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FedNow Is Live

federalreserve.gov

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Re: FedNow Is Live

#11

Post by NoMoreNicksLeft »

lp0_on_fire wrote: post #6
lavp wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is it about CBDCs you find concerning compared to cash?

It's bad enough that banks have virtually unlimited insight into my spending habits that we need to give the Feds the same access. I should have the right to buy a big mac without some government server getting pinged.

How will they protect us though unless they know the nature of every transaction we participate in? Are you really responsible enough to take care of yourself? A CBDC would combine the best aspects of company scrips with those of wartime ration tickets!

I think you should reconsider your stance.

Re: FedNow Is Live

#12

Post by lockhouse »

1001101 wrote: post #8
lp0_on_fire wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's bad enough that banks have virtually unlimited insight into my spending habits that we need to give the Feds the same access. I should have the right to buy a big mac without some government server getting pinged.

Another concern I have heard voiced is that CBCD could be programmed - eg. you can't buy X, or you can only buy Y at certain times, or for certain prices, etc. and has the potential for reduced liberty vs. cash.

It can also be programmed with an expiration date to encourage you to spend it to stimulate the economy instead of saving it.

Re: FedNow Is Live

#13

Post by delfinom »

EGreg wrote: post #5

Here we go. CBDCs are next, and also national Digital IDs. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uwRSzNTp2ko Real ID + needing it to browse anything on the Internet: https://community.qbix.com/t/the-coming-war-on-end-to-end-en... From what I see people on HN writing, by and large they downplay the risks of these as well as AI. Or alternately seem to suggest that CBDCs and national IDs are not coming, and that it’s a conspira…

National IDs in the US are never coming because the evangelical base of the GOP literally oppose it for being the "mark of the beast".

>Here we go. CBDCs are next, and also national Digital IDs

No, this is a long term replacement for ACH, a function that the Federal Reserve was already carrying out.

Re: FedNow Is Live

#14

Post by constantcrying »

lockhouse wrote: post #3

My concern is that this is a trial run for an official CBDC that will eventually replace cash.

>replace cash

That is the most important concern. Not even crypto can beat cash for convenience and anonymity.

But having a way to transfer money outside of large corporations and instead through a government regulated service is a good thing.

Re: FedNow Is Live

#15

Post by lisper »

mydriasis wrote: post #2

> Banks and credit unions of all sizes can sign up and use this tool to instantly transfer money for their customers, any time of the day, on any day of the year. Whoa. Is this as awesome as it sounds? Is this akin to government-backed Venmo, or something?

> Is this akin to government-backed Venmo, or something?

Yes, exactly. But you have to keep in mind that this is a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it's going to be convenient and probably secure. On the other hand, it's going to let the government see every transaction you make, which for some people will be a very high price to pay.

Re: FedNow Is Live

#17

Post by djfobbz »

lavp wrote: post #4
lockhouse wrote: post #3

My concern is that this is a trial run for an official CBDC that will eventually replace cash.

What is it about CBDCs you find concerning compared to cash?

For one, unlike cash, the issuing entity can program CBDC to expire on a specific date unless utilized. Another horror use case is that they could track and limit how many hamburgers or pizzas you eat daily, weekly, monthly or yearly!

Re: FedNow Is Live

#18

Post by skybrian »

lockhouse wrote: post #3

My concern is that this is a trial run for an official CBDC that will eventually replace cash.

If a country’s government really wants to get rid of a lot of large cash transactions, they could phase out some paper money like India (no cryptocurrency required) but in the US it doesn’t seem very likely?

Most money in the US already consists of electronic records in banks. Making bank transfers work better is fairly orthogonal to whether ATM’s work and retailers accept cash.

Re: FedNow Is Live

#19

Post by delfinom »

kak3a wrote: post #16

why? don't we already have Zelle and Venmo that does just that?

Zelle is closed to the few banks that partner with the private banks that run it. Venmo is a private company that siphons your data for sale.

FedNow is a long-term replacement of ACH, which the Fed Reserve banks already run. This system is open to all US financial entities. The platform also uses a ISO standard https://www.frbservices.org/financial-services/fednow/prepar...

Re: FedNow Is Live

#20

Post by iudqnolq »

lisper wrote: post #15
mydriasis wrote: post #2

> Banks and credit unions of all sizes can sign up and use this tool to instantly transfer money for their customers, any time of the day, on any day of the year. Whoa. Is this as awesome as it sounds? Is this akin to government-backed Venmo, or something?

> Is this akin to government-backed Venmo, or something? Yes, exactly. But you have to keep in mind that this is a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it's going to be convenient and probably secure. On the other hand, it's going to let the government see every transaction you make, which for some people will be a very high price to pay.

> On the other hand, it's going to let the government see every transaction you make

Can you go into more detail here on what you think will change from the status quo? Existing bank transfers are obviously not secret from the government on request. While the government doesn't have direct access to run search heuristics on the whole dataset they just delegate that to the banks' internal compliance team.

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