Inside Baseball for Payment and Data Geeks
Apple is just beginning to build a payment platform business for both consumers and merchants. If the cost of issuing a card, or acquiring a merchant, is 0.. What does this do to bank “relationships” and products?
6 June 2022
Square’s stock (aka Block) took a big jump after last week’s announcement that they would also be a partner in ApplePay’s new ability to accept payments. Today I thought I would cover what this will (likely) look like and 5 reasons why Apple Tap and Pay is a big deal.
My view is that CBDCs offer banks a transformational opportunity to reinvent payments and retail banking. The attributes that make CBDCs great are different, and in conflict, with today’s retail banking. But these differences are not necessarily a threat. What do banks see in CBDCs that causes them to go into defense mode? Why should you look at them in a different light?
The future for a US CBDC is uncertain. While President Biden signed an executive order in March 2022 directing the government to “Explore a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) by placing urgency on research and development of a potential United States CBD”, US banks seem dead against it.
This is my third blog on CBDCs, today the focus will be on the societal benefits of CBDCs, current bank resistance, and the opportunities for banks if they embrace it. The previous 2 blogs are blow and I’ll try not to repeat myself:
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Continue reading “Registration FAQ”The US, Middle East and a few other corners of the world remain the data wild west. Europe’s GDPR brought a global model for privacy that is being replicated in most other geographies. But where is the clearinghouse of permissions? The “one time” access to consumer information based upon online banking credentials has mophed into an “always on” inquiry for unspecified uses.
Short blog today as opposed to the 9 page monster in identity and attribution Friday. Today I’m providing my thoughts on what a consumer data bureau would look like. Summary: Banks have a unique opportunity to create a consumer data bureau and be the key “switch” for regulated and permissioned data. Will they seize it?
Per blog yesterday, everyone has a partial view of you based upon their observations and what you trust them to hold (see Payments and Observer Effect). The more often you interact with a single entity, the more they learn about you. Today Google and Amazon know you much better than your bank. Any unique insights that a bank may have is limited by their ability to take part in that transaction. Thus entities, with the ability to initiate transactions, have the most control (summary of Identity will Define Future of Trust Blog).
How others accept and validate our identity is core of payments (see Trust Networks and Authentication in Value Nets). The structure, exchange and assertions associated with identity are also defining: web3, DeFi, Crypto, CBDCs and the Metaverse. These are not separate silos, but rather overlapping ecosystems that must interact, thus the importance of bridging identity across networks/domains (see Blog – Trust is domain specific).
©Thomas Noyes, May 2022
My blogs last week have me thinking about the changes going around in Identity. This will be a long blog. Typo warning.. I’m still revising.
The number one thing I look for in payments is change: volume, technology, behavior, data, …etc. Effective networks are notoriously hard to change, but they are also very resilient (see blog). Small changes in data flows, can lead to significant changes in margin and “control”. Margin and control guide both public and private investment (see Evolution of Visa and Mastercard Beyond Payments).
Identity is our most important asset — it’s literally who we are.
Our complete “identity” is known to no one, as each entity we interact with has a partial view of us based upon what we chose to give them and what they observe. How others accept and validate our identity, and how others share insight about us, is the core of payments (see Trust Networks and Authentication in Value Nets). The structure, exchange, and assertions associated with identity are defining: web3, DeFi, Crypto, CBDCs and the Metaverse. These are not separate silos, but rather overlapping ecosystems that must interact, thus the importance of bridging identity across networks/domains (see Blog – Trust is domain specific).
Thought I would share the recommendations I’m making to the companies I advise. To be clear we aren’t in a downturn yet, but you may want to consider some actions today. A start-up is like a small boat on the ocean: the highs are higher and the lows are lower (and you feel it in between). We are in for some rough weather and it’s important to prepare for the storm and particularly new lows that have never been experienced by anyone in your organization.
Open to your thoughts here. Sorry for typos..
I was a small part of the initial Google Wallet launch in 2011 and have been a hopeful champion for last 11 yrs (20+blogs). I’m a big fan of the strategy here, a much bigger platform/enablement strategy than the previous flex/p2p effort.
Last week we saw a major relaunch of Google Wallet at Google I/O. See
Short Blog. I wanted to follow up on the last point I made in Bank ID Service – What Is It?
Some US Banks are refusing to jump on board SRC. As managers of risk, Banks are reluctant to accept network services which level the playing field in both managing risk and “diluting” their brand.… In some respects Authentify is a response to SRC.
Brazil’s Central Bank is now recognized as the leading innovator. Both in PIX and CDBC launch this year.
Identifying new networks is a must for any investor. The growth rate of network businesses dwarf most other models as each node invests something in joining. Mobile has transformed the time for network effects to reach critical mass – moving from 20 yrs (think debit card and mobile phones) to months. When network effects take hold, Investors see opportunity in both the network core (owner) and the periphery. We also look at how new services will impact existing established players
Short blog as follow up to yesterday’s blog on Acceptance Hurdles in eCommerce. Successful innovation requires a great new customer experience and/or economic model. The most recent success in the US is Shopify’s Shop Pay.