I've been adding most of the videos that I watch to the FediverseTV playlist, I think a lot about how Google has a rich history of the videos that I watch Yet, often people I know have never heard of any of it.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I think this is such an important problem to think about. Payment networks are networks of trust. Since IRL we don't experience "transaction fees" it easy to not understand why such fees are so hard to avoid when moving online.
I don't want to discourage you because it's upsetting how hard it is to extricate oneself from all of the big players in payments.
@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
To get philosophical: making currency is a primary function of a state. States have chosen to allow private entities to take this role in digital spaces, an abdication of state power. (The political reasons how and why this has happened are interesting.)
I once thought a "stateless currency" was possible. I now think that was very naive.
The currency *is* the state.
When the currency fails? so to the government.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I think this is such an important problem to think about. Payment networks are networks of trust. Since IRL we don't experience "transaction fees" it easy to not understand why such fees are so hard to avoid when moving online.
I don't want to discourage you because it's upsetting how hard it is to extricate oneself from all of the big players in payments.
@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I totally agree, getting away from the big players is important.
In Australia we can easily pay other people with their phone number.
In the US it is hard - that is why Paypal and others came to be.
In the UK and EU, it is really simple, and free to do transfers.I imagine getting a community bank or building society involved to help with the actual money part - eventually that might solve multiple problems.
It would mean creators have to open an account -
@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
To get philosophical: making currency is a primary function of a state. States have chosen to allow private entities to take this role in digital spaces, an abdication of state power. (The political reasons how and why this has happened are interesting.)
I once thought a "stateless currency" was possible. I now think that was very naive.
The currency *is* the state.
When the currency fails? so to the government.
There is a kind of person who seeks to be the intermediary in all transactions: they fantasize that they should get a little tax on everything.
They seek transaction fees as others seek rents.
Those innocents who want "free and open exchanges" never see them coming. We need to learn to be more suspicious, avaricious or evil IDK.
"you just want to make money without even doing anything!" I cry with horror
They think: "yes, you clueless idiot that's the whole POINT"
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@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I totally agree, getting away from the big players is important.
In Australia we can easily pay other people with their phone number.
In the US it is hard - that is why Paypal and others came to be.
In the UK and EU, it is really simple, and free to do transfers.I imagine getting a community bank or building society involved to help with the actual money part - eventually that might solve multiple problems.
It would mean creators have to open an account@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I think working with credit unions is a good idea. There has been growth in that area and there is room for more growth.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
To get philosophical: making currency is a primary function of a state. States have chosen to allow private entities to take this role in digital spaces, an abdication of state power. (The political reasons how and why this has happened are interesting.)
I once thought a "stateless currency" was possible. I now think that was very naive.
The currency *is* the state.
When the currency fails? so to the government.
@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay that is getting into a crypto discussion... which I think is best avoided.
Philosophy is good though... all money is debt... money is not real at all, but a figment of our imagination
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There is a kind of person who seeks to be the intermediary in all transactions: they fantasize that they should get a little tax on everything.
They seek transaction fees as others seek rents.
Those innocents who want "free and open exchanges" never see them coming. We need to learn to be more suspicious, avaricious or evil IDK.
"you just want to make money without even doing anything!" I cry with horror
They think: "yes, you clueless idiot that's the whole POINT"
Anyway that is why I'm mailing $20 bills which I iron first so they are very smooth and flat to some lady who makes ant sculptures out of bottle caps.
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There is a kind of person who seeks to be the intermediary in all transactions: they fantasize that they should get a little tax on everything.
They seek transaction fees as others seek rents.
Those innocents who want "free and open exchanges" never see them coming. We need to learn to be more suspicious, avaricious or evil IDK.
"you just want to make money without even doing anything!" I cry with horror
They think: "yes, you clueless idiot that's the whole POINT"
@futurebird I totally agree.
I was a property developer and have worked in finance. I know how these people think (and I have to stop myself sometimes)
But Bank of Dave - he is doing it for the people. I want to see that happen too.
No rent seeking, just rewarding people.
Ideally a network of trusted servers, maybe run by banks, or local councils or local clubs/ charities with a treasurer that oversees the distributions, which are mostly automated.
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There is a kind of person who seeks to be the intermediary in all transactions: they fantasize that they should get a little tax on everything.
They seek transaction fees as others seek rents.
Those innocents who want "free and open exchanges" never see them coming. We need to learn to be more suspicious, avaricious or evil IDK.
"you just want to make money without even doing anything!" I cry with horror
They think: "yes, you clueless idiot that's the whole POINT"
@futurebird @craiglambie42 part of the problem is that US banking is primitive, which creates a local market opportunity for anyone smoothing those bumps. It's not clear to me that the rest-of-the-world needs such a thing. One useful function that banks provide, and that costs money to implement, is some amount of fraud detection/correction; sooner or later someone will use a payment system for fraud and/or crime.
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@futurebird @craiglambie42 part of the problem is that US banking is primitive, which creates a local market opportunity for anyone smoothing those bumps. It's not clear to me that the rest-of-the-world needs such a thing. One useful function that banks provide, and that costs money to implement, is some amount of fraud detection/correction; sooner or later someone will use a payment system for fraud and/or crime.
What services are US banks lacking that one finds abroad?
I often interact with people who don't have bank accounts. A bank can make a lot of sense if you have a salaried job with direct deposit and a mortgage. Generally with one or the other the bank will provide a lot of services for free.
If you don't have such a tie to the bank they can be as predatory as payday lenders which is why people avoid them and go to the payday lenders who are, at least predictable.
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What services are US banks lacking that one finds abroad?
I often interact with people who don't have bank accounts. A bank can make a lot of sense if you have a salaried job with direct deposit and a mortgage. Generally with one or the other the bank will provide a lot of services for free.
