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What I'm hoping comes out of this is some backstop for the ~4 million Brits with no bank account in our increasingly cashless society. What I'm worrying will c
by proaralyst 4y ago
What I'm hoping comes out of this is some backstop for the ~4 million Brits with no bank account in our increasingly cashless society.
What I'm worrying will come out of this is pound-on-blockchain with no real effort to serve the currently-unbanked.
Also worth pointing out that the Pound (like every major fiat currency) is already digital: my bank account is stored in a computer, my payments are all electronic. Sure we still have paper notes but banks aren't backing their deposits with a big stack of those in a vault anywhere.
- robertlagrant 4y agoI thought this was more about currency than bank accounts.
- makeitdouble 4y agoI think this is a side effect. To use digital currency I assume you’ll need some kind of account, as it will probably rely on some stable identifier. Baking identification in a device (a card for instance) could be an alternative, but past some amount it would probably be impractical and I’d see banks limiting the amount that can move outside of them.
- robertlagrant 4y agoI don't see how this would make unbanked people into banked people, though?
- makeitdouble 4y agoDepends on what you mean by “banked” and how it’s implemented. If for instance, as a bare minimum they can get money from their job transferred in and can pay bills and rent from there, it would already fill the core job of a bank account. Now I’d assume even the simplest system would be managed by banks as a new product, with technically an account bound to it. A bit like C-Zam, N26 and other “banking light” initiative that euro banks have been trying out lately. But lighter alternatives would sure pop up.
- robertlagrant 4y agoI don't see why this would be lighter than current banking, though.
- makeitdouble 4y agoNewer systems have all been lighter than legacy banking. And from a logical perspective, they wouldn’t make sense if they were just a rebranding of the old system. Newer players also need something scalable to make a dent in the market, so there again the lighter the easier.
- robertlagrant 4y agoBut I still don't see why this would be necessary. There are new banks already. They didn't need a cryptocurrency to exist.
- smorrebrod 4y agoOne sound usage I read for a digital currency like this is person-to-person instantaneous transfer without having to give IBAN data and waiting 24h.
- c1sc0 4y agoPretty much already exists. I have no problem doing instant transfers between two different banks in two different countries (EU).
- swarnie 4y agoI thought we already did this? I regularly send money from my banking app to my partners and its instantaneous.
- vultour 4y agoAmericans need strange third party apps to do basic operations like this, which often makes their opinions on EU financial sector confusing
- smorrebrod 4y agoTo be clear, I'm from France and I have not heard of free instantaneous bank transfer with major banks
- vultour 4y agoThis page[1] seems to imply instant SEPA transfers are a thing in France, but I don't know which banks support it. [1] https://www.banque-france.fr/en/node/38530 https://www.banque-france.fr/en/node/38530
- smorrebrod 4y agoYes they are a thing but it can cost something like 1€ to actually use it. Although online-only banks now offer it for free.
- Neil44 4y ago> What I'm hoping comes out of this is some backstop for the ~4 million Brits with no bank account in our increasingly cashless society. That's the intention yes > Also worth pointing out that the Pound (like every major fiat currency) is already digital: my bank account is stored in a computer, my payments are all electronic. Sure we still have paper notes but banks aren't backing their deposits with a big stack of those in a vault anywhere. They are drawing a distinction between private money - issued by banks which may or may not like you - and public money £20 on paper which anyone can hold. Digital pound = public money.
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago> They are drawing a distinction between private money - issued by banks which may or may not like you - and public money £20 on paper which anyone can hold. Digital pound = public money. What happens when it becomes popular for the government not to like you because X is in vogue?
- throwaway98797 4y agoi worry more about innocent mistakes the thought of being unable to transact at all because of some glitch, even if it’s rare that’s no good
- Neil44 4y agoYeah even if the rules are in place now. Down the line - trending on twitter @ someone up for reelection - joe blogs did X why are you supporting him by allowing him to continue using digital cash?
- dewclin 4y ago> What I'm hoping comes out of this is some backstop for the ~4 million Brits with no bank account in our increasingly cashless society. Izabella Kaminska (ex FT-journalist) had a good take on this on her podcast or website [1, 2] (I forget which). If this is for _all_ unbanked individuals, then it must also include people banks don't want anything to do with right now, like criminals and other people who don't currently pass KYC or AML checks. [1] https://www.youtube.com/@theblindspotpodcast https://www.youtube.com/@theblindspotpodcast [2] https://the-blindspot.com/ https://the-blindspot.com/ Edit: a word
- toyg 4y ago> hat must also include people banks don't want anything to do with right now, like criminals Sounds consistent with the view of Britain as an unregulated financial casino that is so dear to most brexiters.
- LatteLazy 4y agoI can see how this is a problem for a few very small groups (very recent immigrants, people without identities, the homeless). But 4m people seems like a huge number. Are they mostly children or is there some other group that cannot get an account despite making a reasonable attempt?
- proaralyst 4y agoSeems I've misremembered the stat: it's around 1 million. This article is from 2019: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/apr/22/britons-without-bank-account-pay-poverty-premium https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/apr/22/britons-withou...
- LatteLazy 4y agoThanks, that makes more sense.
- dustymcp 4y agoIts actually hard to deposit cash now, over a small limit in many countries..