[taler-docs] branch master updated: Changes applied according to ttn's recommendations

[gnunet]

This is an automated email from the git hooks/post-receive script.

skuegel pushed a commit to branch master
in repository docs.

The following commit(s) were added to refs/heads/master by this push:
     new ee35dab  Changes applied according to ttn's recommendations
     new a050504  Merge branch 'master' of ssh://git.taler.net/docs
ee35dab is described below

commit ee35dab4b592b720138976d1fef65ca8de6d7c36
Author: Stefan Kügel <skuegel@web.de>
AuthorDate: Mon Jan 11 22:14:02 2021 +0100

    Changes applied according to ttn's recommendations
---
 design-documents/012-fee-schedule-metrics.rst | 72 +++++++++++++--------------
 1 file changed, 34 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)

diff --git a/design-documents/012-fee-schedule-metrics.rst 
b/design-documents/012-fee-schedule-metrics.rst
index efcebd7..506833b 100644
--- a/design-documents/012-fee-schedule-metrics.rst
+++ b/design-documents/012-fee-schedule-metrics.rst
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-Fees schedule and fee metrics
-#############################
+Design Doc 012: Fees schedule and fee metrics
+#############################################
 
 .. warning::
 
@@ -8,41 +8,54 @@ Fees schedule and fee metrics
 Summary
 =======
 
-This chapter discusses considerations for fees from different points of view 
(Exchange operators, customer/users, and sellers/merchants.
+This chapter discusses considerations for fees from different points of view 
(Exchange operators, customers/users, and sellers/merchants).
 
 Motivation
 ==========
   
-Fees are necessary for covering costs that Exchange operators bear for 
offering their services established in-house or outsourced in a data center: 
Variable costs (e.g. electricity and wire fees for every wired transaction to 
bank accounts) and expenses of constant height for hardware, company assets, 
marketing and staff, and so forth. They will allocate these costs to customers. 
The Taler protocol therefore offers different types of fees for each type of 
transaction that may appear in t [...]
+Fees are necessary for covering costs that Exchange operators bear for 
offering their services established in-house or outsourced in a data center: 
Variable costs (e.g. electricity and wire fees for every wired transfer to bank 
accounts) and fixed-cost expenditures for hardware, company assets, marketing 
and staff, and so forth. They will allocate these costs to customers. The Taler 
protocol therefore offers different types of fees for each type of transaction 
that may appear in the tran [...]
 
 Any coin that has been generated or that is used (deposited) or refreshed can 
be charged with an applicable fee type. In addition to this, every wired amount 
of money can be charged with a wire fee. The six fee types are named as 
'Withdrawal', 'Deposit', 'Refresh', 'Refund', 'Wire fee' and 'Closing'. The fee 
type 'Closing' is used for allocating costs that arise from an uncompleted 
withdrawal transaction when an amount of fiat money has to be wired back from 
the Exchange's escrow account [...]
 
-Fee types and their underlying metrics are not only due to cover real costs in 
the long run, but also to reward users for their economic behaviour, to prevent 
misuse, and to allow Exchange operators to gain certain income and most 
probably profits. Exchange operators are thus determining the combination of 
fee types and the height of each fee for every denomination of coins. Any 
chosen denomination (constant nominal value of coins preset by the operator by 
means of the Denomination key)  [...]
+Fee types and their underlying metrics are intended not only to cover real 
costs in the long run, but also to reward users for their economic behaviour, 
to prevent misuse, and to allow Exchange operators to gain certain income and 
most probably profits. Exchange operators are thus determine the combination of 
fee types and the amount of each fee for every denomination of coins. Any 
chosen denomination (constant nominal value of coins preset by the operator by 
means of the Denomination ke [...]
 
 Proposed Solution
 =================
 
+The Taler protocol offers the following fee types:
+
+1. 'Withdrawal': For each successful withdrawal from the checking account, per 
coin
+2. 'Deposit': For spending, per coin
+3. 'Refresh': Per coin for
+    a. Refresh transactions for receiving change
+    b. Refresh of coins at the end of their validity
+    c. Abort of transactions due to network failure
+    d. Refund
+4. 'Refund': For refunds or in case of contract cancellation by seller, per 
coin
+5. 'Wire fee': For aggregated amounts wired by the Exchange to the merchant's 
checking account, per wire transfer
+6. 'Closing': In case that a withdrawal process could not be accomplished (the 
users' wallet did not withdraw the value from the reserve), per wire transfer 
from the Exchange's escrow account to the account of origin
+
 Fee schedule
-==============
+============
 
-Whereas the Taler protocol determines types of fees, Exchange operators 
determine the upper and lower limits of fees using parameters. Once they have 
set the fee height per denomination, the algorithm of the Taler payment system 
will allocate costs automatically to every generated coin respectively to a 
wired amount.
+Whereas the Taler protocol determines types of fees, Exchange operators 
determine the upper and lower limits of fees using parameters. Once they have 
set the fee amount per denomination, the algorithm of the Taler payment system 
will allocate costs automatically to every generated coin respective to a wired 
amount.
 
