And this is exactly why the US domination of the payment industry is so dangerous, why companies like mastercard/VISA need to end, and why maybe sometimes it's understandable countries like Germany or Denmark have their own card systems or prefer cash.<p>Running all transactions through companies subject to foreign laws makes you subject to those foreign laws. And there is no reason US laws should affect e.g. a Canadian in Canada doing business in Canada with other Canadians.<p>The current situation is extremely unjust, because as German in Germany interacting with other Germans, I'm suddenly subject to US laws on which I can't even vote. Being subject to laws which I can't influence in any way democratically is unacceptable, and needs to end.<p>Either we as society should go back to cash, build our own payment systems to replace the US-based solutions, or end the US hegemony that even allows the US to spread its laws this way.
They need to just give her the $14k immediately and then eat it if it's a problem. Stop processing the transactions going forward or until it's sorted out, but do not steal her money. Also, I found this distasteful:<p>"I want to clarify that Square is not experiencing a technical glitch. While I cannot speak with you about Monica's individual case, I can tell you that Square's Customer Success team spoke with Monica yesterday, and she now knows the reason"<p>How incredibly tone deaf to use such a condescending, bullshit phrase as "customer success team" when speaking with the media in a situation where they are clearly failing the customer. A simple "we spoke with her" would do.
There is a bigger story here and I'm glad it's made visible to more of the general public, and I <i>really</i> hope more people listen intently; the underlying technology running your favorites apps are sitting on servers on US soil and prone to US laws.<p>that needs to be a title of the next headline, especially for anyone installing apps under the disguise of "privacy".
US government and US payment companies like Visa and Mastercard complaining about India building its own payment processing systems (RuPay).<p>Countries who depends on US and its companies for technology are very much vulnerable to these type of bullying.<p>Countries need to look on bigger picture and develop self sustainable technology ventures and US should stop bullying countries with technology to retain the trust.
I used to (nearly 20 years ago) roast coffee in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory Canada, and folks from Alaska would often stop in the shop. People that bought Cuban coffee often requested it be rebagged and just labelled “coffee” for about the same reason.
Might be just a coincidence, but it seems Square is turning it's back on the coffee/cafge industry that it did a lot of it's brand building on the back of:<p><a href="https://sprudge.com/square-just-increased-their-transaction-rates-and-cafes-are-screwed-151533.html" rel="nofollow">https://sprudge.com/square-just-increased-their-transaction-...</a><p>They've used the industry for good PR like this: <a href="https://squareup.com/au/en/townsquare/2018-australian-coffee-report" rel="nofollow">https://squareup.com/au/en/townsquare/2018-australian-coffee...</a><p>I guess they'd prefer to not have sub $5 transactions any more...
I once bought cigars at the Duty Free on my way into the US. Spent the next 2 hours dealing with an agent who'd clearly just been transferred from the southern boarder since the receipt said "Havana Style". I really hope the US is able to normalize relations with Cuba some day.
Square says it's "working on" getting Mustelier her money back. I feel like, at this point, they ought to simply pay her out of their own pocket. They were the ones who put her money in a bank that was not fit for purpose. Even if they didn't realize this would happen, they've violated their obligation to her, and they need to fix it now, not after a few more months of wrangling.
Square should definitely set this right ASAP she's not doing anything against. I wonder if she had named her stand Canada Beans, would this have happened? The nerve
I believe Stripe and/or has the same issue. One of the roasters I like to buy from in Toronto has beans from Cuba, but can't sell them online.
> "I was kind of shocked and mad, because we're a Canadian company using Cuban goods bought and sold in Canada,"<p>Using an American payment company and an American bank, both of which are subject to American laws and aren't going to risk breaking a trade embargo, regardless of whether this particular case is 100% legal or not.<p>Also not sure why the headline says Square Canada when the article makes it clear that it is JPMorgan Chase which is holding up the payment.
<i>Mustelier is Canadian and says she has no idea why a U.S. embargo is affecting her Canadian business.</i><p>The article claims her money is going through a US bank.<p>Not surprised this happened at all.
Amusingly, they literally show someone serving coffee with an endorsement from a coffee shop on their Canadian sign-up page for food & beverage services.
<a href="https://squareup.com/ca/en/solutions/quick-service" rel="nofollow">https://squareup.com/ca/en/solutions/quick-service</a>
The vendor claims to buy beans from a Canadian distributor. It's not immediately obvious how to get from "bought beans in Montreal, sold Coffee in Toronto" to "funds frozen for doing business with Cuba." The devil must be in the details of the embargo.
This is where it is too bad bitcoin did not become more mainstream allowing people to just exchange money without permission. But perhaps these are the incidences that will lead to the mainstream use of things like bitcoins.
People are all fine and dandy with the status quo until they fall on the wrong side of a dispute involving their money.<p>Perhaps those cryptocurrency wackos aren't so crazy after all. Perhaps.
Somebody needs to buy Cuban coffee in Canada, repackage it with a nice "produced in Central America/Aerated in Canada" sticker and sell it to the end coffee stands.