Right, a middleman service that could operate much like Coinbase, PayPal, credit cards, etc. Which you don't have access to if you are DIRECTLY making bitcoin payments from customer to merchant. Which is what the comment I was responding to was advocating. Hence my reply that you would lose the ability to to do chargebacks in that specific scenario.

Sure, but it is a lot easier for companies to proliferate and compete in the space we are talking about, than in the credit card/PayPal type arena. It's a simpler business to run with less regulatory capture and old-boys-club effects.

Plus, bitcoin gives customers the OPTION to not be able to do charge-backs (99% of the time you know you don't need it); that saves money for the merchants, which can be passed on to consumers.

> Which you don't have access to if you are DIRECTLY making bitcoin payments from customer to merchant.

Sounds like how I can't chargeback dollar bills I use for a money order.

I don't imagine it will ever get to the point where people perform financial transactions with bitcoin using raw addresses. They will probably always use third party services like coinbase, which has a fractional commission, for the security, both in having a remote wallet (ie, bank) and providing chargebacks.

Right. That's one reason I'd never make a purchase from a site that requires a money order.

But the converse is also true, which is why I'd never sell anything to someone who wants to pay by paypal.