
Say Goodbye to Banking as We Know It - tacass
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-12-29/china-has-edge-over-silicon-valley-to-end-banking-as-we-know-it
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tomohawk
This sounds terrifying. I've been in situations where there was no
electricity, let alone internet or phone. Think, after a hurricane. Being able
to exchange cash for services or goods was super important to preserve life
and health. The last thing I'd want to hear is, "we'll get power in a week or
two - until then just wait for FEMA".

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pfranz
It's been over a decade ago, but I've been without power for about a week
after a natural disaster. Most places won't open if they don't have power
(just because I didn't have power, didn't mean others were without). Not
having gasoline and reliable food sources seemed to be the bigger issue. With
gas there were long lines, rationing, people still were paying with credit
cards. POTs was probably in better shape back then. Cell service was spotty.

From my time working in food service, managing cash has its own infrastructure
issues. Secured money bags, blind drops, safes, even a system for counting,
tracking, and inventory of cash and coin. Since day-to-day those things aren't
used as much I'm sure in a natural disaster it would be a mess.

I'm sure cash with stick around, though.

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grizzles
China is so far ahead in consumer financial services. Even panhandlers in
China use Alipay/WeChat pay. Constrast that with the west, where you need to
jump through way more hoops to start taking payment.

The onboarding of non-Chinese users onto these platforms is going to be a huge
trend in the next decade.

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jsmith99
I see plenty of buskers and homeless sellers of The Big Issue accepting
contactless here in London, although still a minority.

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JohnFen
I see them in the US as well, although there's no way I'd ever use a card to
give to a panhandler or busker. I'm barely OK with using a card with
established retailers.

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grizzles
That's the whole point. They use QR codes or a namespace.

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jdashg
Unsurprising that China would want people to use something so easily
trackable!

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JackRabbitSlim
Yep. Every bit as easy to track as cash.

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Hnrobert42
I don’t understand your comment. The article explains that the blockchain will
be managed only by the Chinese central bank or its proxies. Thus, it will be
far easier to track than cash.

Are you disputing that assertion about the proposed Chinese cryptocurrency?

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known
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