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China Is On Track To Fully Phase Out Cash (vice.com)
An anonymous reader shares an excerpt from a report via Motherboard: Experts believe it won't be long before China, the first country to introduce paper money, becomes the first to go totally cashless. In a poky sex toy shop in Sanlitun shopping district in central Beijing, a placard with a QR code is strategically placed next to a pink, vein-knobbled dildo called the Super Emperor, and a clitoral pump. Just scan your phone, and walk out with your purchase. The cigarette vendor across the street accepts smartphone payments too. A fast-moving queue of customers purchase smokes by scanning their phones over a tatty cardboard QR code. All the bars in Sanlitun, equal parts seedy and swish, still take cash, but have likewise implemented cashless pay, largely through the ubiquitous WeChat and Alipay app, as primary payment platforms. Beijing taxi drivers accept smartphone payments too. No one in the area uses physical money, for sex toys or otherwise. Largely due to China's vibrant fintech landscape, the recent rise of phone payments in the country has shunted cash onto the endangered list, perhaps somewhere alongside the pangolin. Many experts believe it won't be long before China, the first country to introduce paper money, also becomes the first to phase it out to become fully cashless. But when will this moment come?
Also known as "China wants us to believe that China Is On Track To Fully Phase Out Cash".
I've toured rural China with my Wife's family. Most folks outside the big cities only have power during the day, unless they are lucky and own a generator.
My UID is prime and so is this number: 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0.
Phasing out cash is a great tool for every totalitarian system. Because then, you can only pay for something if you actually are allowed to by the government. Also, it allows for total big brother like surveillance.
The new tools that technology gives us allow for real strict totalitarian regimes, and it seems that China is seizing the opportunity.
Hard currency gives a person SOME freedom over goods and services they purchase. Make all transactions digital, no matter what, and the banks and governments can control what you buy, how much of it or denies it. Once it goes digital, the government can change a stupid law, tying anything to "healthcare". Sorry Bob...you last health check shows you to be 25 pounds over what WE SAY you should weigh...you can't buy that burger and fries, but we will let you buy a tofu salad and a glass of water (at double the price). Sorry Jill...according to our records, you have 2 accidents within the past year, both in SUV's, plus, you are spending way too much on fuel. You can't buy this new SUV, but, we have authorized purchase of a bicycle, and, your loan has been approved, but not for that house in the country. We think it would be best, if you have a smaller cramped apartment, near your job, so you can bicycle to work. This will also cut your carbon footprint, and help you exercise. Laugh now, but don't say it won't happen.
The author is hung up on sex toys - and possibly cigarettes.
#DeleteChrome
The people will immediately need to replace cash with some other token based system which will effectively become cash. It is not in the public's interest to phase out cash, it is about government control. How do you give your child pocket money? Tip to a beggar? Etc. etc. There are millions of situations where cash is best and a cashless society is not better in any way unless you are amongst the super rich or elite and making such decisions.
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
Phasing out cash is a great tool for every totalitarian system.
China is not totalitarian. They are authoritarian. There is a difference.
As long as they don't challenge authority, Chinese people actually have greater freedom to go about their lives than Americans do: Americans are four times more likely to be arrested and incarcerated by their government.
I imagine a small proportion of black slaves in America were arrested and incarcerated, as well. That's hardly the only measure of freedom, however.
"So long as you freely allow authoritarians to dictate what you can and can't do, without resisting or protesting" is a pretty big exception to freedom.
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
for the parasitic middlemen, sorry, payment platforms. I am really too stupid to get why people are willing to be dependent of a third party (who takes its percentage) in their payments in cases when banks aren't necessary to be involved. But, of course, smartphones are so cool, let's use them for everything.
In Europe interchange is more like 0,2 - 0,3% per transaction, which means 2-3 EUR per every thousand EUR spent - acceptable for all but the poorest. China has limits on interchange at 0,35 - 0,45%. Its only the US that commonly has fees about 5-10 times higher...
link about limits in China:
http://www.paymentlawadvisor.c...
Phasing out cash is a great tool to get alternative barter systems going. Human nature evolves around restrictions like a non-anonymous payment system.
In prison, for example, and during wartime, too, are packs of cigarettes a fine means of payment. Tobacco doesn't quickly go bad, you can divide a pack easily into smaller parts in case of smaller transactions and the barter even comes with a box to hold the small cash amounts together. The box makes it easy to count. And it's a commonality in prison. Thus, great as exchange of value when selling and buying contraband.
In total wartime, same thing. If cash leaves, other barter systems replace it. Immediately.
If digital currency replaces anonymous cash, and the digital currency is not guaranteed to be anonymous (if criminals can't use it); it'll get replaced. Immediately. I expect there to be alternative barter systems in China already. They will grow in popularity the moment it's no longer possible to pay and sell anonymously with the national currencies of China.
"Hi, yeah. I dropped my phone and it smashed, I need to buy a new one."
"Okay, no problem! Just swipe your phone here to pay for the new phone!"
"But my phone is destroyed ..."
"Sucks to be you, you're OUT of the game forever!"
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-