 The fee structure and its underlying metrics are also bound to rules and 
expectations of financial regulatory authorities like the German Federal 
Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für 
Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht BaFin). Changes to the fee structure are 
therefore eligible only when they are in accordance with national or 
international laws and directives.
 
-Fees chosen by Exchange operators have to be explained to the users by means 
of comprehensive Terms and conditions of services that rule out the different 
and heights of fees and how they are calculated. Costs for wired amounts within 
the banking system (IBAN transfers to the Exchange's escrow account for the 
withdrawal transaction; IBAN: International Banking Account Number) have to be 
covered by users, so additionally Terms and conditions of their banks may be 
effective, too. These Ter [...]
+Fees chosen by Exchange operators have to be explained to the users by means 
of comprehensive Terms and conditions of services that describe the fee types 
and amounts of fees and how they are calculated. Costs for wired amounts within 
the banking system (IBAN transfers to the Exchange's escrow account for the 
withdrawal transaction; IBAN: International Banking Account Number) have to be 
covered by users, so additionally Terms and conditions of their banks may be 
effective, too. These Ter [...]
 
 1. Obligations of Exchange operators
----------------------------------------
+------------------------------------
 
-Exchange operators have to adhere to the fee schedule. Otherwise they can lose 
their interface access, have their certification revoked and, moreover, even 
become liable for damages. For each transaction type there is one specific fee 
type. Exchange operators set the height of fees. If a fee type is set to a 
value of 0, this fee type will not contribute to the operator's income from 
fees.
+Exchange operators have to adhere to the fee schedule. Otherwise they can lose 
their interface access, have their certification revoked and, moreover, even 
become liable for damages. For each transaction type there is one specific fee 
type. Exchange operators set the fee amount. If a fee type is set to a value of 
0, this fee type will not contribute to the operator's income from fees.
 
-Three fee types ('Wire fee', 'Closing' and 'Recoup') will cause costs for 
Exchange operators due to wire transfers to accounts wired by banks. Therefore, 
operators must find suitable ways to have these costs covered by customers.
+Two fee types ('Wire fee', 'Closing') and the 'Recoup' protocol will cause 
costs for Exchange operators due to wire transfers to accounts wired by banks. 
Therefore, operators must find suitable ways to have these costs covered by 
customers.
 
-The 'Recoup' protocol does not allow Exchange operators to set any fee height, 
because reimbursing funds from an Exchange that is about to cease its activity 
must always be at zero costs for the users. Wiring fees in the case of 'Recoup' 
have to be entirely covered by Exchange operators instead.
+The 'Recoup' protocol does not allow Exchange operators to set any fee amount, 
because reimbursing funds from an Exchange that is about to cease its activity 
must always be at zero cost for the user. Wiring fees in the case of 'Recoup' 
have to be entirely covered by Exchange operators instead.
 
-Setting all of the six fee types to 0 means would simply the payment system 
and make it more attractive to users. However, Exchange operators need 
effective counter-measures against possible misuse. Transactions that are 
abundantly often repeated by malicious users are driving costs, thus harming 
operators. Making these transactions costly to those who trigger them 
intentionally is the only way to solve this issue.
+Setting all of the six fee types to 0 means would simplify the payment system 
and make it more attractive to users. However, Exchange operators need 
effective counter-measures against possible misuse. Transactions that are 
abundantly often repeated by malicious users drive up costs, thus harming 
operators. Making these transactions costly to those who trigger them 
intentionally is the only way to solve this issue.
 
-For example, if the Exchange operator sets the 'Refresh' fee at the level of 
the specific costs incurred for this transaction type, malicious cost driving 
with refresh does at least not damage the exchange, but only charges those 
users who have their coins refreshed particularly frequently (see detailed 
below).
+For example, if the Exchange operator sets the 'Refresh' fee at the level of 
the specific costs incurred for this transaction type, malicious cost driving 
with refresh at least does not damage the exchange, but only charges those 
users who have their coins refreshed particularly frequently (see detailed 
below).
 
 Operators agree that their audit reports report income from fees to the 
auditors and, accordingly, to the supervisory authorities. Fees on coins at set 
the time they are issued and cannot be changed afterwards. According to the 
Taler protocol, fees on bank transfers can only be adjusted annually and are 
set by the operator for at least 2 years in the future. Thanks to this constant 
fee, merchants can better plan costs to be added and include them in their 
sales prices.
 
@@ -51,7 +64,7 @@ Terms and conditions of every Exchange must also clearly 
indicate to the user th
 A private bank that hosts an Exchange and normally charges its customers for 
IBAN transfers has the option of waiving the applying fees for their customers 
when they are withdrawing from their own checking accounts into Taler wallets.
 
 2. Buyer's obligations
------------------------
+----------------------
 
 Prior to making a first withdrawal from an Exchange users are required to read 
and confirm the Terms and conditions of the relevant Exchange. This step is 
mandatory when changes to Terms and conditions take place. Users accept Terms 
and conditions by confirming them in the mobile application or on the web. 
Terms and conditions also require users to accept possible losses of funds in 
wallets through 'Refresh' fees, which can be eventually charged by Exchange 
operators.
 
