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Diffstat (limited to 'template/faq.html.j2')
-rw-r--r-- | template/faq.html.j2 | 386 |
1 files changed, 192 insertions, 194 deletions
diff --git a/template/faq.html.j2 b/template/faq.html.j2 index f9daa01b..3a9349da 100644 --- a/template/faq.html.j2 +++ b/template/faq.html.j2 @@ -1,197 +1,195 @@ {% extends "common/base.j2" %} {% block body_content %} -<div class="container"> - -<h2>{{ _("How is Taler related to Bitcoin or Blockchains?") }}</h2> - -<p> - {% trans %} - Taler does not require any Blockchain technology, and is - also not based on proof-of-work or any other distributed consensus - mechanism. Instead, Taler is based on blind signatures. - However, it is theoretically possible to combine Taler with - peer-to-peer crypto-currencies like Bitcoin. - {% endtrans %} -</p> - -<p> - {% trans %} - It would be possible, however, to withdraw coins denominated in - Bitcoin into a Taler wallet (with an appropriate exchange), which - would give some benefits over plain Bitcoin, such as instant - confirmation times. - {% endtrans %} -</p> - -<h2>{{ _("Where is the balance in my wallet stored?") }}</h2> -<p> - {% trans %} - Your wallet stores digital coins and thus ultimately your computer - holds your balance. The exchange keeps funds matching all unspent - coins in an escrow bank account. - {% endtrans %} -</p> - -<h2>{{ _("What if my wallet is lost?") }}</h2> -<p> - {% trans %} - Since the digital coins of value in your wallet are anonymized, the - exchange can not assist you in recovering a lost or stolen wallet. - Just like with a physical wallet for cash, you are responsible for - keeping it safe. - {% endtrans %} -</p> - -<p> - {% trans %} - The risk of losing a wallet can be mitigated by making backups or - keeping the balance reasonably low. - {% endtrans %} -</p> - -<h2>{{ _("What if my computer is hacked?") }}</h2> -<p> - {% trans %} - In case of a compromise of one of your devices, an attacker can - spend coins from your wallet. Checking your balance might reveal - to you that your device has been compromised. - {% endtrans %} -</p> - -<h2>{{ _("Can I send money to my friend with Taler?") }}</h2> -<p> - {% trans %} - If your friend provides goods or services for you in exchange for a - payment, they can easily set up a Taler merchant and receive the - payment in their bank account. - {% endtrans %} -</p> -<p> - {% trans %} - Future versions of the Taler wallet may allow exchanging coins - among friends directly as well. - {% endtrans %} -</p> - -<h2>{{ _("How does Taler handle payments in different currencies?") }}</h2> -<p> - {% trans %} - Taler wallets can store digital coins corresponding to multiple - different currencies such as the Euro, US Dollars or Bitcoins. - {% endtrans %} -</p> -<p> - {% trans %} - Taler currently does not offer conversion between currencies. - {% endtrans %} -</p> - -<h2>{{ _("How does Taler protect my privacy?") }}</h2> -{% trans %} - <p> - Your wallet stores digital coins that are - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_signature">blindly signed</a> - by an exchange. The use of a blind signature protects your - privacy as it prevents the exchange from knowing which coin it signed - for which customer. - </p> -{% endtrans %} - -<h2>{{ _("How much does it cost?") }}</h2> -{% trans %} - <p> - The Taler protocol allows any exchange to set its own fee - structure, allowing operators to set fees for withdrawing, depositing, - refreshing or refunding coins. Operators can also charge fees for - closing reserves and for (aggregated) wire transfers to merchants. - Merchants may choose to cover some of the fees customers incur. - Actual transaction costs are estimated around 0.001 cent/transaction - (at high transaction rates, amortized over billions of transactions, - excluding migration costs). Note that this is an early estimate, - details may depend on hosting and backup requirements from the - regulator and could thus easily be 10x higher. - </p> -{% endtrans %} - - -<h2>{{ _("Does Taler work with international payments?") }}</h2> -{% trans %} - <p> - Taler's wallet supports multiple currencies, but the system - currently does not support conversion between currencies. However, - in principle an entity that accepts deposits in one currency and - allows withdrawals in another currency could be created. Still, the - regulatory hurdles in this case tend to be particularly complex. - The focus for Taler is on day-to-day payments, so we have no plans - to support currency conversion in the near future. - </p> -{% endtrans %} - - -<h2>{{ _("How does Taler relate to the (European) Electronic Money Directive?") }}</h2> -{% trans %} - <p> - We believe the European Electronic Money Directive provides part - of the regulatory framework a Taler exchange with coins denominated - in Euros would have to follow. - </p> -{% endtrans %} - - -<h2>{{ _("What bank would guarantee the conversion between Taler coins and bank money in regular bank accounts?") }}</h2> -{% trans %} - <p> - The exchange would be operated by a bank or in cooperation with a bank, and that bank - would hold the funds in