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I realize you don't work for Square... I took exception to your comment not because I thought you were representing Square but because it seemed like your comm

by nathanb 13y ago

I realize you don't work for Square... I took exception to your comment not because I thought you were representing Square but because it seemed like your comment was using "fraud prevention is hard" as an excuse to defend Square's treatment of OP. > I just felt this is a topic worth bringing to the spotlight It's always good to have an experienced, rational explanation of why a company might have engaged in some seemingly-ridiculous behavior. Thanks for providing that. Unfortunately, such an explanation often gets used as a crutch or an excuse for not aiming higher. How many years did individuals and small businesses have no recourse from PayPal before Stripe, Square, et al. came along? Do we really want to have that long of a gap again just because the new incumbents can hide behind the same "it's hard" mentality as the old? So while I'm sorry that I interpreted your comment incorrectly as defending the "fraud prevention is hard so let's marginalize the minority" argument, I wanted to make sure that I expressed my dislike for that mindset before it took hold.

aptwebapps 13y ago
So while I'm sorry that I interpreted your comment incorrectly as defending the "fraud prevention is hard so let's marginalize the minority" argument, I wanted to make sure that I expressed my dislike for that mindset before it took hold. So you're saying you were in too much of a hurry to jump on his back to read what he wrote? At least put the apology at the top of your comment rather than at the end of all the excuses.
the_watcher 13y ago
>> Unfortunately, such an explanation often gets used as a crutch or an excuse for not aiming higher. How many years did individuals and small businesses have no recourse from PayPal before Stripe, Square, et al. came along? Do we really want to have that long of a gap again just because the new incumbents can hide behind the same "it's hard" mentality as the old? What's the solution here? If I assume you aren't advocating legal requirements for how easy companies have to make verification (which, let's be honest, is a non-starter since laws generally make it harder to verify than easier), the only real solution is to call out companies that do this, which should in turn spur competition from those who think they can do better. It's unfortunate that it takes as long as it does, but I'm not sure if there is a better system. That said, writing this post is exactly the type of response that should encourage improvement and competition.
- nathanb 13y ago
  I'm not sure, at an implementation level, what the solution is. But I know the only way to get there is to not view the problem of fraud prevention without alienating the minority to be an insoluble problem. And that's the response my comment was intended to provoke.

by nathanb 13y ago

aptwebapps 13y ago

So while I'm sorry that I interpreted your comment incorrectly as defending the "fraud prevention is hard so let's marginalize the minority" argument, I wanted to make sure that I expressed my dislike for that mindset before it took hold. So you're saying you were in too much of a hurry to jump on his back to read what he wrote? At least put the apology at the top of your comment rather than at the end of all the excuses.

the_watcher 13y ago

>> Unfortunately, such an explanation often gets used as a crutch or an excuse for not aiming higher. How many years did individuals and small businesses have no recourse from PayPal before Stripe, Square, et al. came along? Do we really want to have that long of a gap again just because the new incumbents can hide behind the same "it's hard" mentality as the old? What's the solution here? If I assume you aren't advocating legal requirements for how easy companies have to make verification (which, let's be honest, is a non-starter since laws generally make it harder to verify than easier), the only real solution is to call out companies that do this, which should in turn spur competition from those who think they can do better. It's unfortunate that it takes as long as it does, but I'm not sure if there is a better system. That said, writing this post is exactly the type of response that should encourage improvement and competition.

nathanb 13y ago
I'm not sure, at an implementation level, what the solution is. But I know the only way to get there is to not view the problem of fraud prevention without alienating the minority to be an insoluble problem. And that's the response my comment was intended to provoke.