“Regulation needs to happen for a number of reasons,”

Regulation of what?

A regulation to regulate the regulators? Is this in the context of the Houston bus system? Is this person suggesting we need a regulation to regulate a PUBLIC transport system?

The way this word gets thrown around is annoying. Its like anyone who believes there is a problem with anything can just say “We need regulation” and that somehow earns them a pat of the back for wanting to solve said problem.

Here’s the deal with cashless terminals, they save money… Bus terminals that take cash are more expensive because they require different, less efficient technology and manual labor to retrieve funds. As a result, they cost more money, which will drive up the costs of pubic transportation for everyone. So even people using cash are “paying fees”, they just don’t appear on the receipt.

“But Bluebird, Netspend, and Moneycard all require a social security number…

If this is the barrier we are trying to bust down, well, I’ve got bad news. Its not happening. If someone wants to wire money around the globe in the blink of an eye, institutions are going to track it.

The “unbanked” are effectively a non-issue. Just as the article states, there are plenty of options for people that need electronic payment methods. You know what else requires PII? A bank account… So is being “unbanked” really the fight here?