Editing 2335: Photo Deposit
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
| Latest revision | Your text | ||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| β | Some mobile banking apps allow users to deposit {{w|Cheque|check}}s through the app, by photographing the check and entering the relevant information. The comic parodies this imagining a bank that allowed you to "deposit" {{w|banknote}}s via a mobile app | + | Some mobile banking apps allow users to deposit {{w|Cheque|check}}s through the app, by photographing the check and entering the relevant information. The comic parodies this imagining a bank that allowed you to "deposit" {{w|banknote}}s via a mobile app. The caption implies that this attempt is predictably disastrous, as it's shut down within six hours. |
Checks are essentially documents instructing a bank to disburse funds from a given account to a specified recipient, hence electronic transfers make sense: the recipient's bank can transfer the image to the depositor's bank and the funds can be transferred between the two. The check could only be deposited by the recipient, and any attempt to deposit the check repeatedly would be refused (and potentially subject the recipient to legal action). By contrast, cash functions as a {{w|Bearer_instrument|bearer instrument}}, where physical possession of the banknotes effectively constitutes possession of the funds. Hence, depositing cash electronically would make little sense, as the depositor would still have the notes (and therefore the money), and the bank would not. Such a transaction would enrich the depositor at the expense of the bank. | Checks are essentially documents instructing a bank to disburse funds from a given account to a specified recipient, hence electronic transfers make sense: the recipient's bank can transfer the image to the depositor's bank and the funds can be transferred between the two. The check could only be deposited by the recipient, and any attempt to deposit the check repeatedly would be refused (and potentially subject the recipient to legal action). By contrast, cash functions as a {{w|Bearer_instrument|bearer instrument}}, where physical possession of the banknotes effectively constitutes possession of the funds. Hence, depositing cash electronically would make little sense, as the depositor would still have the notes (and therefore the money), and the bank would not. Such a transaction would enrich the depositor at the expense of the bank. | ||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
The title text states that the app recognizes the {{w|serial number}}s on the bills and prevents users from depositing them multiple times. However, this would not solve the fundamental problem. Clients could still deposit all of their cash and retain ownership of it. And they could then exchange those bills for different ones and deposit the new bills, repeating the process indefinitely (which explains Cueball's comment about "a lucrative six hours"). It is possible that Megan and Cueball are deliberately depositing the same bills to each of their accounts, given their close proximity. | The title text states that the app recognizes the {{w|serial number}}s on the bills and prevents users from depositing them multiple times. However, this would not solve the fundamental problem. Clients could still deposit all of their cash and retain ownership of it. And they could then exchange those bills for different ones and deposit the new bills, repeating the process indefinitely (which explains Cueball's comment about "a lucrative six hours"). It is possible that Megan and Cueball are deliberately depositing the same bills to each of their accounts, given their close proximity. | ||
| β | The only way such a system could work is if every entity that accepted cash payments or deposits operated from a common database, functioning in real-time, which kept track of each transaction, and disallowed any further use of that specific bill. This would have the ultimate impact of making cash virtually useless, as once every bill had been spent once, all future transactions would need to be electronic (unless there were a system in place to physically distribute the appropriate bills to the appropriate people, which would defeat the entire point). Such a system is essentially the basis for {{w| | + | The only way such a system could work is if every entity that accepted cash payments or deposits operated from a common database, functioning in real-time, which kept track of each transaction, and disallowed any further use of that specific bill. This would have the ultimate impact of making cash virtually useless, as once every bill had been spent once, all future transactions would need to be electronic (unless there were a system in place to physically distribute the appropriate bills to the appropriate people, which would defeat the entire point). Such a system is essentially the basis for {{w|Cryptocurrency}}, which uses a crowd-sourced system to track the movement of money. But such a system would require virtually universal acceptance in a given country, and could not be implemented by a single bank. |
In addition, the system would be highly vulnerable to {{w|Counterfeit money|counterfeiting}}. Common anti-counterfeiting measures include using distinctive materials and fine details, both of which are difficult to duplicate well enough to fool a human. Smartphone cameras, on the other hand, can't distinguish texture and may not have sufficient resolution to make out that level of detail. Counterfeiters could produce and deposit an almost unlimited number of bills, then destroy them, leaving little evidence of their crime. | In addition, the system would be highly vulnerable to {{w|Counterfeit money|counterfeiting}}. Common anti-counterfeiting measures include using distinctive materials and fine details, both of which are difficult to duplicate well enough to fool a human. Smartphone cameras, on the other hand, can't distinguish texture and may not have sufficient resolution to make out that level of detail. Counterfeiters could produce and deposit an almost unlimited number of bills, then destroy them, leaving little evidence of their crime. | ||
| Line 33: | Line 33: | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Smartphones]] | [[Category:Smartphones]] | ||
| β | |||