@@ -62,7 +75,7 @@ In accordance with the Terms and conditions, the users agree 
not to make any cla
 Furthermore, according to the Terms and conditions, users must accept that the 
IBAN transfer from the users' personal checking account to the Exchange's 
escrow account may incur costs depending on the contract with their banks. 
These costs are not related to the Taler payment system and cannot be 
influenced by it.
 
 3. Obligations of merchants/sellers
-------------------------------------
+-----------------------------------
 
 Normally, a plurality of buyers' spending transactions is summed up to one 
aggregated amount of revenue and wired to the receiving checking account of the 
merchant. Merchants can set the frequency by which these aggregated amounts are 
wired. Every wire transfer imposes costs on the Exchange operator collected by 
the operator's bank for having the amount wired. Therefore, the Exchange 
operator will tend to charge the 'Wire fee' to the sellers for this transaction 
type, as the sellers are  [...]
 
@@ -71,7 +84,7 @@ During the withdrawal process, the wallet shows to the buyer 
the complete fee sc
 Given the case that sellers enter incorrect account data for their own 
checking account, they are solely liable for any resulting damage and not the 
Exchange operator. Sellers bear the risk of a loss of value or even a total 
loss of their revenue if they enter a wrong IBAN for the transfer of their 
revenue, although syntactically correct. Similarly, the sellers alone bear 
charges due to an incorrect receiving account number or other posting errors 
that they cause and for which manual rou [...]
 
 4. Technical framework conditions for the collection of fees
--------------------------------------------------------------
+------------------------------------------------------------
 
 Fees are charged per coin or per wire transfer. The number of coins at 
withdrawal usually increases logarithmically with the amount represented. Fees 
can be applied to both flow quantities (e.g. coins moved at withdrawal and 
deposit transactions) and static quantities (e.g. coins stored in wallets). The 
fees on coins may differ depending on the time of issuance of a coin and 
depending on the value of a coin. They are fixed for each coin with its time of 
issuance, so they cannot be change [...]
 
@@ -80,27 +93,10 @@ During the entire period of validity, all Denomination keys 
and the selected fee
 The refresh transaction is automatically triggered by the wallet software 3 
months before the end of the validity of a coin. Especially if Exchange 
operators charge refresh fees, they have to point out this automatic feature to 
the users in their Terms and conditions.
 
 
-Fee types
-===========
-
-The Taler protocol offers the following fee types:
-
-1. 'Withdrawal': For each successful withdrawal from the checking account, per 
coin
-2. 'Deposit': For spending, per coin
-3. 'Refresh': Per coin for
-    a. Refresh transactions for receiving change
-    b. Refresh of coins at the end of their validity
-    c. Abort of transactions due to network failure
-    d. Refund
-4. 'Refund': For refunds or in case of contract cancellation by seller, per 
coin
-5. 'Wire fee': For aggregated amounts wired by the Exchange to the merchant's 
checking account, per wire transfer
-6. 'Closing': In case that a withdrawal process could not be accomplished (the 
users' wallet did not withdraw the value from the reserve), per wire transfer 
from the Exchange's escrow account to the account of origin
-
-
-Effects of fee types on Exchange operators, buyers and sellers
-------------------------------------------------------------------
+Effects of fee types on users: Buyers, Exchange operators, and sellers
+======================================================================
 
-Each of the above fee types is now considered viewed from the perspective of 
the buyer, the exchange operator, and the seller:
+Each of the above mentioned fee types is now considered viewed from the 
perspective of the buyer, the exchange operator, and the seller:
 
 * 'Withdrawal' from the buyer's point of view:
 
@@ -124,7 +120,7 @@ During deposit, the Exchange logic compares the public key 
of each coin with the
 
 * 'Deposit' from the seller's point of view:
 
-If an Exchange operator charges relatively high deposit fees, sellers have a 
means to correlate the fee height. As pointed out before, a seller must bear 
deposit fees, but only up to the maximum determined by the variable 
default_max_deposit_fee, which every seller specifies individually.
+If an Exchange operator charges relatively high deposit fees, sellers have a 
means to correlate the fee amount. As pointed out before, a seller must bear 
deposit fees, but only up to the maximum determined by the variable 
default_max_deposit_fee, which every seller specifies individually.
 
 Deposit fees will also affect refund transactions, for example when a rebate 
is given by the seller to the customer. Only in the case of a complete 
withdrawal from the contract by the seller the refund transaction exempts the 
buyers from deposit fees. Then, the refund transaction incurs the refresh fee 
only that would be borne by the buyers. If the seller's refund is partly, only 
the seller's deposit fee is waived, which means from the buyer's perspective a 
partly refunded purchase with  [...]
 

-- 
To stop receiving notification emails like this one, please contact
gnunet@gnunet.org.