I think cheap and ubiquitous internet access has changed the game here significantly and it seems far easier to bring new products and technologies into the merchant space than it ever has been before.
> Visa/MC can straight up ban you from processing payments without rhyme or reason while they hide behind KYC/AML law
Yes, but if you had a dozen other providers to turn to, this may not be an issue, and may force the established players to have a more transparent policy.
> The government can't hide behind these laws.
I would consider the "No Fly List" as a terrifying example of where this naivete inevitably ends.
governments will give utilities a monopoly but with requirements such as they must service everyone regardless of profitability or they get fined all to shit.
If the government is corrupt or corruptible (and which aren't?) then "service everyone" isn't as objective as it seems.
Meanwhile you can just force all the collective carriers to post their prices and their profits publicly or threaten them with complete loss of license to operate. This has been effective in the past and allows for a more open system with many competitors rather than a state selected contractor.
I love how you throw in bidding as if we're not talking about the government giving a monopoly in exchange for guarantees (it's considered a public good). This exchange of guarantees has made energy one of the most stable long term investments in a way that other investments just aren't. Gee, why would anyone take that deal?
Go educate yourself.
And go read up on Chesterton's Fence.
I'm not sure trading three owners for one public one is the right direction to go, particularly since there are few limits to the number of providers that could be operating in this space.
The article points this out, too, that it's incredibly expensive and difficult to start a new network from the ground up. This sounds like the thing you actually want to fix.