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From what i can see as an admitted outsider, payment rails are more complicated than they look, and most of the crypto partisans arguments to "replace" function
by ska 2y ago
From what i can see as an admitted outsider, payment rails are more complicated than they look, and most of the crypto partisans arguments to "replace" functionality are a mix of 'ignoring that part', or 'we don't want that part anyway' + a few API calls.
Problem is, the world consuming these things mostly seems to want those parts, and can't ignore those other parts. Which seems to explain relatively low uptake.
- amluto 2y agoThose rails involve an amazing amount of complexity that boils down to the entire system being nonsensical. Payments are pulled instead of pushed; the underlying credit card numbers lack even a semblance of security; there is all kinds of mis-design due to the way that restaurant tips work; it all started when credit card imprints/readers were all assumed to be offline; etc.
- beAbU 2y agoWhat do you mean "it all started..." ? One of my earliest memories is my mum paying for groceries using her credit card in the 90/00s, where the machine used was completely mechanical/manual. It copied the card number (that was embossed on the plastic) by literally taking a carbon paper rubbing of the card. The system was designed to be offline, because back then there was no "online".
- amluto 2y agoThat would be one of the credit card imprinters I referenced, which is offline… I also recall the occasional business writing down credit card details, in person, with a pen, on a form they had for the purpose.
- sroussey 2y ago> I also recall the occasional business writing down credit card details, in person, with a pen, on a form they had for the purpose. Sadly, I still see this...
- hakfoo 2y agoYou could argue the problem was that it took a system that more-or-less worked offline, and tried to hammer it into working online. A "built for online first" payment paradigm would look different, but it would have an enormous chicken-egg or installed-base problem, unless you had something with government-level muscle enforcing it.
- dvdkon 2y agoMost Czech banks offer free domestic instant payments, and many small businesses who were previously cash-only now take them as an option. I heard there's also a SEPA equivalent. If the electronic retail payment industry hadn't already been captured by VISA and MasterCard, I could very well see something like this, a much cheaper and simpler system, being what everybody uses. There's countries (India?) where debit/credit card adoption was slow and now these simpler solutions have significant market share.
- astrange 2y agoIt takes (at least) two people to want to adopt a payment system. The reason American customers use credit cards is that they like them; they're very safe for customers and they have reward points. You could pay with cash or debit if you wanted to, but then you can't chargeback the business.
- mnau 2y agoSweeden has a Swish and I am pretty sure many countries have very similar free option. We just need a non-profit integrator to do it worldwide... Use credit card as a fallback if everything else fails.