{"action":"created","issue":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/gratipay/gratipay.com/issues/1383","labels_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/gratipay/gratipay.com/issues/1383/labels{/name}","comments_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/gratipay/gratipay.com/issues/1383/comments","events_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/gratipay/gratipay.com/issues/1383/events","html_url":"https://github.com/gratipay/gratipay.com/issues/1383","id":19015196,"number":1383,"title":"do away with indefinite escrow","user":{"login":"whit537","id":134455,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/134455?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537","html_url":"https://github.com/whit537","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"labels":[{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/gratipay/gratipay.com/labels/%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85","name":"★★★","color":"339966"}],"state":"open","locked":false,"assignee":null,"milestone":null,"comments":27,"created_at":"2013-09-05T02:21:27Z","updated_at":"2015-07-29T16:56:06Z","closed_at":null,"body":"Today's convo on https://github.com/gittip/www.gittip.com/issues/5#issuecomment-23756765, along with \"what to do with interest\" (#279) and \"look into getting a banking license\" (#938), make me think that maybe we don't want to escrow any money at all, if we can help it. @zeeg suggested this on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/zeeg/status/344952755611377667) a while back.\r\n\r\nThe problem with escrowing money is that then we should be doing something with it, namely, earning interest. That's a whole ball of wax in and of itself (#279), and basically turns us into a bank (#938). It's a lot cleaner, both conceptually and legally, if Gittip isn't a bank. (Gittip may still be a money transmitter, but that's different than a bank; see #938 for now, though.)\r\n\r\nIn order not to hold money in escrow, we would need to require a bank account (or other funding sink) to be attached before we could move money on any recipients behalf. If the deposit fails then we would need a retry-then-refund algorithm, and if that fails then ... eep (that's why I say \"as little as possible.\").\r\n\r\nWe need a real EU story (#126) before we can do this. Manual PayPal isn't going to cut it as a funding sink, and without a funding sink and without escrowing we will be seriously retrograde in terms of value for non-U.S. participants.\r\n\r\nWe need to change the payday algorithm to settle up each week, rather than holding over from week to week. @carsomyr worked out the basics of this on #449.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<bountysource-plugin>\r\n---\r\nWant to back this issue? **[Post a bounty on it!](https://www.bountysource.com/issues/875113-do-away-with-indefinite-escrow?utm_campaign=plugin&utm_content=tracker%2F85909&utm_medium=issues&utm_source=github)** We accept bounties via [Bountysource](https://www.bountysource.com/?utm_campaign=plugin&utm_content=tracker%2F85909&utm_medium=issues&utm_source=github).\r\n</bountysource-plugin>"},"comment":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/gratipay/gratipay.com/issues/comments/126016678","html_url":"https://github.com/gratipay/gratipay.com/issues/1383#issuecomment-126016678","issue_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/gratipay/gratipay.com/issues/1383","id":126016678,"user":{"login":"whit537","id":134455,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/134455?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537","html_url":"https://github.com/whit537","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/whit537/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"created_at":"2015-07-29T16:56:06Z","updated_at":"2015-07-29T16:56:06Z","body":"And once we refactor payin minimums, we'll be able to drop payout minimums as well."}}