If you don't have such a tie to the bank they can be as predatory as payday lenders which is why people avoid them and go to the payday lenders who are, at least predictable.
@futurebird @craiglambie42 transfer of funds outside the US is much smoother, whereas here in the US wire transfers between people are a BFD that seems to require paperwork. Checks are not a thing in Europe, for example. I.e., the missing services, are speed, and flexibility. US banks are better at profits, however.
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What services are US banks lacking that one finds abroad?
I often interact with people who don't have bank accounts. A bank can make a lot of sense if you have a salaried job with direct deposit and a mortgage. Generally with one or the other the bank will provide a lot of services for free.
If you don't have such a tie to the bank they can be as predatory as payday lenders which is why people avoid them and go to the payday lenders who are, at least predictable.
@futurebird @dr2chase @craiglambie42 The Standing Order is one service I've missed. Everything here seems to be Direct Debit instead.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I think working with credit unions is a good idea. There has been growth in that area and there is room for more growth.
@futurebird @craiglambie42 @fedipay
Brazil solved their unbanked problem. Somalia's banking runs on flip phones. FinTech solutions are encouraged and entirely doable! No matter what barrier you find keep tinkering, a FediPay solution must exist.
Link to Brazil's.
Pix (payment system) - Wikipedia https://share.google/vsJcX6Fk9kwSZ1Ij5
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@futurebird @craiglambie42 transfer of funds outside the US is much smoother, whereas here in the US wire transfers between people are a BFD that seems to require paperwork. Checks are not a thing in Europe, for example. I.e., the missing services, are speed, and flexibility. US banks are better at profits, however.
@dr2chase @futurebird @craiglambie42 My Credit Union actually gave up when I asked them to send money to a UK account.
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One of the reasons I'm suddenly interested in sharing videos is directly related to AI.
I worry that I might watch a video and not know that it's AI.
A lot of AI is very obvious to me, but that doesn't mean that I can't be fooled. When we look at things together and discuss them we stand a better chance of catching deceit.
This is the invite link to fediTV. You can add videos on youTube by clicking "save" when you are watching them:
INVITE LINK: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTh3hv32NLhrPBgOXrUgwp6BQaC94lt9n&jct=HNo63JsyzJgiqq4wtxlQLw
3/3
@futurebird@sauropods.win Ooh, just joined. Glad to see Ancient Americas included already, it's become one of my favorite Youtube channels.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
To get philosophical: making currency is a primary function of a state. States have chosen to allow private entities to take this role in digital spaces, an abdication of state power. (The political reasons how and why this has happened are interesting.)
I once thought a "stateless currency" was possible. I now think that was very naive.
The currency *is* the state.
When the currency fails? so to the government.
@futurebird @craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay - Yeah, but extending credit to someone is the equivalent of creating currency. So governments have outsourced that for centuries
The novelty is deciding not to regulate crypto in any way. Of course, they're applying that philosophy to old school finance too, so.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
Options:
*use paypal and my $20 donation ends up being about $14 by the time the fees are done on all sides.
* mail cash and risk it all getting stolen OR they get the whole $20 bucks they can spend right away.The downside is I can only do this with people who trust me with their address. But that's also an upside in a way.
Mailing cash was good enough for my mom when she was worried about me LOL. Why not?
@futurebird @craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I heard somewhere that Pay-as-you-go phone companies allowed anyone in the world to top up payments, and also allowed the owner to withdraw some of their pay-as-you-go balance,
and this turned in to a major way to send funds to relatives in Vietnam and India* Was this ever true
* Is it still a thing
* would it be helpful in this situation? -
I promise if you watch a lot of youTube this is dead simple and easy.
If you don't watch a lot of youTube? Honestly good for you. But what do you watch?
If you watch videos most of the time it's:
I detest YT and hope more will switch to the likes of PeerTube soon @futurebird
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@futurebird @craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I heard somewhere that Pay-as-you-go phone companies allowed anyone in the world to top up payments, and also allowed the owner to withdraw some of their pay-as-you-go balance,
and this turned in to a major way to send funds to relatives in Vietnam and India* Was this ever true
* Is it still a thing
* would it be helpful in this situation?@benh @futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay very common outside of the USA
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What services are US banks lacking that one finds abroad?
I often interact with people who don't have bank accounts. A bank can make a lot of sense if you have a salaried job with direct deposit and a mortgage. Generally with one or the other the bank will provide a lot of services for free.
If you don't have such a tie to the bank they can be as predatory as payday lenders which is why people avoid them and go to the payday lenders who are, at least predictable.
@futurebird @dr2chase @craiglambie42
I think that's where banking differs.
A bank account in Europe is available for about 5€ a month, and all you need is a permanent address. This will give you access to online banking and an IBAN to send/receive money internationally within Europe without an extra fee (SEPA).
In practice, a lot of shops require a credit card. That's like an extra 3€ a month, and 1.2% per transfer.
If you have a steady income, the bank normaly waives some of the cost.
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@futurebird @dr2chase @craiglambie42
I think that's where banking differs.
A bank account in Europe is available for about 5€ a month, and all you need is a permanent address. This will give you access to online banking and an IBAN to send/receive money internationally within Europe without an extra fee (SEPA).
In practice, a lot of shops require a credit card. That's like an extra 3€ a month, and 1.2% per transfer.
If you have a steady income, the bank normaly waives some of the cost.
@futurebird @dr2chase @craiglambie42
For more information on #SEPA:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Euro_Payments_AreaThere are currently plans to actually create a "digital €" system, that would allow EU citizens to have a bank account at the European Central Bank. And transfer money between such accounts for free.
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/features/html/index.en.htmlI think this would go a great way to wrestle back control from banks and their rent seeking. (With the additional bonus of being "real money", and not just "book money".)
