9 hours ago
> But the more serious risk, Mr Lipsky notes, is that countries’ pursuit of payments sovereignty may one day mean various regional systems become incompatible. That would increase financial fraud and sanctions evasion.
A risk from the US point of view, but for many states, this is quite the opposite - these developments are in large part aimed at removing the risk of US financial abuse in the form of unilateral sanctions.
11 hours ago
The article doesn’t mention it, but related is the global share of the US dollar as the reserve currency has been on a steady decline. Between that and the new payment structures discussed in this article we are rapidly approaching an era without American control on global financial systems. Which is a significant lever for soft power and non-military interventions
11 hours ago
Yeah, Americans will have to feel the same way as everyone else, basically not having access to unlimited credit. Have fun with it.
At least the libs were owned though :)
5 hours ago
There is always credit through printing money which all the world is soon going to have a reckoning over
10 hours ago
Truly.
"Make the libtards cry"
Was enough of a hate monger campaign promise, to put the most blatantly corrupt president in US history, in office.
The descent of the US population into abject idiocy has been striking.
10 hours ago
Smartphones in dumb pockets made it all possible.
4 hours ago
Smartphones did nothing. The "people" who manipulated the reality within them did.
It's no surprise that conservative billionaires went on a massive left-leaning media buying spree... Washington Post, Twitter, CNN, etc etc etc.
2 hours ago
No, we the tech industry are key enablers. For the past two decades, we were obsessed with refining the methods of mass-surveillance and manipulation. We've brought about tremendous harm to society and it's time to start taking accountability.
10 hours ago
I think it almost doesn't matter what pockets 8-/
The routinely noted decline in US "educational achievement" correlates most closely, with the propagation in the school aged population, of "smartphones" and the algorithmic websites at which they're aimed.
I've been saying lately: Apple caused the collapse of US educational outcomes.
4 hours ago
The Ukraine war accelerated this as US sanctioned Russian assets. Blowing up this system seems like a deliberate decision in part of US and not some accident. Gold prices have been going up as folks are hedging the dollar risk and it is expected to continue.
11 hours ago
Not sure how visible by the people in the US but a lot of companies and governments in Europe are working on many projects to decouple from the American companies for the critical infrastructure.
Visa and Mastercard were mentioned in the article but I would also add PayPal into the list.
2 hours ago
"The cost of fragmented (sovereign) systems is ... sanctions evasion"
My man, that is the prize. Article is clearly written for US government elite to exhort them to bully other countries into staying in the system.
12 hours ago
9 hours ago
Does someone know how cross-border payments work, and why it would be complicated for countries to link up their sovereign systems? The article gives the example of Brazil and India, suggests there might be a “liquidity” bottleneck, but omits the details.
8 hours ago
Start here:
11 hours ago
Was always gonna happen, but recent US unreliability has definitely accelerated it
8 hours ago
This was a deliberate part of the plan. I’m not sure what strategic value they thought they’d get from it but it’s in there.
10 hours ago
The claims by VISA and Mastercard, that they are committed to nternational markets, adds up to a big 0.
If the US government issues sanctions, they will comply.
Countries outside the US are wise to pursue other infrastructure.
The big surprise is that this problem has been ignored for so long.
Of course, here in the US, we will not be alllowed a free instant payment system, because giving 3% of gross sales away to an absentee business, is patriotism 8-/
4 hours ago
For the last 20 or so years now, Patriotism has been hijacked to mean: "beneficial to an oligarch".
It's been a long time since patriotism didnt mean either racist conservative, or capitalist bully.
11 hours ago
I suppose if one makes this prediction every year, he or she is bound to be right eventually.
11 hours ago
How weird, strange ?