it, it paralyzes us. So, in essence, we reject our own selves before anyone else.How to have a better relationship to rejection It is possible for each of us to build more tolerance to rejection, and even to grow our self-confidence and self-acceptance as we do it. The key is to learn to understand no as a hallway to the next room rather than a closed door in your face and that its not usually personal. Helping people with RSD conquer fear of rejection is a key part of the work that therapist Billy Roberts, founder of Focused Mind ADHD Counseling in Columbus, Ohio, does with his clients. Ultimately, if someone tells you no, the default isnt that they think youre worthless or that they think youre a bad person or not good enough, Roberts says. Youve got to learn to manage your emotions so that you can put yourself out there again and then eventually you win, because youre putting yourself in situations where winning is a possibility.1) Create rejection goals Warner recommends deciding on an aspect of your life you want to improve or change, then creating tangible goals. He finds the SMART framework helpful that is, setting goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This means your goals are actually achievable and trackable over time, and youll know whether or not you hit them. For example, if you want to date more, you might set a SMART goal to go on five dates in the next three months, or meet five new people which necessarily entails putting yourself out there more. Just make sure your goals are realistic.I think its definitely effective for people, having measurable [goals] that you feel like youre making progress toward, Roberts says. But people set themselves up and theyre like, Im going to apply for 100 jobs this week, and then they have a hard time taking action on that.Carla Birnberg, an author who writes a newsletter about building habits for a successful life, first got more comfortable with rejection when she was shopping her book manuscript around 2000. It definitely desensitized me to rejection, she says. Now, she has a goal to get rejected as a podcast guest five times a week. I would love to be on two podcasts a month, but I know five rejections a week is the only way to get there, Birnberg says. It brings me closer to that yes.She also uses peoples responses and feedback to refine her message, and hopefully get a higher response and approval rate as she goes along. Rejections arent all the same, she says.2) Reflect on your rejection hangupsBoth meditation and journaling are easy and inexpensive ways to get to know yourself better, and have proven mental health benefits. They can also help you interrogate your response to rejection. Ask yourself, What are some times I may be rejecting myself? Warner says. You can also get guided support from a professional with therapy or counseling.When Basu realized she didnt want to define herself through rejection, she began to analyze rejections in her journal, asking herself why each situation did not work out as she had hoped or expected. Then, she wrote down things she learned, what she could do differently next time, and how this rejection might change her future for good. She began to notice that some rejections werent personal, and took note of her own resilience.In hindsight, I noticed moments where I thought rejection spelled the end, yet I ended up with something better down the line, Basu says. I started telling myself, I am good enough. Over time, I started to view rejection as a part of the process towards finding the right prospects. And I began looking at job applications as a numbers game. I knew that at least one would land if I kept at it. I started to view rejections as a need for redirection instead of failure.3) Trust that rejection can get easier and builds confidence The catch-22 of rejection is that you have to experience it, recover, and try, try again to get that positive feedback loop going, Roberts says. The more rejections you sail through, the easier it will get, and, eventually, the more youll discover that risk, and even straight up rejection, does reap rewards. Roberts wants to remind people that action comes before healing, meaning its only through repeatedly being rejected, processing your emotions, and moving forward that you will eventually have a reduction in anxiety around rejection. [People say], I want to feel more confident, and then Ill ask them to hang out, or then Ill apply for the job, when I actually think its the opposite, Roberts says. We have to put ourselves out there and embrace the discomfort, knowing that that discomfort will reduce, and take action towards our goals.See More:

