Slashdot Mirror
North Korea's High-Tech Counterfeit $100 Bills
ESRB writes "North Korea is apparently able to produce high-quality counterfeits of U.S. dollars — specifically $100 and $50 bills. It's suspected that they possess similar printing technologies as the U.S. and buy ink from the same Swedish firm. 'Since the superdollars were first detected about a decade ago, the regime has been pocketing an estimated $15 to $25 million a year from them. (Other estimates are much higher — up to several hundred million dollars' worth.)' The article also advocates a move to all-digital payment/transfers by pointing out both forms are only representations of value and noting it would cripple criminal operations such as drug cartels, human traffickers, and so forth."
Retailers feel, and rightly so I would estimate, that the cost of not accepting credit cards is too high.
.... access to the money people want to give us. Funny how Visa costs more.
I agree with you on this point. Retailers do feel that way.
If it really was sucking retailers dry like that, wouldn't they just choose not to accept the card?
That is like the argument that if taxes are too high, then nobody will open a business, with the end result being that 100% of businesses would close. In the real world, businesses accept the federal/state/local tax, and accept the visa tax.
Consider this though- My company (retail sales) pays more money to Visa in card fees than we pay to the government in taxes. The government provides roads, education for employees, police & fire emergency responses, laws and just general positive effects by not having anarchy. Visa provides