Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra • Hacker News Board

Re: Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra

#81

Post by thefounder » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 12:21 PM UTC

dessant wrote: post #80

consp wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be illegal almost everywhere in the world for natural persons.

One can legally pay with cryptocurrencies for various services around the world, without submitting a government ID. https://www.lifewire.com/big-sites-that-accept-bitcoin-payme... https://coinmap.org/#/world/31.80289259/-82.96875000/3

Bitcoin is a nightmare for both buyer and seller due its volatility, not to mention the difference between exchange rates. You may buy your bitcoin with a specific price but the merchant/payment processor values it differently(lower). Just check bitpay to see for yourself

Re: Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra

#82

Post by pmlnr » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 12:23 PM UTC

lvturner wrote: post #46

pmlnr wrote: post #9

> Imagine if cash became digital. Been there, in China, with Alipay. Absolutely no way for an EU person to pay with it: doesn't accept European phone number for sign up and since the end of 2018 one can not get a proper Chinese SIM with a passport. Don't touch cash. That's the only fallback we have for outages, when someone is without data connection (ghasp!) or for scenarios where politics or decisions make it impos…

> Been there, in China, with Alipay. Absolutely no way for an EU person to pay with it: doesn't accept European phone number for sign up and since the end of 2018 one can not get a proper Chinese SIM with a passport. This is not true. I got a "proper Chinese SIM" and new bank account two months ago in Shenzhen. Both Alipay and WeChat pay work fine. Whole process took under two hours, including getting the sim and I h…

I guess you were not on vacation in Hangzhou and in scenic areas. The last thing I'd want to do on holiday is opening a bank account.

Re: Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra

#83

Post by dessant » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 12:23 PM UTC

thefounder wrote: post #81

dessant wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One can legally pay with cryptocurrencies for various services around the world, without submitting a government ID. https://www.lifewire.com/big-sites-that-accept-bitcoin-payme... https://coinmap.org/#/world/31.80289259/-82.96875000/3

Bitcoin is a nightmare for both buyer and seller due its volatility, not to mention the difference between exchange rates. You may buy your bitcoin with a specific price but the merchant/payment processor values it differently(lower). Just check bitpay to see for yourself

All payment solutions have drawbacks, we are talking about legality at the moment.

Re: Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra

#84

Post by rahimnathwani » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 12:27 PM UTC

pmlnr wrote: post #9

> Imagine if cash became digital. Been there, in China, with Alipay. Absolutely no way for an EU person to pay with it: doesn't accept European phone number for sign up and since the end of 2018 one can not get a proper Chinese SIM with a passport. Don't touch cash. That's the only fallback we have for outages, when someone is without data connection (ghasp!) or for scenarios where politics or decisions make it impos…

Responding to your EDIT2:

I don't understand how you can both be concerned with the 'current state of roaming charges', yet think that getting a local SIM for a 2 week trip is 'overkill'.

I agree that it's probably harder to find the right place to buy a SIM in a non-tier-1 city, but you can probably Google it before you get there.

However, to get Alipay working you probably need a Chinese bank account. You can get one of those with your passport (even with a tourist visa) but I can understand if that seems like overkill for a 2 week trip :)

Nevertheless, if we contrast the situations in the US and China, they each have pros and cons for tourists:

USA pros: - cash gladly accepted almost everywhere - visa/MC accepted almost everywhere

USA cons: - can't get a local bank account as a tourist (at least not easily) - can't set up a local mobile wallet (PayPal or Venmo)

China pros: - tourist can get a bank account - tourist can get a mobile wallet (after getting a bank account)

China cons: - some places don't accept cash - many places don't accept visa/MC

So the US is a little more convenient for a tourist. You can get by fine without a local bank account or payment app.

Re: Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra

#85

Post by thefounder » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 12:28 PM UTC

sgeisler wrote: post #59

Let's see if they will allow non-custodial wallets for libra, that might make them the catalyst that enables real world bitcoin payments. There could be a service that pays libra invoices for you if you send them bitcoins. If this happens automated/transparently in wallets that would be a big step forward. Let the POS terminal tell you which currency it wants and your wallet will send it. If they want USD send libra,…

Something tells me the calibra wallet will be the only wallet authz and it will be no different than your paypal app both as functionality and flexibility. As far as bitcoin is concerned it has no place in the payments world. It's a flawed coin for payments due its volatility.

Re: Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra

#86

Post by sametmax » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 1:31 PM UTC

bufferoverflow wrote: post #74

darkcha0s wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't solve any of the aforementioned problems.

It solves all the problems that the comment I replied to listed.

No. A hobo will not use a crypto coin. A crypto coin will not work during a natural disaster. It will not let you live out of the grid.

A crypto currency is a great complement to cash, not a replacement.

Re: Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra

#87

Post by aiCeivi9 » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 2:45 PM UTC

ur-whale wrote: post #47

sametmax wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also cash is the only thing that works if your system gets unfair in some way. It's the only thing that allows a hobo to stay in touch with society, paying in a gay bar without trace, setup a political group that the state would deem immoral, experiment with banned drugs, buy censored books and journals, etc If you like democracy, you need a small, but resiliant grey zone. You need to allow a few people to take the r…

>Do not outlaw cash As much as I agree with you, cash is unfortunately already well on its way out: in many EU countries (Italy, France), cash transactions above 1.5k euros are illegal. For example, buying a car cash is illegal. The US won't be far behind, imho. For small transactions (eg buying a loaf of bread), something flipped in small business owners minds: they used to hate plastic for small stuff, and I can in…

> something flipped in small business owners minds

EU intercharge cap (The Regulation on Interchange Fees for Card-based payment transactions) entered into force in June 2015 [0] - it was probably that.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interchange_fee#European_Union

Re: Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra

#88

Post by johnnycab » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 3:09 PM UTC

ur-whale wrote: post #47

sametmax wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also cash is the only thing that works if your system gets unfair in some way. It's the only thing that allows a hobo to stay in touch with society, paying in a gay bar without trace, setup a political group that the state would deem immoral, experiment with banned drugs, buy censored books and journals, etc If you like democracy, you need a small, but resiliant grey zone. You need to allow a few people to take the r…

>Do not outlaw cash As much as I agree with you, cash is unfortunately already well on its way out: in many EU countries (Italy, France), cash transactions above 1.5k euros are illegal. For example, buying a car cash is illegal. The US won't be far behind, imho. For small transactions (eg buying a loaf of bread), something flipped in small business owners minds: they used to hate plastic for small stuff, and I can in…

>they used to hate plastic for small stuff, and I can increasingly feel that today, it's the exact opposite: people let out a small sigh of annoyance when they see you pull out your coins

If we are to preserve and force the continual issuance of physical currency, this is one of those of annoyances, which needs to be tolerated. In a decade's time, cash as a concept will be even more eroded and probably well on it's way to being gradually phased out of acceptance/existence. In another decade or more, it will become quaint and start to evoke feelings of nostalgia, perhaps even undergoing a retro revival by getting used as an underground currency.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48133093

Re: Calibra – Digital Wallet for Libra

#89

Post by bufferoverflow » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 3:44 PM UTC

sametmax wrote: post #86

bufferoverflow wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It solves all the problems that the comment I replied to listed.

No. A hobo will not use a crypto coin. A crypto coin will not work during a natural disaster. It will not let you live out of the grid. A crypto currency is a great complement to cash, not a replacement.