Rishi Taparia - Issue #95
This week we look at Alipay taking on Visa and Mastercard in Europe, upgrading your memory with the help of a chip implant (enter the Matrix anyone?), the job boom in the US that is overlooking women, a 100 year old’s 100 meter dash and more. Enjoy!
Commerce and FinTech
A Chinese-style payment network to challenge Visa and Mastercard is taking shape in Europe
Let the QR code consolidation begin. Last week Alipay announced a partnership in Europe that brings together 6 mobile wallets in Europe on top of a single QR code standard (Alipay’s…) that will enable users of any of the wallets to make mobile payments at merchants across Europe that already accept payments for the other wallets. Oh, and more importantly, Chinese tourists can pay with Alipay at any of those 190,000 (and counting) merchants as well. Smart moves on everyone’s part.
Chip Cards Make Gains, but the U.S. Still Lags Most of the World in EMV Adoption
Chip card penetration continues to increase here in the US, yet we are still staggeringly behind the rest of the world when it comes to adoption. A mere 53% of transactions done in 2019 were chip-on-chip - which indicates both the card and the POS terminal had the relevant EMV technology - compared to as high as 97.3% in other markets. With all the consolidation in payments of late, an easy initiative to drive revenue should simply be to focus on converting the remaining merchants over to chip and pin technology.
Is FedEx's decision to split up with Amazon a shift in the industry?
In what seems to be an ‘I’m breaking up with you before you break up with me’ move, this week FedEx announced its decision to “not to renew its Express domestic contract”. Whether this ends up being a prudent for FedEx or not will take time to play out, but this certainly signals one thing - Amazon’s own internal logistics arm is close to prime time ready.
Grab rolls out security feature on wallet app
Nailing a customer experience, particularly in KYC, is critical to the success of any mobile application, let alone a financial one. Companies like Square, Stripe and Braintree have dominated their more traditional competitors by nailing an onboarding experience that is less cumbersome, easier to complete and offers instant feedback on status. This week Grab made their wallet onboarding process easier and “will allow Grab to do away with manual form-filling as part of the mandatory Know Your Customer process.” Going through this also gives users the opportunity to increase their transaction limit. Wins all around.
Technology
Upgrade Your Memory With a Surgically Implanted Chip
Welcome to the Matrix anyone? Over the last five years, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) has invested a (relatively small) amount ($77 million) to develop devices intended to restore the memory-generation capacity of people with traumatic brain injuries. Last year two studies showed some fascinating results.
Millions of Business Listings on Google Maps Are Fake—and Google Profits
Google Maps has become a go to place for location search - coffee shop, hair dresser, park all get typed directly into the maps search bar as opposed to the google.com one. The problem: maps is filled with false business addresses created by firms pretending to be nearby. Some are trying to get your business and want to make themselves seem bigger than they are. Others are posted by predators seeing what they can take. The lesson - trust but verify.
Mary Meeker’s most important trends on the internet
Last week Mary Meeker released her annual tome, exploring the technology trends, numbers and opportunities. Here are all the slides plus analysis.
Climate and Energy
Women Are Missing Out on the Biggest Job Boom in America
Renewable energy is responsible for a massive job boom, as “solar installer and wind-turbine technician are the two fastest-growing professions in the U.S., projected to rise more than any others through 2026.” According to a recent study, “clean power now accounts for about a third of all employment in the energy sector.” The problem: a shocking lack of diversity among its employee base in an industry dominated by white men.
Global carbon emissions hit another record
Despite the recent positive momentum, activism, incentives and aggressive targets set by cities and nations, carbon emissions hit a record high with “the monthly peak amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere in 2019 jumped by a near-record amount to reach 414.8 parts per million (ppm) in May, which is the highest level in human history and likely the highest level in the past 3 million years.”
Building the Wind Turbines Was Easy. The Hard Part Was Plugging Them In
In the Oklahoma panhandle, one entrepreneur set out to bring cheap wind power to less windy parts of the country. But there was a big snag: the American power grid. A fascinating excerpt from an upcoming book about Michael Skelly, Clean Line Energy Partners and their failed bid to upgrade the transmission lines that carry power across the country. For some additional content on the topic of the electric grid, check out this podcast.
U.S. Renewable Power Capacity Surpasses Coal For The First Time
The latest Energy Infrastructure Update indicates that renewables have surpassed coal in power generating capacity for the first time in history. A major milestone in the battle against climate change, but not one to get too overjoyed about. Capacity doesn’t equal generation and “because of the intermittent nature of renewables, coal still generates more electricity than renewables. But, the trends indicate it’s just a matter of time before that picture changes as well. But it is natural gas that is still the king of generation. Although renewable capacity additions are forecast to be well ahead of natural gas additions through 2022, it is likely that natural gas will continue to be the top source of U.S. power for quite some time. The EIU indicates that natural gas now represents 44.44% of total installed capacity.”
Random Tidbits
She’s 103 and Just Ran the 100-Meter Dash. Her Life Advice? ‘Look for Magic Moments’
Any time you feel too tired, too old or too lazy, just remember Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins. A 103-year old from Baton Rouge, LA, Hawkins took up running at age 100. Two years ago, at the age of 101, Julia Hawkins set a 100 meter dash record. “As I get older, I feel like I only have so many 100-yard dashes left, and I don’t want to waste them in practice.”
Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think
As evidenced above, it is possible to be happy in old age. The thing this piece outlines: you need to accept in middle age that your capacities are declining, and to adjust your ambitions (and sense of relevance) accordingly. “If you start a career in earnest at 30, expect to do your best work around 50 and go into decline soon after that. You don’t necessarily have to quit your job; what’s important is striving to detach progressively from the most obvious earthly rewards — power, fame and status, money — even if you continue to work or advance a career.”
Stay in the Game
An extraordinarily moving piece (and departure from the typical topics of this writer) about a troubled teenager, a stray dog, near tragedy and redemption. Worth reading until the end which will leave you satisfied and full.
Quote I’m thinking about: “It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” - Henry David Thoreau