[asciident]

3% is actually not bad for what it gets you: fraud detection, not having to lug cash to the bank every day, reduction of theft and employee mistakes, better recordkeeping for taxes, a way to handle refunds, and cleanliness. Small merchants often use Venmo where I am, and they save 3% in exchange for that awkward dance of sending payments.

[Teever]

But why do we need a 3rd party middle man fornwhat used to be a private transaction between two individuals?

If the government is going to replace cash with technology, why can't it do it itself and not involve some trabsbational bohemoth like Visa or Mastercard?

[lotsofpulp]

Supposedly, that is in development:

https://www.federalreserve.gov/paymentsystems/fednow_about.h...

[lotsofpulp]

Vendors can choose to accept only debit cards and not have to pay 3%. Accepting debit cards is basically free in comparison.