Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

In Canada, a Government-Backed Electronic Currency

Posted by timothy on from the taxes-built-in-to-this-one dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Secure chips have already made it into our credit and debit cards. Next up, they could replace pocket change.The Royal Canadian Mint has been pushing forward with its "MintChip" prototype, a digital cash replacement aimed at transactions under $10, since it surfaced a year ago. The Crown corporation is factoring in developer feedback, hiring a product manager and consulting with the financial sector."

8 of 248 comments (clear)

  1. Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? by h4rr4r · · Score: 4, Insightful

    My credit card works fine on transactions below $10.

    Where exactly is the need for this?

    1. Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? by CastrTroy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Handling cash has a non-zero cost of doing business as well. There's all sorts of ways cash can go missing be it theft by employees or outsiders, or simply having it misplaced. There's bank deposit fees to actually get the money into the bank. There's the problems with ensuring you always have enough change on hand for a purchase. There's the risk of accepting counterfeit bills. There's employee time lost from counting the money to ensure the money in the till matches the amount on the receipts.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    2. Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      My credit card works fine on transactions below $10.

      Where exactly is the need for this?

      1. Credit cards do not do peer-to-peer payments. If my neighbor's kid mows my lawn, I cannot transfer $5 from my CC to his. If my daughter sets up a lemonade stand, she cannot accept CC payments.

      2. Credit cards do not do anonymous transactions. Plenty (most?) people want to occasionally conduct transactions where neither the buyer nor seller disclose their identity.

      3. Transaction fees. Visa and Mastercard charge high fees, and operate a cartel that keeps out competitors.

      4. No assurance of payment. Even if the transaction is approved, the seller can still be subjected to a chargeback, and has no assurance of actually receiving the money.

    3. Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? by sinij · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because costs are passed down to you.

    4. Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not you maybe, but most customers would want their merchants to stay in business. Businesses don't want people like you as a customer.

    5. Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? by barc0001 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      " If I can give him $100 and take $1 back vs giving him $100 and $0 back I know which I will select."

      Then don't be surprised that the next time you go to the store you're paying $102 for the same amount of goods.... Merchants are there to make money, not run a charity. If the credit card fees and service fees gouge their margin, they'll get it back by passing it all along to us.

    6. Re:Do Canadian credit cards for sub $10? by Tough+Love · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you want cash, you have to give me a discount greater than my card gives me. I am not here to make your store profitable.

      What an ass. Did you ever think for a moment that cutting out the retail bank as middleman could make life better for you, the merchant and society in general?

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  2. Re:mint shit by h4rr4r · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I am so sure the BitCoin folks have no incentive or ideological basis that might taint their view of a workable solution other than their own.