GNU Taler begins operating in Switzerland, distributed by the Taler Operations AG. Gnu Taler aims to be a “digital wallet” and has been used by the swiss national bank as well as the european national bank as a example for how a digital currency handed out by the state could work. It aims to be as privacy preserving as cash for the buyer while not allowing the seller to evade taxes.
Currently the Taler is brought out by a special organisation, the “Taler Operations AG”, and not the national bank, although both the national bank as well as the Taler Team have shown interest in a official digial currency by the national bank based on the Taler. But we need to relativate as the national council has stated that the introduction of a digital currency would probably take relatively major legislative changes and therefore take a bit of time.
I dont see how would it be a flaw of visa, but according to the Taler FAQ this is a feature.
It would be a flaw of visa as you need a card reader or similar to recieve payments, your friend can’t just send you a fiver easily.
That’s solved now that PayPal (and others?) start including this functionality into their mobile apps. No card reader required anymore