escrow. Note that this bank could be a regular bank or a central - bank for a centrally banked electronic currency. Regardless, the bank would fall under - the respective banking regulations establishing a reason why consumers would have faith - in the conversion from Taler coins into regular bank money. - </p> -{% endtrans %} - -<h2>{{ _("To whom would consumers complain to in case of non-conversion or non-compliance?") }}</h2> -{% trans %} - <p> - Any exchange should be audited by one or more independent auditors. Merchants and - consumer wallets will report certain issues automatically to the auditors, but auditors - may also provide a method for manual submission of issues. The auditors are expected - to make their reports available to the respective regulatory authorities, or even - the general public. - </p> -{% endtrans %} - -<h2>{{ _("Are there any projects already using Taler?") }}</h2> -{% trans %} - <p> - We are aware of several businesses running exploratory projects or having - developed working prototypes. We are also - in discussions with several regular banks as well as several central banks - about the project. That said, there are currently no products in the - market yet, and we believe this would be premature given the state of - the project (see also <a href="https://gnunet.org/bugs/">our bugtracker</a> - for a list of open issues). - </p> -{% endtrans %} - -<h2>{{ _("Does Taler support recurring payments?") }}</h2> -{% trans %} - <p> - Today, our wallet implementation does not support recurring - payments. Recurring payments, where some fixed amount is paid on a - regular basis are in theory possible with Taler, but they come with a - few caveats. Specifically, recurring payments can only work if the - Taler wallet is running and online around the desired time. - Furthermore, given their repetitive nature they are linkable, and - could thus be used to deanonymize the user making the recurring - payment, for example by forcing the user offline at the time of the - payment and observing that it does then not happen on time. Finally, - the Taler wallet does not work with credit and thus the user would - have to make sure to carry a sufficient balance for the recurring - payment to be made. Still, they can be useful, and a future version of - the Taler wallet will likely support them. But this is not a feature - that we are targeting for Taler 1.0. at this time - </p> -{% endtrans %} - -</div> + <div class="container"> + + <h2>{{ _("How is Taler related to Bitcoin or Blockchains?") }}</h2> + + <p> + {% trans %} + Taler does not require any Blockchain technology, and is + also not based on proof-of-work or any other distributed consensus + mechanism. Instead, Taler is based on blind signatures. + However, it is theoretically possible to combine Taler with + peer-to-peer crypto-currencies like Bitcoin. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <p> + {% trans %} + It would be possible, however, to withdraw coins denominated in + Bitcoin into a Taler wallet (with an appropriate exchange), which + would give some benefits over plain Bitcoin, such as instant + confirmation times. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("Where is the balance in my wallet stored?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + Your wallet stores digital coins and thus ultimately your computer + holds your balance. The exchange keeps funds matching all unspent + coins in an escrow bank account. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("What if my wallet is lost?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + Since the digital coins of value in your wallet are anonymized, the + exchange can not assist you in recovering a lost or stolen wallet. + Just like with a physical wallet for cash, you are responsible for + keeping it safe. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <p> + {% trans %} + The risk of losing a wallet can be mitigated by making backups or + keeping the balance reasonably low. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("What if my computer is hacked?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + In case of a compromise of one of your devices, an attacker can + spend coins from your wallet. Checking your balance might reveal + to you that your device has been compromised. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("Can I send money to my friend with Taler?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + If your friend provides goods or services for you in exchange for a + payment, they can easily set up a Taler merchant and receive the + payment in their bank account. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + <p> + {% trans %} + Future versions of the Taler wallet may allow exchanging coins + among friends directly as well. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("How does Taler handle payments in different currencies?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + Taler wallets can store digital coins corresponding to multiple + different currencies such as the Euro, US Dollars or Bitcoins. