Not sure what the actual TPS of Cardano right now but it’s pretty low. There the number 5-7 tps floating around the internet. There are plans to have the system scale organically so that with more users/nodes there’s higher tps. (Here is a video explaining the max tps for Cardano)
Each block time is 20 sec. and takes at least 9 blocks for a high assurance level, that makes 3 minutes. 1-2 hours transfer time is too long.
Cardano is to be used as a financial operating system, especially for the unbanked. ADA is planned to keep the Cardano protocol alive and decentralized through block production with staking. There are also plans to for a treasury system from accumulated transaction fees where the pool of ADA are to be used for funding upgrades in the system. ADA currently can be used in South Korea to purchase from around 33 or so stores offering a cheaper transaction fee compared to debit/credit cards.