faq.html.j2 (14305B)
1 {% extends "common/base.j2" %} 2 {% block subtitle %}{{ _("Frequently Asked Questions")}}{% endblock subtitle %} 3 {% block body_content %} 4 <main id="maincontent"> 5 <div class="container"> 6 <div class="row"> 7 <div class="col"> 8 <h1>{{ _("GNU Taler: Frequently Asked Questions") }}</h1> 9 </div> 10 </div> 11 <h2>{{ _("How is Taler related to Bitcoin or Blockchains?") }}</h2> 12 13 <p> 14 {% trans %} 15 Taler does not require any Blockchain technology, and is 16 also not based on proof-of-work or any other distributed consensus 17 mechanism. Instead, Taler is based on blind signatures. 18 However, it is theoretically possible to combine Taler with 19 peer-to-peer crypto-currencies like Bitcoin. 20 {% endtrans %} 21 </p> 22 23 <p> 24 {% trans %} 25 It would be possible, however, to withdraw coins denominated in 26 Bitcoin into a Taler wallet (with an appropriate exchange), which 27 would give some benefits over plain Bitcoin, such as instant 28 confirmation times. 29 {% endtrans %} 30 </p> 31 32 <h2>{{ _("Where is the balance in my wallet stored?") }}</h2> 33 <p> 34 {% trans %} 35 Your wallet stores digital cash and thus ultimately your computer holds your balance. 36 The Taler Exchange keeps funds matching all unspent digital cash in a settlement account. 37 {% endtrans %} 38 </p> 39 40 <h2>{{ _("What if my wallet is lost?") }}</h2> 41 <p> 42 {% trans %} 43 Since Taler's digital cash in your wallet is anonymized, the 44 exchange cannot assist you in recovering a lost or stolen wallet. 45 Just like with a physical wallet for cash, you are responsible for 46 keeping it safe. 47 {% endtrans %} 48 </p> 49 50 <p> 51 {% trans %} 52 The risk of losing a wallet can be mitigated by making backups or 53 keeping the balance reasonably low. 54 {% endtrans %} 55 </p> 56 57 <h2>{{ _("What if my computer is hacked?") }}</h2> 58 <p> 59 {% trans %} 60 In case of a compromise of one of your devices, an attacker can spend digital cash from your wallet. 61 Checking your balance might reveal to you whether your device has eventually been compromised. 62 If a coin has been spent, this coin cannot be spent a second time. 63 The Exchange examines every coin whether it has been spent and thus makes double spending impossible. 64 {% endtrans %} 65 </p> 66 67 <h2>{{ _("How do I install a Taler wallet on my browser?") }}</h2> 68 <p> 69 {% trans %}Please visit the <a href="https://wallet.taler.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 70 Taler wallet install page</a> for browser extensions and select the wallet matching with your browser type. 71 {% endtrans %} 72 </p> 73 74 <h2>{{ _("How do I install a Taler wallet on my phone?") }}</h2> 75 <p> 76 {% trans %}Please visit an app store matching with your smartphone and select the Taler app. 77 You will find links on <a href="https://wallet.taler.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> 78 the wallet install page</a> guiding you to the respective app stores. 79 {% endtrans %} 80 </p> 81 82 <h2>{{ _("Can I send money to my friends with Taler?") }}</h2> 83 <p> 84 {% trans %} 85 Taler supports push and pull payments between wallets (also known as peer-to-peer payments). 86 While the payment appears to be directly between wallets, technically the operation 87 is intermediated by the payment service provider which will typically be legally required 88 to identify the recipient of the funds before allowing the transaction to complete. 89 {% endtrans %} 90 </p> 91 92 <h2>{{ _("How does Taler handle payments in different currencies?") }}</h2> 93 <p> 94 {% trans %} 95 Taler wallets can store digital coins corresponding to multiple 96 different currencies such as the Euro, US Dollars or Bitcoins. 97 {% endtrans %} 98 </p> 99 <p> 100 {% trans %} 101 Taler currently does not offer conversion between currencies. 102 {% endtrans %} 103 </p> 104 105 <h2>{{ _("How does Taler protect my privacy?") }}</h2> 106 <p> 107 {% trans %} 108 Your wallet stores digital coins that are 109 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_signature">blindly signed</a> 110 by an exchange. The use of a blind signature protects your 111 privacy as it prevents the exchange from knowing which coin it signed 112 for which customer. 113 {% endtrans %} 114 </p> 115 116 117 <h2>{{ _("How much does it cost?") }}</h2> 118 <p> 119 {% trans %} 120 The Taler protocol allows any exchange to set its own fee 121 structure, allowing operators to set fees for withdrawing, depositing, 122 refreshing or refunding coins. Operators can also charge fees for 123 closing reserves and for (aggregated) wire transfers to merchants. 