Even Polish banks discourage using debit cards directly and just switch to Blik.
Lost card? There's no card, so doesn't apply. ATM skimmers? Nope, I think all ATM support Blik, so can't sniff anything. Want to send money to a friend? Instant mobile-friendly transfer. It's even possible that the family can pull the cash out from the ATM from your account when you're in a different city if you'll give out the code.
Not anonymous even for small amounts of money. Without tricks and workarounds Blik apps requires Google/Apple approved smartphone with Google/Apple approved build of the OS logged into Google/Apple account. Participation in the network is tied to private will have Blik association even on small scale.
I don't think having anonymous transactions is the goal for most people. For sure it's not the goal for Blik. The requirement of having a Google/Apple-cerified phone is a requirement of bank apps I think, not Blik's.
It does not matter on which layer the restrictions are applied here. Effect on society is the same - ability to pay only for those that give up on basic freedoms (which anonimity of payments and choice of device you carry are).
The 'who was there first' game doesn't make sense because neither of them created this term. One is older, the other is a company worth over seven billion euros and one of the biggest marketplaces in Europe. I'd argue that it has wider brand recognition because of that, but ultimately it all comes down to your background. I'd expect the number of people in the US who heard about it in context of the game library to be larger than for Allegro.eu and at the same time smaller than the original meaning.
The background story is that Allegro defaults the selection of infrastructure from their competitors to their own, even if the user uses competitor all the time. Sometimes the user forgets to check, and it will result in using Allegro's infrastructure even if the user didn't want it.
Programmers are curious by nature. So it's not 2 words; it's 2 words + wikipedia article + news articles about it, just to know what he's writing about. All uncalled for.
Be a little more curious then, friend. The author lives in Portland, which has been experiencing federal brutalization for months. Same place where the feds are repeatedly violating standards for warfare by using chemical munitions on civilians and engaging in large-scale misinformation campaigns against immigrants.
It’s almost astonishing how you found his statement “uncalled for”, while neglecting these facts.
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