We shouldn't forget about google. It also needs to be regulated.
This is addressed in the article but the title doesn't reflect this accurately.
TLDR; Clickbait title :sad face:
Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
541–547 of 547 posts
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#542Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s not really how credit cards work though. You only ever pay credit card interest if you carry a balance from month to month. Cash back doesn’t just reduce your effective interest rate; your effective interest rate can already be zero simply by virtue of paying the full balance due every month. And the credit system does literally nothing to discourage this behavior; in fact, the credit scoring algorithms incent…
It's just a shell game. You think it's really different, but to the corporate bean counters the money is fungible. You pay 2% in transaction fees, you may or may not get almost all of it back as "cash back". In a world without significant transaction fees, we wouldn't have the grace period either, and the people who get the most cash back would pay lower rates and others higher. The reason the powers that be like the…
> It's just a shell game. You think it's really different, but to the corporate bean counters the money is fungible.
Guaranteed per-transaction revenue is not fungible with interest revenue. Interest revenue is extremely discounted by both time value and default risk.
> In a world without significant transaction fees, we wouldn't have the grace period either...
At that point, most of the lower-risk customers who use credit cards would switch to debit cards, credit card interest would probably have to go up due to adverse selection and higher default risk, and credit cards would be a much smaller business overall.
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#543Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple Pay doesn't solve anything on the merchant's side. There's just nothing in the US with the simplicity and affordability as the various payment apps in Asian countries. For instance, in China WeChat Pay only charges 0.1% above 10,000 RMB (from what various articles say). Square is not even in the same category, charging 2.6% + 10¢. And you don't need to buy any equipment to use WeChat Pay; you just need to pull…
This is all possible because China has standardized bank to bank transactions across all banks in the country. It sets the tone for secure P2P transactions at fractions of the cost of a regular Credit Card payment. This allows people to on-board to WeChat Pay easily through online banking. They also have way less KYC hurdles, so people can go from signing up to sending money in minutes. US online banking is eons behi…
It's my impression that pretty much all functional countries (e.g. perhaps not Somalia or during a civil war, but including most less developed countries) have "standardized bank to bank transactions across all banks in the country".
The big difference is how fast and cheap these standardized bank-to-bank transactions are; with USA lagging behind in this area somewhat. In USA a wire transfer is more expensive than a credit card payment, in China, EU, Russia, etc it's cheaper than a credit card payment.
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#544Earlier quoted context omitted.
Small banks can integrate zelle, it’s their choice they’re not being locked out
0.75 per transaction locks out the small banks. It would be the most expensive way to transfer money.
I wasn’t aware of the cost TBH. I guess they can always develop their own zelle substitutes if they feel it’s worth it, not sure the economics of that are in their favor. Just saying you can’t ignore the upfront investment the builders put into creating and maintaining it while also pointing to the unit costs they charge the network partners. I’m sure it’s all negotiable with volume.
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#545Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't really see bank transfers taking of at the point of sale in the UK. Making a payment with most banking apps is very clunky - especially for the first time with 2FA. As a consumer, a credit or debit card gives me a lot of protection. I wouldn't give that up for anything (oh, and the cashback I get too).
But I thought debit card = bank transfer? There is no protection?
You can still do a chargeback with a debit card in the UK.
If you have a basic consumer dispute about something (such as a retailer not giving a repair/refund for a faulty item), you should be able to file a chargeback with the card issuer and get a refund.
In the UK, a credit card is much better though, as for any purchase over £100, the card issuer is joinly liable with the retailer for any issues.
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-7...
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#546Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't really see bank transfers taking of at the point of sale in the UK. Making a payment with most banking apps is very clunky - especially for the first time with 2FA. As a consumer, a credit or debit card gives me a lot of protection. I wouldn't give that up for anything (oh, and the cashback I get too).
That's what most people said 10 years ago about the mobile payments (mobile bank to bank transfers, not related apple or Google pay) in the Nordics, but no one is doubting it anymore.
I don't see what the advantage would be.
Apple Pay/Google Pay already offers near-instantaneous, highly-secure transactions in most stores - and with good consumer protection. Contactless cards offer the same up to £45.
I can get cashback/miles/reward points too.
What does a bank to bank transfer offer me as a consumer?
The difference between the Nordic countries and elsewhere may be that 10 years ago, these contactless payment methods weren't widespread.
Re: Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
#547Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also, with interchange fees at 0.3% and total card fees <1% for many shops, it's actually cheaper for sellers to accept cards than cash.
How do you figure? Is it from counterfeit money, or cost to transport the cash?
The easiest one is the time it takes to correctly count at the end of the day. That can easily take an hour even for small shops. If you go card only, you can just lock the door after the last customer and leave. Accounting for revenues and discrepancies (which always happen) correctly is a huge hidden cost.