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USD is backed up by USA army. If a country refuses to accept USD they will have a democracy problem and get attacked.
by bombolo 4y ago
USD is backed up by USA army. If a country refuses to accept USD they will have a democracy problem and get attacked.
- xref 4y agoUnlucky for the UK coffee shop that wouldn’t take my USD this morning I guess? Not quite sure what you’re trying to say, if a country doesn’t want to accept usd…they don’t have to
- wil421 4y agoExcept a $100 bill is likely accepted. I’ve been to developing countries that will accept local currency, dollars, and euros. I doubt they would accept any pounds, tethers, or other fake electronic currency.
- fabian2k 4y agoYou won't get anywhere with a $100 bill in many developed countries, outside of some very tourist-y areas maybe. At least not in regular shops, of course you can exchange it at a bank. But if you try to order a coffee with US dollars, you won't get one.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- wil421 4y agoIf I’m visiting a country it’s usually as a tourist. Even on my business trips I spent half the time being a tourist.
- fabian2k 4y agoHandling a foreign currency is a lot of overhead, you will only find this accepted in locations where it is quite common for people to not have the local currency. If you're in the middle of Europe you'll have a hard time finding a place that will just accept US dollars outside of some very tourist focused destinations. And even there I'm not sure if it'll work. The places where I've seen this mostly work was near borders, and it makes sense that you'd accept the neighbour currency there even if it is some overhead. If you can quickly hop over the border you're much less likely to exchange currency before than if you plan a full trip in a different country.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- HPsquared 4y agoIn an increasing number of businesses the UK even if you try and pay in pounds (i.e. cash), they won't accept it. Contactless only!
- roflyear 4y agoDoubt. Everyone knows what USD is.
- justinclift 4y agoNah. The "term" USD is common, but that's very different from presenting physical US currency to people and trying to get them to accept it. At least in Australia, I'd be surprised if more than a single digit percentage of the population would be able to tell if the (US) currency someone presents is real vs pretend/monopoly money. They'd most likely think the person is trying to scam them.
- drexlspivey 4y agoThis is hilarious. Do you really think you can pay with USD in any random country?
- usrusr 4y agoTalking pragmatics, what are the chances any random coffee shop in the USA would take your money if all you got were $100 bills?
- amon22 4y agoAren't they legally required to do so?
- EleanorKonik 4y agoNo; I've been to places that just outright refuse to accept physical cash at all, and I live in America.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- alasdair_ 4y agoIf you drink your coffee then pay, then yes, since you are now paying a debt and dollars are legal tender for all debts public and private. If it's in advance of giving you your coffee, no, they could demand you pay in dogecoin only if they wish.
- Ekaros 4y agoAs a tourist maybe. But try to do it at any place mostly frequented locals in Europe and you will get nowhere. But funny thing. Same does not only apply to USD, but Euros as well. And EU doesn't even have army. And still on my last trip the taxis took the money.
- wil421 4y ago
- Symbiote 4y agoPounds have reasonable acceptance in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia -- many of those countries either used to be part of the British Empire or a neighbour, so there's trade, emigration, etc. Probably the Caribbean too, though I haven't been there. In most cases e.g. a French tourist would be fine taking euros, but a British tourist can take pounds and not pay to convert to dollars or euros first.
- machinima40 4y agoReally? Pls back this up with a citation or example. Name one country in those places or outside of Britain for that matter where british pounds are accepted as currency - today and not 1950
- Symbiote 4y agoI wrote "reasonable acceptance". You can pay for a taxi, a good quality/touristy restaurant or a safari. You can easily exchange sterling for local currency at banks or currency exchange offices. Kenya and Egypt are two examples.
- dageshi 4y agoEntirely depends on country and business in the country. I've seen Americans try to pay for taxi's in Thailand with USD, the drivers aren't interested, it's a hassle more than anything. In cambodia on the other hand, yes, they'll take it. Depends entirely on how stable the local currency is, if it's reasonably stable and well managed then probably they won't be interested.
- andrepd 4y agoWe're talking about international trade, not an espresso at the corner shop.
- justeleblanc 4y agoEven so. Not every merchant accepts USD.
- davidwritesbugs 4y agoHis point is that fiat currencies are issued by, and backed by, the state and the that trust is, ultimately, based on its enforcement capacity - the police/courts/US army rather than convertibility with gold or other hard asserts.
- theGnuMe 4y agoI think it’s about peace and trust more than anything. It’s not about war and aggression.
- baremetal 4y agoI think he means that the US military has a habit of invading countries who sell oil in currencies other than the US$. _Libya_ 2008 https://www.cfr.org/blog/libya-shunning-dollar https://www.cfr.org/blog/libya-shunning-dollar (Libya Shunning the Dollar?) 2011 Invaded _Iraq_ 2000 https://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/10/30/iraq.un.euro.reut/ https://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/meast/10/30/iraq.un.euro.reut... (U.N. to let Iraq sell oil for euros, not dollars) 2003 invaded
- tarsinge 4y ago_Syria_ 2006 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/2/14/syria-picks-euros-over-dollars https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/2/14/syria-picks-euros-o... No direct invasion but proxy war (lessons learned).
