CreditCards

Watching anyone who (over)uses credit cards (especially family) is painful. Garbled

Usury.  Lots of it.  Anyone who uses them in a fashion other than 'pay off the full balance every month' deserves to be... well, they almost deserve what the credit companies will do to them, shall we say?  --Vitenka

I'd like to think that as well, but people are, in general, stupid and I can't help thinking there should be some protection to stop you from spending your life in debt...  All those adverts for "consolidating your loans" into one "easy to pay" package which, incidentally, you will be paying for the rest of your life (and then pass on to your kids) terrify me. --Kazuhiko

Pass onto your kids?  I understand that debts count against the value of anything else you were going to pass on - but I'm pretty sure that no one can be forced to inherit a net debt.  --Vitenka (But yes, along with car insurance and medical lawyers, these adverts at least - if not the services themselves - should be heavily disparaged.  --Vitenka

Single universal world currency?  Someone else handles all of the faff for you - and product guarantees and so forth all collected in one place - and you have a (small) choice of providers?  --Vitenka

Heh.  Interesting EditConflict.  Here's what I wrote: While I agree about the pain of people overspending, I can't help thinking that's more a consequence of banks allowing people to spend money they don't have.  I think an Internet-capable means of spending money is kinda important in today's world, and I do like the convenience of these (admittedly pretty evil) strips of plastic.  --AlexChurchill

Agreed on convenience absolutely (as someone about to head off across ThePond for a couple of weeks I wouldn't go without one).  What scares me is a letter one morning saying "Lucky you!  We've just upped your limit for no apparent reason so you can now spend more than you will earn in total in the next 5 months"... *shudder* --Kazuhiko

Yeah, going across ThePond was why I got one. -- Senji

Although I found that my CoOperativeBank? Visa Delta "debit card", which normally let me use it as a Visa (for some commission), didn't count as a "credit card" for the purposes of an American hotel requiring a credit card :(

This may have been a case of the person involved not knowing what they were looking at.  (American DebitCard?s are quite a different thing). -- Senji

Well, no, they saw the "Visa" logo on it and tried to swipe it, several times, and then typed in the number.  Their system refused to accept it as a "credit card".  I have heard of a few people having similar experiences with "debit cards" (Delta or Switch).

Oh now, that's just annoying.  We really should separate identification / certificate of ability to pay and the actual payment means.  --Vitenka

*blink* Umm...  Doesn't that thought somewhat clash with your comments on National ID Cards on PrivacyMatters?  You want people to have ID cards with credit ratings stored on them? o_O --Kazuhiko

No - I want people to be able to carry small bits of paper which are a promise of the ability to transfer a certain value.  Then they could transfer those scrips in exchange for goods and services.  Hey!  I just invented peanuts!  --Vitenka  (To clarify, peanuts do not inform the trader of the identity of the purchaser, only that the purchaser has some peanuts)

They could have the Queen's head on them maybe?

Sure, let's combine it with a quick political revolution too ;)  --Vitenka

Seriously though - the use of 'do you have a credit card' has become a defacto identity card online - and it is incredibly ill-suited to it in ways that endanger the user and the acceptor.  I'd also say that companies that don't take Delta and Switch are almost as stupid as the ones that only take American Express.  --Vitenka

The cost of taking Switch (and probably Delta) for low-levels of Switch transactions is prohibitive (large fixed costs), whereas CreditCards and Amex? are low fixed-cost, high per-transaction cost. -- Senji

For a hotel bill, the costs are much the same, though.  --Vitenka (Sure, you don't accept switch for less than a tenner; but you don't accept credit card or cheque for that either)

Oh, agreed, hotels should be able to afford the costs of Switch, small mail-order companies and the like probably can't. -- Senji