Privacy

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Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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If and how much longer until they take cash and browser-based banking from us? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by monovergent@lemmy.ml to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I've been mindful of the ways companies can track my spending habits, and so have been increasingly keen on using cash and avoiding mobile banking/payment apps like the plague. I realize that this varies by country and might be a bit far out, but the thought does linger in the back of my mind. If current trends continue, how much longer until they take cash and browser-based banking from us? Or will there be a reason those options should continue to exist (and be easily usable) far into the future? And perhaps:

What else can I, as an individual, do about this?
Is there a tendency for larger banks or smaller credit unions to push towards mobile-only online banking?
What does it look like in countries where cashless and mobile payments are the norm?

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[–] evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Bartering is a replacement for currency. There is no anthropological evidence of bartering existing before the introduction of currency. You would think somewhere there would be, but there's not.

[–] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 0 points 5 days ago (1 children)

True. But gift economies aren't really something that can just be implemented by individuals living in a modern state. That requires an entire society to be organized around it. Barter can.

[–] evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

I would argue that it is currently a big part of the current economy if you know where to look. Lots of labor works via the principles of a gift economy.

E.g., you help your friend move to a new house, they help you redo your deck, you babysit your brother's kid, they cook you dinner, etc.

The problem with bartering is that it doesn't handle 3+ way trades (i.e., person A needs something from person B who needs something from person C, who needs something from person A), and it doesn't usually handle asynchronous trades.

In gift-based systems, people can literally retire based off the goodwill that they've cultivated. There are many old people who serve their families/communities for years who then get taken care of when they need it.