China’s digital currency adds support for AliPay – the Alibaba payment app with over 700 million users Alibaba’s controversial financial services arm, the Ant Group, has been welcomed into trials of China’s digital currency. China’s state-controlled media on Monday reported that the Alipay app has added a feature allowing transactions in the Digital Yuan. Alipay has over 700 million monthly active users in China alone. State- …
Does it inflate like other crypto? i.e. you are supposed to put assets into a worthless token to give it value, as miners are playing the "crypto lottery" to dilute your assets with free money to them? Their wins are really turning your assets into diluted assets. But hey, it will keep going up as long as more suckers can be found than withdrawer+miners.... not like all the other things before it, from junk bonds to tulips. Those were junk but crypto is totally different!
If it is a mined crypto, I'm not interested, that's just worthless junk for suckers. 200 junk assets and counting, an endless churn of bogus assets to lure suckers, "Buy our Bitcoin" then becomes "buy Etherium" becomes "buy Dogecoin", buy "Shitycoin", buy "madeupium", its the new winner!
https://coinmarketcap.com/all/views/all/
But then again, a digital Yuan backed by the actual Yuan, is a different story.
@"China wants the Digital Yuan to disrupt existing cross-border payment systems and maybe even the US Dollar’s role as the world’s default currency. Some argue that China is moving fast to establish a digital currency plus a supporting ecosystem, so will therefore have first mover advantage and attract those who wish to find new ways to move money around the world without involving the ticket-clippers in the payments system."
Disrupt? IMHO they see it as an opportunity.
What do you want with a transacted currency? Instant, free reliable transfers. Nothing else. If you hold assets in that currency, you expect it will only inflate according to growth of that country so it holds its value too.
If you can deliver me that, I'll hold an account in that currency and pay bills using that account.
I live in Thailand mostly, I am use to going tap tap tap and instant transfer, no random shit from banks. The money arrives, the bill is paid, you can rely on it. I never give it a thought that the transfer won't go through. It creates all manner of trade opportunities simply because it works. I know that I can pay any bill here instantly and reliably without jumping through hoops. They know that they can accept bank transfers instantly and reliably from me. I can be on the phone, and the other person instantly gets the money and confirmation. But that only works inside Thailand, and via Promptpay to Singapore, other things like Bahtnet are insanely expensive (e.g. > 5% Thailand to Vietnam). It does not scale Asia wide.
There isn't an ASEAN wide, or ASIA wide transfer system. The nearest I've seen is the Chinese paying their bills via Alipay which is practically everywhere and apparently dirt cheap to Chinese people, and UnionPay, the ATM network that is supported everywhere, reliable and dirt cheap commissions, again Chinese. Works across the world, I usually travel with my UnionPay card whereas I'd once travel with a credit card.
I want what I have in Thailand, everywhere in the world, or at least in Asia. Instead, cheap reliable transfers underpinned by a real currency.
What about Euro?
I also deal with Europe, my god the simplest of things in Europe end up complicated just send a few stupid euros across a border! The EU let the OECD inject suspicion into every transaction, they let the bank inject delay and expense into the transfer. Euro is useless as a transaction currency as a result, even within the Euro zone itsel, and IBAN will never become the world payment system..
Visa, Mastercard as world payment system? Overpriced, overcomplicated unreliable only good for small amounts. Google Pay, Apple Pay? Unsupported, more like feature marketing for the handsets than a real transfer system, low value, small amounts.
I betcha the Chinese will deliver a cheap worldwide payment system, because they largely already do it for Chinese people, and their ATM network is solid. If its underpinned by RMB and China lets them leave asset in it, then it will become the defacto holding currency.
Maybe this coin is it, maybe this is Ant just promoting their Alipay. I don't have enough information yet, just I know what I need and what I don't need and can see the huge opportunity that exists there. The Chinese are not known for passing up opportunities.
I'm sorry that you have issues transferring Euros from Thailand.
I live in France. I work in Luxembourg. My main bank account is in Luxembourg. I have an international VISA card, obviously.
When I ask for a professional's intervention at my home, be it plumbing, electricity, delivering wood for the chimney, or remaking the shower, I pay by IBAN transfer.
I've never had any problem with it. I consider it to be secure and convenient. I am not unhappy either with the knowledge that VISA is not going to gouge a transaction fee out of it.
I don't know why Thailand has issues with IBAN transfers, but, as an insider, I feel that you need to look to your banks rather than blame the Euro for your issues.
I have to second that. I ran a tourism rental business and both sent and received hundreds of SEPA transfers. Most go through from one banking day to the next, my PT bank charges 26 cent and my DK bank nothing.
If your EU bank can’t do that get another.
Something not mentioned in the article is that only Chinese residents with a Chinese bank account can use Alipay and Wechat Pay. These methods are the only mode of payment accepted in China by numerous services like ride sharing, contactless public transport payments and fast food.
Any non China resident tourists are severely inconvenienced unless with a tour guide who has an electronic payment method to hand.
We're some way away from any universal Asian payment method, up to now we're just seeing Balkanization.
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