[TriLUG] OT: lack of security at BofA

[Bill Farrow]

Gee, this market is crying out for a disruptive technology to step in
to fix the problems... What would be your ideal transaction system ?

I would like a push transaction system. The merchant provides their
account number and I push my money into their account, they see that
the money has landed in their account and the deal is done. I can
secure my account with whatever means I consider acceptable and don't
have to trust that the merchant is up to date with their security.
Consider what we have now; I give the merchant my account number, my
authentication info, etc, and the merchant reaches into my bank
account and pulls out what they want.


Banks are too big and slow. They missed the boat back in the 90's when
paypal revolutionized small internet transactions. They missed the
boat again in 2010 when SquareUp enabled small merchants and customers
to process mobile payments. Crypto currency might be the next big
thing they missed...

Since 2013, merchants have been allowed to directly charge customers
the CC transaction fee on top of their bill. Some shops and services
now give the customer the choice of paying with cash, or 2% extra for
Visa, or 4% extra for Amex, etc. Transparency is a good thing. What
would you do if given the choice ?

What is going to be the next driver for change ? Security, Transactions fees ?

Bill