Newood Housing / La Architectures + AQMASave this picture! Jean Baptiste ThirietArchitects: AQMA, La ArchitecturesAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:5990 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Jean Baptiste ThirietManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: Arcelor Mittal, Lignalpes, Serge Ferrari Lead Architects: Linda Gilardone, Amandine Quillent More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. The project takes place in the neighborhood called "l'le de la Marne" in Noisy-le-Grand, close to Paris. The location is on a long plot with a very steep slope. The built masses are located around the perimeter of the plot, at the edge of the property, creating a ring which reveals a very elongated heart of the block, a real journey within the project. The volume is characterized by fine work of striping from the ground floor to the R+4 and a significant division of the buildings, which brings a domestic scale to the heart of this 6000 m project (2600m accession and 3400m social).Save this picture!The circulations are placed in exterior faults, which allow sequencing and animation of the faade linearly. The presence of these faults accentuates the porosity between the heart of the block and the public space. The multiplication of access points on platforms of different heights and the nesting of all the buildings help to reduce the perceived density. This principle of service also allows for greater appropriation of the different housing units by residents.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Each apartment benefits from an outdoor space: garden, terrace or balcony, most of which benefit from a clear view of the great landscape of the Marne. The program is made up of a half-basement level, which houses parking spaces. The accommodation presents a diversity of typologies ranging from 1 room to 5 rooms, with many single-storey accommodations with gardens, but also duplexes on the top levels.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The faults and technical rooms on the ground floor are built in concrete, while the rest of the superstructure is in wood (MOB). Different facade materials are used: wide slatted wood cladding, deep tight wood cladding, white metal cladding and coating. The roofs come in the form of single-slope roofs, double slopes or green terraces. The project presents heterogeneity in the use of materials, the shape of the roofs, the paneling and the division of the buildings while having a strong urban and architectural coherence focused on the framework.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessProject locationAddress:Noisy-le-Grand, FranceLocation to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.About this officeAQMAOfficeLa ArchitecturesOfficePublished on March 26, 2025Cite: "Newood Housing / La Architectures + AQMA" 26 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1028195/newood-housing-la-architectures-plus-aqma&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Studio Gang Reveals Design for Womens Leadership Center in Wisconsin, United StatesSave this picture! Studio GangStudio Gang, led by Jeanne Gang, and Lincoln Road Enterprises, a philanthropic organization advancing women's leadership, have unveiled the design for the forthcoming Women's Leadership Center at Williams Bay. Located on an 8.6-acre site overlooking Geneva Lake in southeastern Wisconsin, the 24,000-square-foot retreat center is designed to support innovation, collaboration, and leadership programming for professional women's groups. The project broke ground in July 2024 and is scheduled for completion in 2026.Designed to engage with the site's natural ecology and intellectual heritage, the Center draws inspiration from the surrounding oak savanna and the nearby Geneva Lake. Its architecture reflects a close connection to nature, incorporating expansive windows, natural materials, and a gently curved layout that frames views of the forest and water. The roof design introduces daylight deep into the interior, drawing from the natural phenomenon of "crown shyness," where gaps between treetops allow light to filter through.The campus is composed of three primary structures: The Lodge, The Council, and The Cabin, each designed to support different modes of gathering. The Lodge includes a spacious multipurpose room and outdoor terraces for dining and socializing. The Council provides meeting and conference spaces arranged around a central courtyard, while The Cabin serves as a more intimate accommodation space for visiting collaborators and experts. A network of accessible walking paths weaves through the site, encouraging informal interaction and connection with the landscape. Related Article Kengo Kuma and Studio Gang Among Shortlist for Nelson-Atkins Museum Expansion in Kansas City, United States Programming at the Women's Leadership Center will focus on convening accomplished leaders across industries to engage in dialogue, explore complex challenges, and develop new perspectives. Situated 90 miles from Chicago, the location connects visitors to a setting long associated with retreat and reflection, as well as scientific discovery, nearby Yerkes Observatory being a key historical anchor in the region.The design also integrates sustainable strategies to reduce environmental impact. These include preserving the site's existing topography and tree canopy, using locally sourced and low-carbon materials such as mass timber and Wisconsin stone, and employing passive cooling and ventilation systems. In fact, the Center is targeting LEED Gold certification. By creating a purpose-built space that combines design, ecology, and thoughtful programming, the Women's Leadership Center aims to contribute to a broader cultural landscape dedicated to innovation, dialogue, and leadership development.As cultural centers around the world continue to evolve, architecture plays an increasingly central role in shaping how communities connect, reflect, and create shared meaning. In other recent cultural news, Zaha Hadid Architects has broken ground on the Center of Mediterranean Culture in Reggio Calabria, a new public landmark designed to engage with the waterfront while honoring the city's layered history. In Berlin, AFF Architekten received the DAM Preis 2025 for their work on the House of Statistics, a reinvention of a former GDR building into a democratic hub for civic and cultural use. Meanwhile in Almaty, Asif Khan is transforming a Soviet-era cinema into Kazakhstan's first independent cultural center, a project that marks a significant shift in how space is imagined for creative communities in the region.About this authorNour FakharanyAuthorCite: Nour Fakharany. "Studio Gang Reveals Design for Womens Leadership Center in Wisconsin, United States" 26 Mar 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1028426/studio-gang-reveals-design-for-womens-leadership-center-in-wisconsin-united-states&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00894-7Artificial intelligence software is increasingly involved in reviewing papers, provoking interest and unease.

Nature, Published online: 26 March 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00893-8Rather than assuming that relatives of older people will step up to fill systemic gaps in health care, communities need research and policies that align with families existing routines.

On March 29, 2025, a deep partial solar eclipse will be seen at sunrise in North America and midmorning in Europe. Here's what time to watch the celestial spectacle unfold.

A man went to the hospital several times with gut pain and a fever and it turned out that his relatively common symptoms had an unusual cause.