I've started to reduce my card usage as of late. This is not because I am annoyed by banks (though I am pretty annoyed of some banks) but because I think the ro

I've started to reduce my card usage as of late. This is not because I am annoyed by banks (though I am pretty annoyed of some banks) but because I think the root of all evils is MasterCard/Visa. They have a tight grip over the international/internet payments market. I'm currently in Malaysia. They have a mobile ewallet/payment system (tng). It accepts foreigners with fairly large monthly limits (around $5500/month). I can buy TnG balance with Bitcoin/Crypto/Cash/Barter, and it's accepted almost everywhere (even more than MC/Visa). I'm happy with this being an alternative to cash. The way I see it, companies can only be evil once they have leverage. But using multiple different systems, you take that leverage away from them. Cards have leverage on the day-to-day payments, online and international market. To take it away, use services that bypass them. Banks still have leverage on the large transfer, wealth holding market. I'm yet to find an alternative to that (There is USDT/USDC but it's banks with extra steps. Crypto is an alternative but the volatility is too high).