124 Merchants may choose to cover some of the fees customers incur. 125 Actual transaction costs are estimated around 0.001 cent/transaction 126 (at high transaction rates, amortized over billions of transactions, 127 excluding migration costs). Note that this is an early estimate, 128 details may depend on hosting and backup requirements from the 129 regulator and could thus easily be 10x higher. 130 {% endtrans %} 131 </p> 132 133 <h2>{{ _("Does Taler work with international payments?") }}</h2> 134 <p> 135 {% trans %} 136 Taler's wallet supports multiple currencies, but the system 137 currently does not support conversion between currencies. However, 138 in principle an entity that accepts deposits in one currency and 139 allows withdrawals in another currency could be created. Still, the 140 regulatory hurdles in this case tend to be particularly complex. 141 The focus for Taler is on day-to-day payments, so we have no plans 142 to support currency conversion in the near future. 143 {% endtrans %} 144 </p> 145 146 <h2>{{ _("How does Taler relate to the (European) Electronic Money Directive?") }}</h2> 147 <p> 148 {% trans %} 149 We believe the European Electronic Money Directive provides part 150 of the regulatory framework a Taler exchange with coins denominated 151 in Euros would have to follow. 152 {% endtrans %} 153 </p> 154 155 <h2>{{ _("What bank would guarantee the conversion between Taler coins and bank money in regular bank accounts?") }}</h2> 156 <p> 157 {% trans %} 158 The exchange would be operated by a bank or in cooperation with a bank, and that bank 159 would hold the funds in escrow respectively on an internal settlement account. 160 Note that this bank could be a regular bank or a central bank for a central bank digital currency. 161 Irrespective of this, the bank would fall under the relevant financial services regulations, 162 which is one reason why consumers can rely on the conversion of Taler coins into normal bank money. 163 {% endtrans %} 164 </p> 165 166 <h2>{{ _("To whom would consumers complain to in case of non-conversion or non-compliance?") }}</h2> 167 <p> 168 {% trans %} 169 From a technical point of view, any exchange is audited by one or more independent auditors. 170 Merchants and consumer wallets will report certain issues automatically to the auditors, 171 but auditors may also provide a method for manual submission of issues. 172 The auditors are expected to make their reports available to the respective regulatory authorities, or even the general public. 173 </p> 174 <p> 175 From a legal point of view, users can always turn to their national authority responsible for 176 settling disputes concerning the management of exchange services. 177 For exchange services conducting business in Germany, this would be the general authority 178 in charge of disputes (<a href="https://www.verbraucher-schlichter.de">Universalschlichtungsstelle des Bundes</a>). 179 In addition to this, the European Online Dispute Resolution (see <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/odr">ODR</a>) 180 as a platform provided by the European Commission can be called for the settlement of disputes 181 concerning exchange services headquartered in member states of the European Union. 182 {% endtrans %} 183 </p> 184 185 <h2>{{ _("Are there any projects already using Taler?") }}</h2> 186 <p> 187 {% trans %} 188 We are aware of several businesses running exploratory projects or having 189 developed working prototypes. We are also 190 in discussions with several regular banks as well as several central banks 191 about the project. That said, there are currently no products in the 192 market yet, and we believe this would be premature given the state of 193 the project (see also <a href="https://bugs.gnunet.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">our bugtracker</a> 194 for a list of open issues). 