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Visa/Mastercard alternatives? (lemm.ee)

submitted 3 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Ever thought about how strange it is that this duopoly handles such a large volume of transactions?

What are we doing to combat this?

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

My 2 cents

I don't think it is strange, I think a payment system is a natural monopoly of sorts. The customer experience is generally improved if we all agree on one system. I don't think you'd want a dozen providers connecting your electricity with wires all over the road, and I don't think we want dozens of payment systems with patchwork compatibility.

2-3 systems feels about right, for redundancy if there are technical issues on one, but limiting how many cards we use.

It's a remarkable achievement of our time that we can carry a single piece of plastic almost anywhere in the world and be connected to a vast payment system in any currency, and it's incredibly reliable.

But given it's a natural monopoly, it definitely needs regulation of pricing, and it also needs viable plans if shit hits the fan and international cooperation isn't on the menu anymore.