How come cash from different countries all look different but credit and debit cards are all same?

[dontwalkhand]

I don't know but I just was thinking of this one randomly as I was looking at my wallet. Now I am an American so I rarely if ever carry any cash, but my wallet still has a cash slot, and I remembered when I was traveling in Germany, the Euros barely fit in my wallet because well, "this is an American wallet" and the size of the bills are different. (And also, damn German economy for having a lot of cash only places, in London, I could just use my card everywhere (and Apple Pay as a matter of fact) like I do in the US). I know that the slots for the bills are also even inherently different on the cash register itself around the world, despite being manufactured by the same companies.

Yet credit cards are universal, and fit in any wallet, and fit in any card reader in and around the world. The numbers are generally always in the same spot (for the most part), the chip is in the same spot, the magnetic stripe on the back is in the same spot, as well as the signature line. A US credit card fits in a British chip reader just fine, and a German guy traveling has no qualms or issues about inserting their card at a Walmart in Phoenix, AZ. The chip reads, it works, voila, done and done.

I am not saying the whole world should use the same currency, but why is it that we can standardize on how credit cards should look and function, but cash comes in many colors, shapes, sizes, and of coins are an entirely different matter altogether. Of course I know that this could be that cash is customized by the government whereas cards are all a private entity, etc.

 

[Tech198]

Because only have one VISA, MasterCard companies, or American Express which does these cards..?

Compare to many more banks and do their own cards (Handycard, Debit, Student, 18+ cards etc all shapes and sizes)

it's probably more of a way to distinguish these cards are for y people than and a plain universal sized one that they all physically look the same regardless

As long as it can read the embedded chip, the size of the card wouldn't really matter that much.

Perhaps not all countries agree on a universal "one size, fits all' approach. Where as VISA, MasterCard do because they can be used anywhere in the world.

So, the same with currency as well

 

[chown33]

The main reason for card consistency is there were standards drawn up by transnational corporations who had a vested economic interest in arriving at, promulgating, and adhering to those standards. In short, minimizing operating costs. Or in a word: profit.

Governments who print currency have no such economic interests, as they don't typically print currency for reasons of profit. Tradition actually plays some role here, as can be seen when new currency forms are produced that don't get widely used (e.g. US $2 bill or $1 coin). Part of that is because there are cost factors in accepting new forms, e.g. bill readers in those self-service checkout "kiosks" at stores, coin-operated machines like snack dispensers, and so on. Those things cost money to change for new bills or coins, and it's a cost that businesses see no gain for.

One interesting thing that both card companies and governments have a vested economic interest in is fraud. For cards, it can take many forms: fake cards, fraudulent transactions, theft of valid card info, etc. For currency, it's mainly counterfeiting of bills. In both cases, there's been an "arms race" as the crooks get better at their crookery, so both cards and currency have had to adapt. They adapt in different ways, though, as cash is fundamentally anonymous, while cards are fundamentally not.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I don't know but I just was thinking of this one randomly as I was looking at my wallet. Now I am an American so I rarely if ever carry any cash, but my wallet still has a cash slot, and I remembered when I was traveling in Germany, the Euros barely fit in my wallet because well, "this is an American wallet" and the size of the bills are different. (And also, damn German economy for having a lot of cash only places, in London, I could just use my card everywhere (and Apple Pay as a matter of fact) like I do in the US). I know that the slots for the bills are also even inherently different on the cash register itself around the world, despite being manufactured by the same companies.

Yet credit cards are universal, and fit in any wallet, and fit in any card reader in and around the world. The numbers are generally always in the same spot (for the most part), the chip is in the same spot, the magnetic stripe on the back is in the same spot, as well as the signature line. A US credit card fits in a British chip reader just fine, and a German guy traveling has no qualms or issues about inserting their card at a Walmart in Phoenix, AZ. The chip reads, it works, voila, done and done.

I am not saying the whole world should use the same currency, but why is it that we can standardize on how credit cards should look and function, but cash comes in many colors, shapes, sizes, and of coins are an entirely different matter altogether. Of course I know that this could be that cash is customized by the government whereas cards are all a private entity, etc.

Because, at the risk of despatching this thread to PRSI - the right to mint cash and currency has become a part of he concept of national identity.

Anyway, as a European, why should one specific currency be used, or why should everything be denominated in one currency?

And, as a European, I must say that I object to the fact that oil is denominated in dollars. Personally, professionally, (and, in the light of recent events - er - "foe") - I'd far prefer a more - ah - neutral currency for such transactions.

And, yes, credit cards do sometimes get hacked; mine was hacked a few years ago. I travel to strange places, and, sometimes, even though you do not let it out of your sight, while paying - let us say - hotel bills, cards can get hacked.

It was subsequently reimbursed, but - before that - it was hacked.

Cash can be robbed, but not....hacked.

Anyway, cash - and the right to mint it, the right to determine the value of the coin you conduct transactions in - is something that national governments (and supranational institutions) treasure (at the risk of punning).

And, just as I would challenge any culture that sought to impose a cultural identity defined by theology (inspired by, derived from, evangelical Christianity and other monotheistic religions) on what I understand by the evolving concept of European culture, so, too, would I strongly contest the right of any superpower (declining, decrepit or otherwise) to impose its currency on Europe.

Oh, and credit cards do not always, or even usually, work in the Third World.

I have worked in countries where you might find one, or maybe two, ATMs, in the capital city, and those usually in compounds guarded by international forces. And they don't always work; sometimes, not for weeks on end.

 

[AsherN]

Because it is in the interest of the credit card companies, all multi nationals, that their product be usable everywhere. So they need a standard for devices.

Currency is local and usually handled manually. All currencies have anti counterfeiting features and most have ways for visually impaired people to deal with it. Canada uses colour and Braille. The Euro uses physically different sizes, the bigger the note, the higher the denomination, etc.

 

[Gutwrench]

Chinese currency drove me crazy. From oversized bills to tiny Monopoly sized money.

 

[LizKat]

cash comes in many colors, shapes, sizes, and of coins are an entirely different matter altogether.

Yes it does. And there are hundreds of thousands of forex traders making using of that fact every day, even if 87% of them manage to blow up their accounts rather than profit from all that grand opportunity in finding the difference between what you and I might think a given country's currency is worth this afternoon in London versus in, say Tokyo.

And that's before you get to the dude offering to change your money in some dusty street in Kabul. Do you really want the afghanis? Because he really wants to be able to buy a goat with the pound notes you have in your pocket, and he knows the guy selling the goats wants American dollars, so expect to pay a little more for those afghanis because he's gonna have to make a trip to another dusty street to swap the pound notes out for dollars before dinnertime...