I prefer the free banking analogy. Ecash is paper banknotes without serial numbers. Mints are free banks on a hard money standard.
Discussion
But Cashus are not interchangeable between mints without melting and re-minting, similar to how you'd have to sell or trade an Amazon gift card for a Visa gift card. Mints are more like private corporations.
Yep. It's automated over lightning so you will pay a small fee and you can't be discriminated against. This puts everyone on a level playing field and ensures free market competition, which drives costs down for the end user.
A corporation requires a legal charter. They have explicit authorization from the state. The word, IMO, also connotes size and bureaucracy.
Mints are more like private businesses. Maybe you get chartered, maybe you don't. That's a personal decision.