Showing archive for: “Payments & Payment Networks”
The Effect of VAT Withholding Requirements in Latin America
Innovations in payment systems are rapidly transforming the world economy. While Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other decentralized blockchain-based systems tend to garner much of the press (good and bad), centralized peer-to-peer (P2P) payment systems are far more common. (Note that I use the term P2P here in its original sense to mean all peer-to-peer transactions, which ... The Effect of VAT Withholding Requirements in Latin America
The FT Misunderstands the Economics of Credit-Card Markets
In a recent piece for the Financial Times, Brendan Greeley argues that the misnamed Credit Card Competition Act would reduce inflation. In it, Greeley recycles numerous myths about the nature of credit-card markets that have long been rebutted by serious economic research. Both theory and ample evidence from the United States and other countries shows ... The FT Misunderstands the Economics of Credit-Card Markets
The Paradoxical Perils of Mandatory ‘Competition’ in Merchant Routing of Credit-Card Transactions
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) earlier this month introduced legislation that aims to manufacture competition in the routing of credit-card transactions. If enacted, the measure would require that merchants be able to choose from at least two networks when processing most credit-card transactions. While this would result in competition over routing, it would harm other forms ... The Paradoxical Perils of Mandatory ‘Competition’ in Merchant Routing of Credit-Card Transactions
What Do Twitter’s Struggles with CSAM Mean for Section 230 Reform?
Twitter has seen a lot of ups and downs since Elon Musk closed on his acquisition of the company in late October and almost immediately set about his initiatives to “reform” the platform’s operations. One of the stories that has gotten somewhat lost in the ensuing chaos is that, in the short time under Musk, ... What Do Twitter’s Struggles with CSAM Mean for Section 230 Reform?
After the FTX Crash, What’s Next for Crypto?
For many observers, the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX understandably raises questions about the future of the crypto economy, or even of public blockchains as a technology. The topic is high on the agenda of the U.S. Congress this week, with the House Financial Services Committee set for a Dec. 13 hearing with FTX ... After the FTX Crash, What’s Next for Crypto?
Is Pix Really the End of Credit Cards?
In late August, Roberto Campos Neto, the head of Brazil’s central bank, is reported to have said about Pix, the bank’s two-year-old real-time-payments (RTP) system, that it “eliminates the need to have a credit card. I think that credit cards will cease to exist at some point soon.” Wow! Sounds amazing. A new system that ... Is Pix Really the End of Credit Cards?
Pixtopia Is Not Real
Banco Central do Brasil (BCB), Brazil’s central bank, launched a new real-time payment (RTP) system in November 2020 called Pix. Evangelists at the central bank hoped that Pix would offer a low-cost alternative to existing payments systems and would entice some of the country’s tens of millions of unbanked and underbanked adults into the banking ... Pixtopia Is Not Real
Fleites v. MindGeek Contemplates Significant Expansion of Collateral Liability
In Fleites v. MindGeek—currently before the U.S. District Court for the District of Central California, Southern Division—plaintiffs seek to hold MindGeek subsidiary PornHub liable for alleged instances of human trafficking under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA). Writing for the International Center for Law & Economics ... Fleites v. MindGeek Contemplates Significant Expansion of Collateral Liability
Doubling Down on Durbin Disaster: Interchange Fee Caps Shortchange Consumers
The U.S. economy survived the COVID-19 pandemic and associated government-imposed business shutdowns with a variety of innovations that facilitated online shopping, contactless payments, and reduced use and handling of cash, a known vector of disease transmission. While many of these innovations were new, they would have been impossible but for their reliance on an established ... Doubling Down on Durbin Disaster: Interchange Fee Caps Shortchange Consumers
The Klobuchar Bill’s Not-So-Bright Lines for Antitrust Scrutiny
In a recent op-ed, Robert Bork Jr. laments the Biden administration’s drive to jettison the Consumer Welfare Standard that has formed nearly half a century of antitrust jurisprudence. The move can be seen in the near-revolution at the Federal Trade Commission, in the president’s executive order on competition enforcement, and in several of the major ... The Klobuchar Bill’s Not-So-Bright Lines for Antitrust Scrutiny
Antitrust Statutorification
A lot of water has gone under the bridge since my book was published last year. To close this symposium, I thought I would discuss the new phase of antirust statutorification taking place before our eyes. In the United States, Congress is working on five antitrust bills that propose to subject platforms to stringent obligations, ... Antitrust Statutorification
Ajit Pai and Risk-Taking at the FCC
It would be impossible to describe Ajit Pai’s tenure as chair of the Federal Communications Commission as ordinary. Whether or not you thought his regulatory style or his policies were innovative, his relationship with the public has been singular for an FCC chair. His Reese’s mug, alone, has occupied more space in the American media ... Ajit Pai and Risk-Taking at the FCC
