Really?
Can't say I give a damn about Visa and MasterCard.
Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
521–530 of 547 posts
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#522Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't get it -- bringing up Amex and Discover is like bringing up Bing and DuckDuckGo when people talk about the Google monopoly.
Except Amex is the highest end card used predominantly by financially secure individuals. Bing is... not that.
Except in practice, the vast majority of Amex users also have Visa/Mastercard just in case (e.g. Visa/Mastercard users are close to a superset of Amex users).
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#523Earlier quoted context omitted.
In Denmark, the majority of shops have little signs "Due to Covid-19, please pay by card or phone" or sometime "Due to Covid-19, cash is not accepted". On a recent trip to Germany, I didn't see a single such sign. Germany is changing gradually, perhaps due to the EU's limits on the fees Visa and MasterCard can change, but Covid-19 doesn't seem to have much effect.
I live in Berlin and recommendations to pay by card can be seen in many places with preference for contactless payment. In fact, share of non-cash payments visibly increased here and surveys show that German attitude is already changing.
Maybe this is temporarily? I pay with card now. But intend to go back to cash after covid19.
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#524Earlier quoted context omitted.
Think of sales tax. You have the option of paying it or not buying things; it's not optional.
are you retarded? you can literally can pay with cash, or you know, a DEBIT card.
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Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#525Earlier quoted context omitted.
are you retarded? you can literally can pay with cash, or you know, a DEBIT card.
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i dont give a fuck
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#526Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes but you need your phone on you to pay at the shop right ? So no batterie, money ? No network, no money ? Phone stolen, no money ? Phone broken, no money ? What if I don't want to have a spying hardware on me at all time ?
Hmm well, fair point. The society is moving also away from cash and many places don't accept it anymore. You are left with credit card... Which is also a spying device. So no payments without data collection for you! I don't think that is essentially a bad thing. Forcing a digital signature for every transaction makes criminal activity difficult. Modern AML works much better because there is always a digital fingerpr…
A cashless society is another debate entirely. I do think it's a dictator dream and the best way to kill diversity and innovative social behavior.
But the matter here is card vs phone. Your card do spy on you, but it doesn't have your contact, a microphone, the history of where you have been, etc.
You can easily give your card away to a friend for the day. Your card doesn't need an update. It's not connected to internet all the time. It won't die if it falls, if it rains or of it's too hot. You can have a replacement easily as well.
It's also way more accessible. My grandma can use it. A blind man can. They all work the same way.
A phone is only a good card alternative when every thing goes right. But I value resilience in my paiement system.
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#527Earlier quoted context omitted.
are you retarded? you can literally can pay with cash, or you know, a DEBIT card.
We've warned you before about personal attacks, so I've banned this account. If you don't want to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to believe that you'll follow the rules in the future. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
you can suck my dick
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#528Earlier quoted context omitted.
In Denmark, the majority of shops have little signs "Due to Covid-19, please pay by card or phone" or sometime "Due to Covid-19, cash is not accepted". On a recent trip to Germany, I didn't see a single such sign. Germany is changing gradually, perhaps due to the EU's limits on the fees Visa and MasterCard can change, but Covid-19 doesn't seem to have much effect.
In Norway, it is still illegal for stores to refuse cash. I know of only one store that does get away with it; I believe they do because they are primarily an online shop. Their physical store is merely a convenience for customers who happen to live nearby. Many (most?) stores still ask customers to pay with a card, though. To help out, the banks have raised the maximum amount payable by contactless cards without PIN…
It is technically illegal to not accept cash in Denmark with very few exceptions (I checked, since it seems to be legal in Sweden), but maybe due to COVID-19 this got relaxed or is just not enforced anymore. Not that anyone would notice, nobody pays with cash anyway except for German tourists who aren't coming this year.
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#529Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not though. No one is forcing you or anyone else to sign up for credit cards - it's a choice, unlike taxation.
> " No one is forcing you or anyone else to sign up for credit cards - it's a choice, unlike taxation. " Tell that to the increasing number of shops that no longer accept cash.
Strange, about 2y ago, on our visit, there were lots of places in SanFrancisco who didn't accept cards.
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#530Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The 2% cashback has to come from somewhere." Yes, but in reality, the program comes from an upside down approach to overcoming the obviously anti-competitive practices that VISA/MC use to forbid retailers from offering discounts for not using VISA etc.. You can't say "Get 2% if you use cash instead of VISA". (Notice that nobody ever advertises that?) Because VISA doesn't allow it. You also can't say "$1.99 + 20 cent…
The outside disrupter was supposed to be Apple Pay, but that didn't work and now Apple just issues credit cards (through Goldman Sachs). Visa/MC has such a monopoly stranglehold that getting kicked off their Network is tantamount to going broke. There are esoteric options aka Bitcoin, money order, check, but if being able to accept credit cards makes this drastically more difficult. (Ask the legal cannabis industry h…
The outside disrupter was supposed to be Facebook currency and I am glad it didn't happen as Facebook has enough power already and this would starting to go in WeChat direction.