USA Versus China in Science & Technology

Interesting fact, even with 300mill peeps here, Amex cannot even issue 5,000 platinum cards yet

I know because I know the PD and asked her when will they do Centurian even issued through SG, she said we have to issue 5,000 platinum cards first before we are allowed black, so even with all the wealth here, still not enough for Amex to issue 5000 platinum cards lol
 
AMEX is extremely unpopular in South East Asia. (Also in Europe btw. Only Diners Club is worse.) Far too expensive for the vendors.

And younger people are not that focused on credit cards anymore, they all want the e-wallet app. So that’s via (national) QR code systems. In RI that’s QRIS of course but the other countries have similar systems (such as DuitNow QR, PromptPay, SGQR, QR Ph, VietQR, …). China doesn’t have a ‘national’ standard but the payment systems via AliPay and WeChatPay are similar.
 
Open an account in HKG, SGP or Jersey or some other exotic place.
Nobody is going to block that.
This the original statement
You can't block a phone application for a bank. Trading your securities is a feature built within the bank website or app

This original claim is inaccurate and misleading.

Yes, some people open offshore accounts (including in jurisdictions often labelled tax havens) and sometimes do so through intermediaries.
However, the statement “You can’t block a phone application for a bank. Trading your securities is a feature built within the bank website or app” is totally misleading. Authorities can and routinely do restrict, freeze, or block access to banking apps, online accounts, and related services, including for reasons involving compliance, sanctions, risk, or intermediaries.

Governments and regulators can and do block or severely restrict banking/fintech apps and online account access for many reasons (sanctions, AML/CFT concerns, national security, illegal activity, regulatory non-compliance, etc.). The fact that a particular app or intermediary has not yet been targeted and blocked does not mean authorities lack the power or will never exercise it. They can (and have) targeted intermediaries, payment infrastructures, app stores, or the underlying banking relationships themselves. Access can also be cut off at the account, institution, or network level even if the app itself remains technically available. Technically, it is not that difficult. Let alone blatantly saying You can't.

Also, the Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (Otoritas Jasa Keuangan / OJK) issued an official directive restricting domestic financial institutions and foreign representative offices from marketing non-OJK licensed investment products and offshore securities

OJK Prohibited.png
.
Also, in the context of trading of foreign shares (as discussed in posts #8 and #10): using an offshore bank account instead of a proper trading account can be extremely expensive for retail traders.

Typical costs include around US$10 per trade, wide bid-offer spreads, and annual account fees. A trader executing 25 trades a day (or more) could easily pay $250 or more in trading fees alone. If you are just trading 2-3 times a year or you are a multi millionaires of course this trading fee is less relevant.

In contrast, dedicated trading platforms and apps usually charge no commission per trade. They make their money mainly from the spread and modest annual fees, which are generally far lower than the costs charged by an offshore bank account used for trading and benefiting from economies of scale driven by trading volume. Also unlike a proper trading account, using a banking offshore account, you have limited offer of the varieties of assets, foreign stocks and share you could trade.
 
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In my family in law there are quite some kids who choose to study in China now. The U.S. is not that popular anymore. Probably also pushed somewhat by the parents, it definitely is cheaper also.
 

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