One of the big upsides I see to Bitcoin is the borderlessness of it. Where I live, we already have free same-day wire transfers we can initiate from internet/mobile banking, and services supported by all the big banks for cheap (15 cents fixed fee) instant transfers using cell phone numbers as recipients. I think most countries have similar services. But as soon as you cross a border, suddenly everything has 10x greater fees, you run into anti-terrorism/anti-money laundering regulation snags, and so on.
You mention fees and AML/anti-terrorism regulation...it seems that the major impediment to cross-border wire transfers and ACH is regulation, not a lack of infrastructural capability. Assuming most countries have the same goals with regard to regulation, it seems feasible to develop some overarching regulatory system which would permit international transfer. I wonder if one can transfer money easily within the EU -- that could serve as a next step or a guide to implementation.
Just brainstorming here. I really do suspect that most of the benefits of cryptocurrency are due to the way it interacts with technology, which can be imitated through just a bit of innovation in the banking industry. (Imagine banks allowing customers to script transactions, like Bitcoin, or providing direct APIs to bill-pay and ACH transactions.)
