Rishi Taparia - Issue #32
Amazon is getting into banking 🏦, credit card losses are piling up 🚨, Stripe goes shopping, DBS continues to teach a masterclass in digital strategy execution, what two months of print only news will do to content consumption, unintended consequences of retail closures and more. Enjoy!
Commerce
Next Up for Amazon: Checking Accounts
Amazon, now offering banking services. A logical step and partner institution (particularly given their other ties to JPM). However, I am surprised that they aren’t starting with SMB accounts given the size of their existing merchant loan business.
But Where Will the Mall Walkers Go?
An unintended negative ramification of mall closures that I had no idea was a thing to begin with, but makes total sense. As the name suggests, mall walking is walking the mall as a form of exercise. With malls across the country closing, these indoor exercise communities (that are not likely to jump to an Orange Theory class…) are being forced to relocate and change.
OpenTable Says Employee Used Rival Service to Book Hundreds of Fake Restaurant Reservations
When a rival company maliciously takes advantage of a service, you know you have a problem. OpenTable reportedly used rival service Reserve to make empty bookings at a number of restaurants that, due to the no-shows, led to meaningful losses. OpenTable came out and said the employee, who was fired, acted alone (obviously…) and that the restaurants would be reimbursed for the fraudulent no-shows.
FinTech
Credit-Card Losses Surge at Small Banks
We’ve previously discussed the growing non-mortgage consumer debt. Now, new data is showing that as small banks have been fighting for a bigger piece of the credit-card market in search of higher returns, rising losses are becoming a problem. Given the market tumult, this is a leading indicator in what could be a very big problem soon.
How digitisation is paying for DBS
Most banks talk the technology talk but don’t know how to walk the walk. DBS out of Singapore has done a tremendous job of both. Qualifying customers as digital if more than half of their dealings with DBS—checking their balance, making payments, buying foreign currency—take place remotely, or traditional if not, the company has placed strategic bets over the last 3 years that have led to greater profit margins thanks to better and more integrated experiences for customers in the city state. Now the bank is expanding its reach further in the region, launching digibanks in countries like India and Indonesia, full operations taking only 60-70 employees and a few chatbots. Competitor banks would be well served by taking note, it’s clear there is a coherent strategy at work here.
Square’s Cash app now supports direct deposits for your paycheck
Square has been doing a tremendous job complementing their processing business with additional services for merchants. What is surprising is Square Cash, their consumer product, has been quietly kicking ass. In a battle with Venmo that was originally thought to have been lost a long time ago, Square came out with monster user numbers and just added an amazing feature that allows users to deposit paychecks straight into their Cash account.
Stripe buys payments startup Index for point of sale processing
Stripe has purchased Index, which makes software and services for in-store point-of-sale systems. The move is a logical one for the primarily card-not-present business. It will bolster their move into offline and bring them engineering talent that can help navigate the challenges associated with card present transactions, particularly at bigger retailers which was Index’s target customer.
Growth in smartphone usage puts quick response codes on steroids
QR codes, once relegated to the sidelines, have made a strong comeback in India as the cheapest method for digital payments.
Technology
How Warby Parker Makes Every Point In Its Employee Lifecycle Extraordinary
Warby Parker is known for reinventing the commerce experience both online and as discussed last week, offline. They are also known for being a wonderful place to work. In this piece co-founder Dave Gilboa breaks down exactly how they’ve constructed this culture (hint: the experience for all ‘users’, employees included, matters).
The below Twitter thread is insanity. Check it out!
Something mysterious has been happening to some clocks on the European continent. From Portugal to Poland, from Denmark to Turkey, some clocks have been running slow. And it’s all because of a row between Serbia and Kosovo. A thread. https://t.co/WVZXUVom48
7:10 AM - 7 Mar 2018
Random Tidbits
For Two Months, I Got My News From Print Newspapers. Here’s What I Learned.
A great piece by Farhad Manjoo that touches on a similar vein as the article last week on why we have forgotten how to read. In it, he explores what limiting his news consumption to print and getting off social media did for his ability to form educated opinions and truly consume content. Well worth a read.
How To Be Better Than Everyone Else In 2018
All the new ways to prove that you’re healthier, busier, and better traveled than everyone you follow on Instagram. An amazing (satirical) look at how to be better than everyone.
Quote I’m thinking about (borrowing a section from Shane Parrish’s weekly newsletter): “The place you are born is simply the first place you flee.” - Daniel Alarcón