Snippings

xxx

One of the underrated achievements of the modern world has been to develop ways to extend the circle of trust by depersonalising it.

From Tim Harford — Article — The meaning of trust in the age of Airbnb

xxx

snippet

Starting this summer, the government will test a system in which foreign tourists will be able to verify their identities and buy things at stores using only their fingerprints.

The government hopes to increase the number of foreign tourists by using the system to prevent crime and relieve users from the necessity of carrying cash or credit cards. It aims to realize the system by the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The experiment will have inbound tourists register their fingerprints and other data, such as credit card information, at airports and elsewhere.

Tourists would then be able to conduct tax exemption procedures and make purchases after verifying their identities by placing two fingers on special devices installed at stores.

The Inns and Hotels Law requires foreign tourists to show their passports when they check into ryokan inns or hotels.

[From Fingerprints to be tested as ‘currency’ – The Japan News]

snippet

xxx

“When property rights are transferred to very poor people, preserving legal tenure will likely entail onerous expenses in the form of attorney and public notary fees, and courts costs. In addition, these charges are higher in relative terms in very unequal societies where the gap between the poor and the relatively well-off is wider.”

From How useful is it to formalize land titles? – Marginal REVOLUTION

xxx

xxx

According to research from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and KPMG, the social costs of this heavy reliance on cash and cheques is around 0.5% of GDP, or S$2 billion a year.

From Singapore makes cashless payments push

xxx

xxx

Kenyans are borrowing between 25 and 30 million daily through the mobile-based KCB-Mpesa credit line, Safaricom and Kenya Commercial Bank have said.

The two firms, which jointly operate the savings and micro-credit platform, said the total loans advanced so far since the launch of the service in March 2015 was Sh10.3 billion.

Total savings currently held in the 6.4 million KCB-M-Pesa accounts have reached Sh286.1 million.

From KCB-MPesa loans hit over Sh25 million daily | The Star, Kenya

xxx

xxx

Just because someone tells you something with a lot of confidence and detail and emotion, it doesn’t mean it actually happened.

From What Experts Wish You Knew about False Memories – Scientific American Blog Network

xxx

xxx

It was almost inevitable that taking away two key adjustment mechanisms, the interest and exchange rates, without putting anything else in their place, would make macro adjustment difficult.

From A split euro is the solution for Europe’s single currency – FT.com

xxx

xxx

It is important that there can be a smooth transition out of the euro, with an amicable divorce, possibly moving to a “flexible-euro” system, with say a strong Northern Euro and softer southern euro

From A split euro is the solution for Europe’s single currency – FT.com

Who am I to argue with a Nobel prize-winning economist and former chief economist of the World Bank? So let’s take it as read that he right about this. I say let’s do: create the Northern Euro (the Anglo) and the Southern Euro (the Latino) as hard e-currencies. There’s no need to ever bother minting coins or printing banknotes.

But one thing that immediately springs to mind is: why stop there? Stieglitz talks about the digital economy enabled by modern technology, about “electronic trade tokens”. 

xxx

Announced today, a group of international bitcoin companies have signed a letter of intent to form a federation that would find them supporting and contributing to the development of a smart contracts platform that would utilize the bitcoin blockchain.

Unveiled today, the RSK Federation is built around the RSK smart contract network created by Buenos Aires-based startup Rootstock.

From Bitcoin Smart Contract ‘Federation’ to Launch With 25 Startups – CoinDesk

xxx

xxx

Commissioner Chris Giancarlo of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said he doesn’t personally have a view on the open or closed evolution of blockchain. As a regulating body, the CFTC would seek to be a participant on the blockchain with a node that would allow it to see all transactions whether they’re closed or open.

From Banks’ Privacy Concerns Shaping Blockchain Vendors’ Strategies | American Banker

xxx

xxx

The anonymity problem can in part be solved by retaining smaller notes and coins; enough for punters to keep buying porn, weed and birthday presents, but not so much as to buy property. The point about financial exclusion is trickier. In a near-cashless world vulnerable groups, such as the poor, the elderly and migrants, could become further marginalised, and those who are especially cash-dependent for income, such as churches, charities and the homeless, could expect to see a drop in their incomes.

From The Economist explains: Why some economists want to get rid of cash | The Economist

xxx