- bombolo 4y agoThanks… at least someone here understands that "a country" and "some guy with a tiny shop" aren't exactly the same thing!
- joseftexas 4y ago[flagged]
- capableweb 4y agoIsn't it the same for USDC? USDC is not a traditional cryptocurrency, its issued by a US organization, so I guess this organization would in the same way be protected by USA army, and indirectly USDC as well?
- tarunupaday 4y agoIndia is a developing country. Are you somehow under the impression that the US army will attack a coffee shop in New Delhi if they stop taking US dollars? Even in those parts of Mexico and Caribbean countries where the economy is heavily dependent on US tourism - and the US dollar will be accepted at retail shops; the price difference between paying in dollars and paying in local currency is going to be against the US dollar, and for any significant transaction, you will be better off paying in the local currency. More to the point, it is true that a considerable part of international trade is conducted in USD. It is also true that the USA tries very hard to keep it like that (more so through economic sanctions than the military might), but it's hyperbole to state that any country that does not accept USD will get attacked. For example, India and China buy a non-trivial part of their oil in roubles and have not been attacked - so far.
- bombolo 4y agoI said "a country"… are you under the impression that "a coffee shop" is "a country"? How could you mistake a coffee shop for a country? Seems like you want to misread me on purpose?
- capableweb 4y agoMany "countries" don't do business in USD, they do business in their own currency. Why haven't those countries already been invaded if what you're saying is true?
- bombolo 4y agoCan they buy oil with their own currency? No, they have to use their currency to buy USD and then buy oil. If they get a deal with an oil selling country that says otherwise, USA sends in the army (usually to the seller, not the buyer).
- stonogo 4y agoIndia is buying oil in rubles right now. Let me know when the US invades.
- PinguTS 4y agoSo, when will the USA military invade Norway? I assume per your definition of "country" Norway should be a country as well. Norway is a major party in selling oil and gas, but doing it so in NOK. Norway is not even part of NATO. At least until now. So when do you expect an attack by the USA military?
- slaw 4y agoNorway uses US dollar for oil trade. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/petrodollars.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/petrodollars.asp
- PinguTS 4y agoPetrodollar is just a term. It does not mean that the contracts are in US Dollar. The measurement is in NOK. "In Consideration of the assignment described under Article 2.1 above, Buyer shall pay to Seller a post tax amount of NOK [zz] ([zz]), ref. Article 5." https://offshorenorge.no/globalassets/dokumenter/naringspolitikk/skatt-og-fiskalt/modellavtaler/02-sales-and-purchase-agreement-spa.pdf https://offshorenorge.no/globalassets/dokumenter/naringspoli... Also the measurement is NOK: https://www.norskpetroleum.no/en/production-and-exports/exports-of-oil-and-gas/ https://www.norskpetroleum.no/en/production-and-exports/expo...
- slaw 4y ago> Norwegian Oil and Gas Recommended Model Agreement for sale and purchase .. NOK is recommended. That document doesn't say what currency is used for actual transfers.
- MandieD 4y agoSlight correction: Norway has been part of NATO pretty much since its inception after WWII, but never joined the EU. Same for Iceland. Its neighbors Sweden and Finland are EU members whose citizens have recently come to widespread agreement that NATO membership is desirable.
- bombolo 4y ago
- CydeWeys 4y agoThis is a really bad misunderstanding of how governmental monopoly on violence affects the acceptance of its currency. The USD has value because you need to pay your taxes in USD, and if you don't pay your taxes, the government will take away your freedom. It has nothing to do with people in other countries transacting in that country's local currency.
- globalreset 4y agoThat's also a myth that doesn't make sense. If it was about taxes people would just hold something else and converted some temporarily to pay their taxes leaving government with currency nobody wants. It's all about people's trust and willingness to store savings and make loans in a given current.
- nequo 4y ago> would just hold something else and converted some temporarily to pay their taxes Wouldn’t this expose those people to exchange rate risk that they could completely avoid by holding USD instead?
- CydeWeys 4y ago> If it was about taxes people would just hold something else Not following this at all. You having to pay tax in USD means you're going to prefer holding USD and being paid in USD as well. Anything else would be strictly inferior, as now you have to worry about doing conversions all the time. Note that it's mandatory for taxes to be withheld with each paycheck, and those withheld taxes must be paid in, you guessed it, USD, so you must be paid in USD as well.
- globalreset 4y ago> You having to pay tax in USD means you're going to prefer holding USD and being paid in USD as well. Huge part of the world have to pay taxes in their local currencies and yet prefers storing savings in USD. > Anything else would be strictly inferior, as now you have to worry about doing conversions all the time. You weight it against other pros and cons. Even US billionairs do not store their savings in USD cash, and don't seem to mind "conversions all the time".