391–400 of 789 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is true but the next step is a Brazilian bank account.
Is there an online bank that allows to create an account just with the CPF and no proof of permanent residence?
I've been living in Brazil for the last 20 years. Pix revolutionised the way we transact in Brazil. I've used Pix to pay for things that cost only cents, and I have a friend who bought her house using Pix. The system just works for any transfer amount. And it's so easy to use. Its speed is truly baffling, and so is its reliability. Never have I failed to make a Pix payment because of downtime. I never cease to be ama…
> Cryptocurrencies don't stand a chance. Now, try to use Pix outside of Brazil - it's not even used in other Mercosur countries, what's the chance of having that adopted in other countries... And, that's problem #1. How much do you trust your government with your money? A system like Pix don't stand a chance to get a worldwide adoption - maybe people are naive but governments won't unify to adopt a common system cont…
Try to use cryptocurrency for anything other than a few very specific transactions at a number of places in the world so small that it's a rounding error.
Still cryptocurrencies as-is remain relevant
And somehow less relevant than cash.
I can take cash from any country in the world to my local bank, and deposit it into my account. I can get a dozen different foreign currencies at my local branch in minutes, and almost any other currency in the world can be delivered to me by FedEx the next morning for a flat $10 fee.
I can take cash to any other country in the world and get it converted into the local currency, whether that's paper or digital in almost any city.
Crypto is great if you do a very few, very specific things in a vanishingly small number of places. But if I'd tied my finances to crypto instead of cash, I'd have been stuck many times in foreign lands.
I've been living in Brazil for the last 20 years. Pix revolutionised the way we transact in Brazil. I've used Pix to pay for things that cost only cents, and I have a friend who bought her house using Pix. The system just works for any transfer amount. And it's so easy to use. Its speed is truly baffling, and so is its reliability. Never have I failed to make a Pix payment because of downtime. I never cease to be ama…
> Cryptocurrencies don't stand a chance. Now, try to use Pix outside of Brazil - it's not even used in other Mercosur countries, what's the chance of having that adopted in other countries... And, that's problem #1. How much do you trust your government with your money? A system like Pix don't stand a chance to get a worldwide adoption - maybe people are naive but governments won't unify to adopt a common system cont…
To you second point, I think the pix penetration/popularity proves that the majority of the people trust the government for that. There are 2 key reasons for its success: It was mandatory for Banks to adhere to the system and there are no fees for using it.
Once multiple countries have their own PIX, they just need to build a federation structure to connect them and allow cross-border transactions.
Crypto-currencies have their place with people who don't trust the government, want to speculate and/or simply want to do tax evasion, but they are not and probably never will be mainstream as a transaction medium.
Theortically it would now be possible to implement a similar service in the US using FedNow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedNow Of course in practice it is a chicken-egg situation. Few people will use it over established credit based systems unless there are other incentives. Credit card companies, including PayPal & Co, are essentially rent seeking: They are middle men that technologically aren't needed anymore fo…
Credit cards don't just offer chargeback capabilities. They offer pro-active fraud protection. They alert you for all kinds of threats, data breaches, double-charges, etc. They will sometimes lock your card and not let a payment go through, if it is suspicious, unless you perform extra confirmation via email/text/push. They offer virtual cards that you can activate or deactivate with any given vendor, to improve your…
> Having your card stolen, either physically or virtually, becomes much less scary.
I assume Pix and UPI (India) offer indirect fraud protection by keeping payment records. At least in Brazil and India, fraud does not seem to be so bad as to require the regular use of credit cards.
> When used responsibly, with rewards programs, the numerous benefits over cash make sense even in the unusual case where cash payments get a discount.
Nobody was talking about cash. Neither Pix nor UPI nor FedNow are cash. Cash = coins and bills.
> And, obviously, credit cards let you borrow money which provides flexibility to allow payments even if your paycheck hasn't yet arrived. And occasionally, going into debt intentionally can be wise, when making an investment.
That's balanced by the fact that it can also be highly unwise. Moreover, for most payments, borrowing money is simply unnecessary.
> Zelle and debit cards have similar kinds of protections that make it safer than cash, and there's an audit trail. Though, it is more dangerous than credit cards.
Again, cash is irrelevant here. Moreover, any advantage of instant payment systems with fees hold only insofar they (the advantages) more than outweigh the cost of the fees. The expected value has to be positive compared to UPI & Co. Which seems unlikely.
I've been living in Brazil for the last 20 years. Pix revolutionised the way we transact in Brazil. I've used Pix to pay for things that cost only cents, and I have a friend who bought her house using Pix. The system just works for any transfer amount. And it's so easy to use. Its speed is truly baffling, and so is its reliability. Never have I failed to make a Pix payment because of downtime. I never cease to be ama…
> I've even had homeless people ask me for Pix instead of change on multiple occasions. Sounds like WeChat Pay. It's been years now that beggars in China only carry QR codes. > Cryptocurrencies don't stand a chance. They solve a different problem or have the potential to: predictable/unbiased money issuance and on/off ramp for payment platforms.
Sounds like WeChat Pay. It's been years now that beggars in China only carry QR codes.
I saw a guy at a freeway offramp in north Texas with a Venmo (?) address scrawled on a piece of cardboard.
Theortically it would now be possible to implement a similar service in the US using FedNow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FedNow Of course in practice it is a chicken-egg situation. Few people will use it over established credit based systems unless there are other incentives. Credit card companies, including PayPal & Co, are essentially rent seeking: They are middle men that technologically aren't needed anymore fo…
Doesn’t the US already have direct bank transfers with Zelle? I don’t know why cashapp and Venmo took off but Zelle stayed unknown
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wish the homeless in London did this, I'd happily give a few pounds here and there if it were easy to. Back when I had cash on me at all times, I would think nothing of it, just toss a coin. Now in our cashless society, I found myself at a loss to do anything about the people suffering in front of me
You could try carrying cash again, especially just a few coins for the homeless.
I make a point of carrying cash. Especially for buskers. It's just so simple to push the "cash back" button at the PoS when I'm buying something else.
(I miss the days when you could buy a CD from a talented busker.)
As a foreigner that visited Brazil for some weeks, I found the ubiquity of the PIX payment system to be a handicap for tourists visiting the country. PIX is only for locals as you need to register with a CPF (Brazil ID number which is hard and tedious to get as a tourist). I ran into many scenarios where the only option was to pay with PIX and the staff aren't used to tourists and look at you funny when you explain y…
Apparently Wise had a PIX functionality here in Brazil, but it seems that they removed it for some reason.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I keep a few bills in my wallet, but I hardly ever carry it around. Everybody accepts cards and Pix. Even beggars on the street use pix. If I revert back to using public transport I will probably have a use for cash, but that's the only situation I can think of where it would make sense.
most places i visited (remote rural places like districts of > 300 people up to big cities) have a rechargeable card system where you can buy at any terminal some buses in the surburbs of big cities only accept cards nowadays and you can recharge it online in 3 minutes (ofc if you are a citizen... brazilian goverment websites is a huge UX pile of shit; police, mail etc.)
Usually you have to go register for a card somewhere. It's just not practical, especially if you're just visiting. I've never seen a place where you could buy a card at a newsstand for a week or something like that.
Despite a global move towards a cashless society, 54% of Brazilians now opt for cash withdrawals.¹ 2024 has seen a surprising reversal, as cash usage makes an unexpected comeback , defying predictions that the world was moving toward a cashless society. With rising cybersecurity threats, concerns over financial privacy, and economic instability, consumers and businesses are increasingly turning back to physical curre…
Source: https://www.bcb.gov.br/content/cedulasemoedas/pesquisabrasil...