The Fiat Financialization of Everything: Starbucks? A bank. Delta airlines? Bank \ stacker news ~econ

The Fiat Financialization of Everything: Starbucks? A bank. Delta airlines? Bank www.netinterest.co/p/banks-in-disguise

2318 sats \ 7 comments \ @denlillaapan 28 Oct econ

21 sats \ 6 replies \ @south_korea_ln 28 Oct

According to Phan, these users load or reload around $10 billion of value onto their cards each year. Turning the coffee shop into a bank is that not all of it gets spent at once. As at the end of March, $1.9 billion of stored card value sat on the company’s balance sheet waiting to be spent – kind of like customer deposits. To give that some context, 85% of US banks have less than $1 billion in assets.

Sounds like a lot...

0 sats \ 5 replies \ @Bell_curve 28 Oct

I still have a small balance on my Starbucks card

Someone gave me a 50 dollar gift card

30 sats \ 4 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 28 Oct

I have a near allergic reaction when people give me a gift card. Don't. Give me cash or better sats, not some 2nd rate corporate fiat shitcoin.

31 sats \ 1 reply \ @nichro 28 Oct

It's always such a moment at office Xmas gift exchanges when people who barely know each other just trade 40$ gift cards around.

The net result: everyone just lost 40$ of cash in exchange for 40$ in spending restricted to one store

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 28 Oct

there are also Visa/Amex/etc gift cards that are not restricted to one store or brand

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/20/scroogenomics-why-you-should-scrap-the-presents-and-give-cash-at-christmas.html

Yet Joel Waldfogel, U.S. economist, University of Minnesota professor and author of the 2009 book, ‘Scroogenomics: Why you shouldn’t buy presents for the holidays’ has not wavered in his belief that the “orgy of wealth destruction” that takes place each Christmas needs to change.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 28 Oct

it was a Starbucks gift card

I prefer cash too

Gift cards are tradeable

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan OP 28 Oct

this. 10/10