3 ms·
Your bank account and credit cards are not programmable money. They don't have smart contracts where third parties can verify the fairness of the financial inst
by uh_uh 5y ago
Your bank account and credit cards are not programmable money. They don't have smart contracts where third parties can verify the fairness of the financial instruments you are purchasing. All you have is trust in financial institutions.
- selfhoster11 5y agoThe only reason why they aren't programmable, is because banks choose not to expose an API. In fact, even that's not completely true: Starling offers programmable bank accounts in the UK, and there is at least one programmable credit card provider in the US.
- uh_uh 5y agoThese are good steps yes. But still, you're at the mercy of fintechs. Also, for this stuff to be really useful, it needs to be standardised worldwide. E.g. Algerian traders should be able to trade with Japanese counterparties by interacting with the same smart contracts.
- selfhoster11 5y agoThat I agree with. I just disagree with the assertion that legacy banking is not programmable, because there's nothing that inherently prevents it from working that way (other than bank policy).