195 {% endtrans %} 196 </p> 197 198 <h2>{{ _("Does Taler support recurring payments?") }}</h2> 199 <p> 200 {% trans %} 201 Today, our wallet implementation does not support recurring 202 payments. Recurring payments, where some fixed amount is paid on a 203 regular basis are in theory possible with Taler, but they come with a 204 few caveats. Specifically, recurring payments can only work if the 205 Taler wallet is running and online around the desired time. 206 Furthermore, given their repetitive nature they are linkable, and 207 could thus be used to deanonymize the user making the recurring 208 payment, for example by forcing the user offline at the time of the 209 payment and observing that it does then not happen on time. Finally, 210 the Taler wallet does not work with credit and thus the user would 211 have to make sure to carry a sufficient balance for the recurring 212 payment to be made. Still, they can be useful, and a future version of 213 the Taler wallet will likely support them. But this is not a feature 214 that we are targeting for Taler 1.0. at this time. 215 {% endtrans %} 216 </p> 217 218 <h2>{{ _("How do wire fees work?") }}</h2> 219 <p> 220 {% trans %} 221 A <b>wire fee</b> is charged by Taler operators 222 on outgoing wire transfers when Taler is used to wire 223 funds into a bank account. Merchants are encouraged to allow Taler to 224 delay and then aggregate many small payments into a single collective 225 wire transfer to minimize wire transfer fees. For example, by 226 configuring a <b>wire deadline</b> of one week, all payments within a 227 week could be aggregated into a single wire transfer, and thus the wire 228 transfer fee would only be charged once per week. The fee is simply 229 subtracted from the total amount wired. 230 {% endtrans %} 231 </p> 232 233 <h2>{{ _("How do deposit fees work?") }}</h2> 234 <p> 235 {% trans %} 236 Withdrawing 5 CHF creates electronic coins with 237 denominations of 0.04 CHF, 0.16 CHF, 0.32 CHF, 238 0.64 CHF, 1.28 CHF, and 2.56 CHF. Paying 3.23 CHF 239 might then use the 0.04 CHF, 0.64 CHF and 2.56 CHF coins, 240 resulting in a total of 3.24 CHF with 0.01 CHF returned as 241 change. 242 {% endtrans %} 243 </p> 244 <p class="flex-1"> 245 {% trans %} 246 <b>Deposit fees</b> charged by Taler payment providers depend on the 247 electronic coins used in the transaction. For example, 248 the deposit fee could be higher for a $1.28 CHF coin than for a a $0.01 CHF coin. Your wallet will 249 automatically try to select coins that minimize the 250 fees you have to pay. 251 Merchants can offer to pay 252 deposit fees up to a specified limit; customers have to pay deposit 253 fees that exceed what the merchant is willing to cover. Taler wallets 254 inform customers about applicable deposit fees they have to pay before 255 every transaction. 256 {% endtrans %} 257 </p> 258 259 <h2>{{ _("How do bounce fees work?") }}</h2> 260 <p> 261 {% trans %} 262 A <b>bounce fee</b> is charged by 263 Taler operators to wire transfers that return funds to customers when 264 either the Taler wallet did not withdraw the amount after 265 <b>4 weeks</b>, or immediately if a wire transfer subject was used that 266 is missing the required code to associate a wallet with the wire 267 transfer. The fee is deducted from the amount transferred back to the 268 original account. 269 {% endtrans %} 270 </p> 271 <p> 272 {% trans %} 273 To avoid paying bounce fees payers should be careful when 274 entering the wire transfer subject, and ensure that their wallet is 275 online within a month of initiating the withdrawal. 276 {% endtrans %} 277 </p> 278 279 <h2>{{ _("How to avoid digital cash expiration?") }}</h2> 280 <p> 281 {% trans %} 282 Taler e-money is issued with a validity period. 283 One month before the expiration 284 date, your wallet should automatically exchange any digital cash that is about 285 to expire for new digital cash with an extended validity period. However, if 286 your wallet is offline for an extended period of time, it may be unable 287 to do so. Ensure your wallet is regularly online to avoid losing money 288 due to expiration! 289 {% endtrans %} 290 </p> 291 292 <h2>{{ _("To whom would consumers complain to in case of non-conversion or non-compliance?") }}</h2> 293 <p> 294 {% trans %} 295 In case that customers or merchants have reason to complain about the Taler payment system, 296 Taler Operations AG will be their first point of contact. We are always grateful for your suggestions 297 for improvement and for error messages. The best way to file these is done via our 298 <a href="https://bugs.gnunet.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bug tracker</a>. 299 The ticket system makes it possible to submit reports anonymously. 300 </p> 301 <p> 302 Taler Operations AG is a member at VQF, a Swiss association for the quality assurance of financial services 303 (Verein zur Qualitätssicherung von Finanzdienstleistungen, General-Guisan-Str. 6, 6300 Zug, 304 phone +41 41 763 28 20) where users could also turn to in case of complaints. 305 {% endtrans %} 306 </p> 307 </div> 308 {% endblock body_content %}