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + <p> + {% trans %} + Taler currently does not offer conversion between currencies. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("How does Taler protect my privacy?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + Your wallet stores digital coins that are + <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_signature">blindly signed</a> + by an exchange. The use of a blind signature protects your + privacy as it prevents the exchange from knowing which coin it signed + for which customer. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + + <h2>{{ _("How much does it cost?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + The Taler protocol allows any exchange to set its own fee + structure, allowing operators to set fees for withdrawing, depositing, + refreshing or refunding coins. Operators can also charge fees for + closing reserves and for (aggregated) wire transfers to merchants. + Merchants may choose to cover some of the fees customers incur. + Actual transaction costs are estimated around 0.001 cent/transaction + (at high transaction rates, amortized over billions of transactions, + excluding migration costs). Note that this is an early estimate, + details may depend on hosting and backup requirements from the + regulator and could thus easily be 10x higher. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("Does Taler work with international payments?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + Taler's wallet supports multiple currencies, but the system + currently does not support conversion between currencies. However, + in principle an entity that accepts deposits in one currency and + allows withdrawals in another currency could be created. Still, the + regulatory hurdles in this case tend to be particularly complex. + The focus for Taler is on day-to-day payments, so we have no plans + to support currency conversion in the near future. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("How does Taler relate to the (European) Electronic Money Directive?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + We believe the European Electronic Money Directive provides part + of the regulatory framework a Taler exchange with coins denominated + in Euros would have to follow. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("What bank would guarantee the conversion between Taler coins and bank money in regular bank accounts?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + The exchange would be operated by a bank or in cooperation with a bank, and that bank + would hold the funds in escrow. Note that this bank could be a regular bank or a central + bank for a centrally banked electronic currency. Regardless, the bank would fall under + the respective banking regulations establishing a reason why consumers would have faith + in the conversion from Taler coins into regular bank money. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("To whom would consumers complain to in case of non-conversion or non-compliance?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + Any exchange should be audited by one or more independent auditors. Merchants and + consumer wallets will report certain issues automatically to the auditors, but auditors + may also provide a method for manual submission of issues. The auditors are expected + to make their reports available to the respective regulatory authorities, or even + the general public. + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("Are there any projects already using Taler?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + We are aware of several businesses running exploratory projects or having + developed working prototypes. We are also + in discussions with several regular banks as well as several central banks + about the project. That said, there are currently no products in the + market yet, and we believe this would be premature given the state of + the project (see also <a href="https://gnunet.org/bugs/">our bugtracker</a> + for a list of open issues). + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + <h2>{{ _("Does Taler support recurring payments?") }}</h2> + <p> + {% trans %} + Today, our wallet implementation does not support recurring + payments. Recurring payments, where some fixed amount is paid on a + regular basis are in theory possible with Taler, but they come with a + few caveats. Specifically, recurring payments can only work if the + Taler wallet is running and online around the desired time. + Furthermore, given their repetitive nature they are linkable, and + could thus be used to deanonymize the user making the recurring + payment, for example by forcing the user offline at the time of the + payment and observing that it does then not happen on time. Finally, + the Taler wallet does not work with credit and thus the user would + have to make sure to carry a sufficient balance for the recurring + payment to be made. Still, they can be useful, and a future version of + the Taler wallet will likely support them. But this is not a feature + that we are targeting for Taler 1.0. at this time + {% endtrans %} + </p> + + </div> {% endblock body_content %} |