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Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

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Re: Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

#81

Post by nullc »

mirimir wrote: post #34
WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American workers are scared of being perceived as anything else other than a YES MAN. The guy being told he has two-three days to implement OFAC can't say NO or they'll find someone to replace him that will say YES so he'll implement the shortest answer that causes that 'feature' to be marked as 'complete'

Even a random Excel geek would know that a "name" field is not the place to go for OFAC implementation. Or at least, not for a restaurant. I'm sure that they can link to corporate and banking data.

It doesn't really matter what someone knows, what matters is the payoff matrix:

Apply OFAC blacklisting extremely overly aggressively ... suffer an insignificant number of pissed off customers (who probably don't even leave you because everyone else is also awful).

Apply it as non-agressively as you think the law permits, or somewhat more than that... and find out that you're facing criminal charges because a prosecutor thinks the line was slightly different where you thought it was.

The situation is made more complicated in part because if prosecution isn't aggressive there are enormous sums of money ready to flow through whatever loophole exists and plenty of _bankers_ happy to help guide clients in blacklisted places through them. [ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/business/standard-charter... ]

Re: Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

#82

Post by [deleted] »

kuschku wrote: post #78
skcjdndj wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a certain sense, you didn't "vote on" the sanctions, but, when the system works as it should (prior to the current US administration, for instance) these kinds of decisions that affect international infrastructure are made with broad consensus---including the approval of people you _did_ vote for, or at least the approval of other nations whose interests are broadly aligned with yours. This alignment of interests…

Remember that the EU was actively working with Iran to find a solution that works for everyone, while Trump on his own reinstated the sanctions. This argument could have been made in years past, but now, when sanctions can be reinstated by a single mad man instantly, the argument no longer holds.

[deleted]

Re: Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

#83

Post by saiya-jin »

skcjdndj wrote: post #73
kuschku wrote: post #59

And this is exactly why the US domination of the payment industry is so dangerous, why companies like mastercard/VISA need to end, and why maybe sometimes it's understandable countries like Germany or Denmark have their own card systems or prefer cash. Running all transactions through companies subject to foreign laws makes you subject to those foreign laws. And there is no reason US laws should affect e.g. a Canadia…

In a certain sense, you didn't "vote on" the sanctions, but, when the system works as it should (prior to the current US administration, for instance) these kinds of decisions that affect international infrastructure are made with broad consensus---including the approval of people you _did_ vote for, or at least the approval of other nations whose interests are broadly aligned with yours. This alignment of interests…

You are not following recent (6 months) news, are you.

Nothing you write is valid anymore, unfortunately. We didn't want it, but have no say in the matters whatsoever. Maybe this isn't so visible to US person, fed daily with strongly biased US news, but outside world sees this pretty clearly and is darn annoyed.

The parent comment is right, we need alternatives that are actually beneficial to (World - US), which is > 95% of the mankind.

Re: Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

#84

Post by sjg007 »

Canada wrote: post #12

They need to just give her the $14k immediately and then eat it if it's a problem. Stop processing the transactions going forward or until it's sorted out, but do not steal her money. Also, I found this distasteful: "I want to clarify that Square is not experiencing a technical glitch. While I cannot speak with you about Monica's individual case, I can tell you that Square's Customer Success team spoke with Monica ye…

She may have a case if she sues. It would depend on the fine print in the Square Canada agreement. If they say they process money through the US, she might be out of luck. If they don't then she has a case.

Re: Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

#85

Post by selectodude »

wideasleep1 wrote: post #48
riffic wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the article you cite also states "the total number of hectares where coffee is harvested in Cuba has fallen from 170,000 hectares (420,000 acres) in 1961 to 28,000 hectares (69,000 acres) in 2013." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_production_in_Cuba ) Why do you think that is now?

Specifically, two events: "The plant was introduced by Jose Antonio Gelabert in the 18th century. French colonists later brought their own production methods and by the time of the Cuban revolution in 1959 the country was a major global exporter. The political context and nationalisation of the industry led to much-reduced production." followed by another whopper: " With the collapse of the Soviet bloc, Cuba lost 80%…

Which makes sense when the largest trading partner in the world which happens to be 90 miles from their shores won't do business with them.

The USSR did business with them as a middle finger to the US. The US doesn't do business with them as a middle finger to...the cuban people, the majority of which weren't even alive during the revolution.

Re: Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

#87

Post by vinay427 »

jpambrun wrote: post #77
vinay427 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're working on refunding her the money. I'm not sure running off with it is an appropriate comparison here. They just don't want to work with clients that have a business relationship with Cuba in the future.

How much work does cutting a 14,000$ check requires? It been going on since August. For a foot truck operations 14,000$ must be a significant toll on cash flow. It's inexcusable.

I agree, and I definitely don't want to excuse it. I would maintain that the analogy used is inappropriate given that they're still in contact about the money.

Re: Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

#88

Post by cpach »

jpambrun wrote: post #76
yeldarb wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious how you feel about GDPR (the EU asserts its authority to bind an American entity with servers in America running a service targeted at American consumers so long as a single EU citizen chooses to visit the site).

You could have one GDPR compliant site in the EU and a different international one.. or just block EU. Nobody is infringing on someone else's sovereignty in that case.

Some sites actually do block visitors from the EU. E.g. the Chicago Tribune.

Re: Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

#89

Post by kemonocode »

onemoresoop wrote: post #38
wideasleep1 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And it's beyond time Cuba end it's 2 ounce coffee rations every 15 days for Cuban citizens. That wouldn't last me 15 minutes. per Wiki: "Domestic distribution is currently limited to two ounces of coffee rations every 15 days for Cuban citizens.[13]

They have rations to make it accessible to all, they are a poor country crippled by a long lasting embargo. Cubans are very sweet people. Their politics attempted to keep they away from american greedy companies. Just look around the caraibean region. Countries that played ball with the US are in a very bad shape, a la economic hit man and such. Cuba managed to keep the people poor but with dignity, education, health…

They are a poor country ravaged by a tyrannical regime that has lasted as long as it has because Cuba is but a slight annoyance to the US after the Cuban Missile Crisis- nothing more, nothing less. Even if there was no embargo, the Castros would still be there doing as they wish. God knows they're trying to do the same with Venezuela.

EDIT: None of this means I'm pro-embargo, or into US meddling into things they have no business in. Just that ultimately these embargoes do little in the grand scheme of things to stop dictatorial regimes. A tyrant has no reason to play by the rules, especially when money is involved.

Re: Square Canada has a Cuban coffee issue

#90

Post by cpach »

sjg007 wrote: post #84
Canada wrote: post #12

They need to just give her the $14k immediately and then eat it if it's a problem. Stop processing the transactions going forward or until it's sorted out, but do not steal her money. Also, I found this distasteful: "I want to clarify that Square is not experiencing a technical glitch. While I cannot speak with you about Monica's individual case, I can tell you that Square's Customer Success team spoke with Monica ye…

She may have a case if she sues. It would depend on the fine print in the Square Canada agreement. If they say they process money through the US, she might be out of luck. If they don't then she has a case.

It’s probably not worth suing someone for $14000 though.
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