Some banks have very good fraud detection systems and it is in their interest to have them. The sooner they detect it, the less headache they have to deal with. One of my banks froze my card after I made several unexpected large purchases in one day. Another one called me when they noticed suspicious charges to confirm that I did make them. Someone got my card number, but I still had my card so I would not have reported it stolen or lost.

The speed of light is known with a precision that goes quite beyond that. After that, the timing is a simple question of arithmetic.

Considering the majority of matter on the planet, including life, is from the remnants of a supernova, I'd say it helped quite a lot.