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Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

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Re: Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

#91

Post by rad_gruchalski »

sys_64738 wrote: post #71
Terretta wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bloomberg reporting, circa 2018: “For the past year, select Google advertisers have had access to a potent new tool to track whether the ads they ran online led to a sale at a physical store in the U.S. That insight came thanks in part to a stockpile of Mastercard transactions that Google paid for...” “But most of the two billion Mastercard holders aren’t aware of this behind-the-scenes tracking. That’s because the c…

How does Mastercard know what you actually bought? If got to Costcos then the CC bill says the whole amount, not individual items.

Your cc bill says that. The shop knows individual items you purchased and they know how you paid. Someone is buying that data.

Re: Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

#92

Post by willcipriano »

nicoburns wrote: post #50
saghm wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At least here in Europe MasterCard and visa are the only options. Amex and Discovery are really unusable here Growing up, my parents had a Discover card (among others) and everywhere we went, I remember them asking if they took Discover because so many places didn't. It wasn't until years later when I saw the joke about this on Futurama that I realized this wasn't a unique experience: > Fry: Do you take Mastercard?…

Huh. I hadn't even heard of Discover.

You had yet to discover them.

Re: Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

#93

Post by c0nducktr »

saghm wrote: post #39
wkat4242 wrote: post #5

We should have a payment system that isn't held hostage by two providers anyway. At least here in Europe MasterCard and visa are the only options. Amex and Discovery are really unusable here. Besides selling our data this also means we get American morals pushed on us, eg they won't provide payments for some websites they don't like. But how do you break up such a duopoly?

> At least here in Europe MasterCard and visa are the only options. Amex and Discovery are really unusable here Growing up, my parents had a Discover card (among others) and everywhere we went, I remember them asking if they took Discover because so many places didn't. It wasn't until years later when I saw the joke about this on Futurama that I realized this wasn't a unique experience: > Fry: Do you take Mastercard?…

In the US today, it's been my experience that if a business accepts credit cards, Visa, MC, Amex and Discover are all accepted. Costco would be the exception that proves the rule. This has been the case since I started using credit cards, maybe 10 years ago.

Does anyone know when this changed? I don't think I've just been lucky this entire time.

Edit: When traveling overseas, I've always just used VISA though, but that's just because I have a card without foreign transaction fees with them.

Re: Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

#94

Post by fiddlerwoaroof »

c0nducktr wrote: post #93
saghm wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At least here in Europe MasterCard and visa are the only options. Amex and Discovery are really unusable here Growing up, my parents had a Discover card (among others) and everywhere we went, I remember them asking if they took Discover because so many places didn't. It wasn't until years later when I saw the joke about this on Futurama that I realized this wasn't a unique experience: > Fry: Do you take Mastercard?…

In the US today, it's been my experience that if a business accepts credit cards, Visa, MC, Amex and Discover are all accepted. Costco would be the exception that proves the rule . This has been the case since I started using credit cards, maybe 10 years ago. Does anyone know when this changed? I don't think I've just been lucky this entire time. Edit: When traveling overseas, I've always just used VISA though, but t…

Amex is frequently not taken by small businesses that don’t use one of the newer POS systems like Square or Clover.

Re: Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

#96

Post by paulpauper »

phyzome wrote: post #73

Use cash more. I know you can't use it everywhere, and for everything, but -- for the sake of privacy, use cash when and where you can. The cashless economy is a surveillance economy, and if you care about privacy (for others, if not for yourself) then you should use cash whenever possible.

the problem is cash is sometimes slower. self-checkout machines not uncommonly have card-only option or otherwise stuck waiting in line, which can be way slower

Re: Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

#97

Post by carlosjobim »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #90
carlosjobim wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But it is a valid argument for encouraging distance sales, including most online sales. When customers know they have fraud protection, that helps bring down the anxiety of a purchase a whole lot. For your local purchases with trusted entities, you can still use cash. It also goes the other way. Go and try to purchase something from any business on credit when you don't have the money right now. They will always say…

Credit card payment systems were incredible. They are no longer novel, nor compelling, with inexpensive competing systems available. You can extend credit instantly to someone with a deposit account like you would with a credit card (with the "overdraft" being the issued credit, lots of ways to skin the UX around this). You can also offer purchase insurance on a per purchase basis, while still enabling immediate sett…

Great comment! However, I don't see any competing systems that offer built in fraud protection being widely used anywhere. Bank transfer are instant now, yes. For daily purchases they can easily replace CCs, like paying for your groceries.

You mention BNPL, but those systems AFAIK are much worse for the merchants, with very high fees. I'm not sure I understood the insurance per purchase part, but if the vendor is going to scam you, he for sure is going to scam you on the insurance as well. Who sells this insurance and how?

> There's no particular reason why this kind of financial intermediation should be a $100 billion industry, rife with inefficiencies.

What are the inefficiencies really? As a customer, paying by card deducts the money from my bank account instantly. As a merchant, card sales are paid into my bank account the next day.

> You can extend credit instantly to someone with a deposit account like you would with a credit card (with the "overdraft" being the issued credit, lots of ways to skin the UX around this).

I apologize, but I didn't understand this part. How will the merchant instantly open an account for a customer? How would this be as fast, secure and convenient as swiping a card?

Re: Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

#98

Post by KirillPanov »

deergomoo wrote: post #78
wolverine876 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are advantages to credit. For example, the money remains in your hands until you pay your credit card bill, so if there is a dispute, fraud, or overcharge, you don't have to fight and wait to get your money back. Also, some businesses, such as car rental companies, won't provide services to debit card holders. Also, it's a free [edit: zero-interest, not free] loan (if you pay credit card bills in full); you get…

> Also, some businesses, such as car rental companies, won't provide services to debit card holders. In America, yes. Not really a thing in Europe, at least not in any places I’ve been to.

I've always wondered about this. You drive off with a EUR30k car. What do they do if you don't come back? Drain your bank account of 500 Euros? What then?

In the US, the rental agreements let them keep charging you the daily rental fee until the amount collected exceeds the value of the car.

Re: Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

#99

Post by worik »

paulpauper wrote: post #96
phyzome wrote: post #73

Use cash more. I know you can't use it everywhere, and for everything, but -- for the sake of privacy, use cash when and where you can. The cashless economy is a surveillance economy, and if you care about privacy (for others, if not for yourself) then you should use cash whenever possible.

the problem is cash is sometimes slower. self-checkout machines not uncommonly have card-only option or otherwise stuck waiting in line, which can be way slower

So not there. Where you can, is the important part

Re: Mastercard Should Stop Selling Our Data

#100

Post by ClumsyPilot »

ssl232 wrote: post #14
wkat4242 wrote: post #5

We should have a payment system that isn't held hostage by two providers anyway. At least here in Europe MasterCard and visa are the only options. Amex and Discovery are really unusable here. Besides selling our data this also means we get American morals pushed on us, eg they won't provide payments for some websites they don't like. But how do you break up such a duopoly?

> But how do you break up such a duopoly? Start buying things with cash again.

So when I need to buy software, should I send cash by post or drive 500 miles and pay in person?
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