Re: Digicash will not fly (not)

> >While Chaum is a brilliant cryptographer, he is an incompetent businessman
> >He has demonstrated this in numerous ways.
> >The latest being "Cash" where the bank skims off 4% to 10% every time.
> >No one is going to use digicash under these kinds of terms and 
> >conditions.

> Doesn't just about everyone do precisely this when they pay sales tax?
> Every time a buck arrives or departs a hand one pays a tax yet the
> system (you and I)continues accepting these terms albeit painfully.

Theoretically, when I pay sales tax I get something in return (better
roads, nicer schools, improved NSA wiretaping, and other government
services.)  With digicash, you're paying for the use of the money
itself.

What sort of charges do Visa/Mastercard impose upon merchants?  I
thought it was 3%; if so, I would suspect that this is the level of
"off-the-top" skim that the market will sustain, and DigiCash should
probably use a similar rate.

-- 
Mike Gebis  gebis@ecn.purdue.edu  Corporate Operating Systems Still Suck

>What sort of charges do Visa/Mastercard impose upon merchants?  I
>thought it was 3%; if so, I would suspect that this is the level of
>"off-the-top" skim that the market will sustain, and DigiCash should
>probably use a similar rate.

Not quite 3% in that sense. The rate is varfiable 35 ce3nts plus 3%
being typical. The essential point is that this is insurance on the
deal. If the buyre does not pay their bill the money is still paid
to the merchant. If the goods are faulty the buyer may have recourse
against the card co (UK consumer credit act).

The charging structure of Digicash should be different however. Digicash
is like Mondex, it effectively gives the operator a signorage rights
which can be highly profitable in themselves. The cash in the Digicash 
scheme is earning interest for Mark Twain Bank.


Comment heard at the firm "It's time to make another backup of the 
Internet". :-) 


	Phill