The 2-3 day wait isn't the case in the UK anymore. UK banks - under pressure from the government via the Office of Fair Trading - now process money transfers in half a day.

The point is that the transfer never required that long to process, but if a Bank (or PayPal) can hold on to your money for a few extra days then it's a few more days of interest on the money for them.

http://www.ukpayments.org.uk/faster_payments_service/backgro...