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Consider how valuable this could be to privacy. Governments likely will insist on a mechanism to track electronic currencies, for tax, regulatory and other rea

Consider how valuable this could be to privacy. Governments likely will insist on a mechanism to track electronic currencies, for tax, regulatory and other reasons. Governments seem to have very little concern for privacy. So the mechanism they choose could very well ignore privacy. By building a mechanism that meets government needs and by being an early mover, Taler could be the de facto solution by the time governments get around to dealing with this issue, and could make privacy the policy.

ijktdot 11y ago
There's a global racket in market data mining too, to track demographics and see what they are buying. This system defeats any large payment entity from payment tracking. Taler can also compete with Ukash, since it's free/open any merchant can implement their own Taler for cash business without signing large exclusive contracts with Ukash or waiting a month to be settled by them, as you can freely choose which Mint to do business with.
- zerebubuth 11y ago
  > This system defeats any large payment entity from payment tracking. Merchants of physical goods must know the identity and delivery address of their customers in order to deliver them. Given how easy many companies find it to embed 3rd party trackers or adverts on their site, it seems reasonable to believe that they will also find it easy to sell this data ("to help detect and prevent fraud") to the payment processing companies.
  - ijktdot 11y ago
    True, but at least Taler allows for the consumer to chose merchants who specify they don't sell data. Right now I can't buy anything online and not be tracked by the payment provider unless I use bitcoin. The prepaid credit cards here all require online registration and in store identification, Visa/Mc/Amex then track my purchases. If I show ID to buy $200 worth of Taler in a 7-11, there's no way for my Taler provider to see what I used it for.
    - hackuser 11y ago
      > Right now I can't buy anything online and not be tracked by the payment provider unless I use bitcoin Here are a couple of solutions I've seen but haven't tried: * Masked Cards by Abine (a privacy service): Abine gives you a card to use and you pay Abine. Obviously, you'll need to trust Abine. https://dnt.abine.com/#feature/payments https://dnt.abine.com/#feature/payments * PaySafeCard: A prepaid card; "You don't have to enter any personal information or bank account or credit card details. Your privacy remains completely protected at all times with paysafecard!" https://www.paysafecard.com/en-us/ https://www.paysafecard.com/en-us/

ijktdot 11y ago

There's a global racket in market data mining too, to track demographics and see what they are buying. This system defeats any large payment entity from payment tracking. Taler can also compete with Ukash, since it's free/open any merchant can implement their own Taler for cash business without signing large exclusive contracts with Ukash or waiting a month to be settled by them, as you can freely choose which Mint to do business with.

zerebubuth 11y ago
> This system defeats any large payment entity from payment tracking. Merchants of physical goods must know the identity and delivery address of their customers in order to deliver them. Given how easy many companies find it to embed 3rd party trackers or adverts on their site, it seems reasonable to believe that they will also find it easy to sell this data ("to help detect and prevent fraud") to the payment processing companies.
- ijktdot 11y ago
  True, but at least Taler allows for the consumer to chose merchants who specify they don't sell data. Right now I can't buy anything online and not be tracked by the payment provider unless I use bitcoin. The prepaid credit cards here all require online registration and in store identification, Visa/Mc/Amex then track my purchases. If I show ID to buy $200 worth of Taler in a 7-11, there's no way for my Taler provider to see what I used it for.
  - hackuser 11y ago
    > Right now I can't buy anything online and not be tracked by the payment provider unless I use bitcoin Here are a couple of solutions I've seen but haven't tried: * Masked Cards by Abine (a privacy service): Abine gives you a card to use and you pay Abine. Obviously, you'll need to trust Abine. https://dnt.abine.com/#feature/payments https://dnt.abine.com/#feature/payments * PaySafeCard: A prepaid card; "You don't have to enter any personal information or bank account or credit card details. Your privacy remains completely protected at all times with paysafecard!" https://www.paysafecard.com/en-us/ https://www.paysafecard.com/en-us/