Future of customer acquisitions: A compelling case for an “Interoperable Augmented Network™ (IAN)”
Know your product / provider / platform (KYP)
With a plethora of X-as-a-service companies and offerings out in the market, it becomes increasingly complex for customers to understand the product, it’s hidden benefits, longevity of the provider and its platform.
Customers have also started valuing communities, local brands and institutions like never before.
What does the post pandemic strategy / ecosystem look like while the economy renormalises?
Renormalised Economy
IAN (Interoperable Augmented Network™) is a paradigm shift from how traditionally customer acquisitions has been done as it will provide a common language for marketplaces, banks and retailers to build innovative, financial credit and wealth products at scale. By activating service providers connected to this network, it can become a source of customer discovery and financial product delivery. These new financial products can be designed around the unique requirements of borrowers as well as investors.
This also enables customers to leverage data that is already being captured by these service providers so that lending / investing can become a ‘cash-flow based operation’ instead of the ‘current balance sheet focus’.
Role of IAN (Interoperable Augmented Network™)
Financial service aggregators are a vital piece of this ‘Interoperable Augmented Network’ and will eventually be an important wheel in this lending / investing value chain while the economy renormalises.
- Dilip Krishnan
Views, thoughts, ideas are personal.
Twitter: Dilip Krishnan @krishdilip
More on http://www.dilipkrishnan.com
#ConsortiumCommerce™ : Impact on #SGBudget2020
Date: 18th Feb 2020
Time: 3pm
Skill, Strategy, Calculation and Degree of Chance!
With just a week away for #SGBudget2020, rehashing my thoughts on how #ConsortiumCommerce™ is set to influence Singapore’s path to a trillion USD economy.
#ConsortiumCommerce™ : Orchestrating the interoperable network of FIAT 2.0 economic corridors
I was contemplating the idea of #ConsortiumCommerce™ in its various formats with a few friends and industry experts during my recent trip,
Consortiums are key:
We all by now know all the contenders for digital banking licenses in Singapore across diverse sectors.
Listing down the publicly known ones, in no particular order,
I. Grab, SingTel
II. Razer Fintech, ShengSiong, FWDInsurance, Insignia Ventures Partners, Carro,
III. MatchMove, Singapura Finance,
IV. iFast Corporation, Hande, Yillion,
V. Ant Financial
VI. ByteDance (TikTok)
VII. V3 group, EZ link, Far East organisation, Singapore Business Federation, Sumitomo Insurance co. Ltd., Heliconia Capital Management
VIII. ShengYe Capital, Phillip Capital, Advance.ai
IX. AMTD, Xiaomi, SPGroup, Funding Societies,
X. Enigma, Blockchain Worx, 2359 Media, Qrypt Technologies
XI. Sea (Shopee)
XII. Arival
XIII. Shangai Jifu, JIC Technology Investment
XIV.Greenland Financial, MinIPO
XV. Zall Smart Commerce, Marubeni, Global eTrade Services
While we await the results sooner this year, a common theme that resonates across all these contenders is commerce (online / offline).
The importance of these consortiums and the ones to be can’t be ignored in this context.
Interoperability as a foundational element for new commerce:
Some notable announcements by Singapore in World Economic Forum 2020, Davos.
TradeTrust : Singapore partnered with International Chamber of Commerce and 17 international corporations which includes the likes of Mastercard, PSA International, Sumitomo Corporation, Standard Chartered etc. to accelerate digital technologies in trade and commerce. More details here.
Consortiums pave way for mutual trust and transparency. With interoperability a natural check and balance helps with self-regulation or less regulation.
These factors coupled with the intersection of global payment trends, within and across consortiums becomes pivotal in Singapore’s way to a trillion dollar and more.
Like I had discussed in my previous article, “The Everything, Everyone Economy” is all things Trust, Transparency and (self/auto)
Regulated businesses.
Dilip Krishnan
Twitter: @krishdilip
More on https://medium.com/@krishdilip
http://www.dilipkrishnan.com/blog.html
Thoughts, ideas and views are personal.
[#RCEP] Future societies…It’s Price and Purpose!
Orchestrating Economic Corridors, Network effects and what it means for cross- border financial services
Regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP), as we know it is a result of six years of negotiations and one of the most expected MEGA trade agreement amongst ASEAN and its FTA(free trade agreement) partners slated for conclusion this Nov 2019.
This mega FTA includes signatories across ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam), Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.
To give a little context in terms of impact, this is expected to cover almost HALF the world’s population and about 39% or more of world’s GDP with enhanced coverage across substance and procedure regarding,
I. Market access on trade goods
II. Trade in services and investment
III. Rules of origin
IV. Intellectual property
V. E-commerce
Economic Corridors addressing trade deficit:
Rules of Origin: With a view to prevent circumvention of goods through RCEP member territories, very strict rules of regulation needs to be in place owing to the following,
Market access: once granted can only be reigned by way of the rules of origin contained in the agreement.
Balance of trade: allows permissive rules for goods which one country is an exporter of and restrictive rules for which that country is an importer of.
Auto-trigger and SnapBack safeguard mechanism under Trade remedies:
In order to address the expected surge of imports from cheaper countries, an auto trigger with SnapBack safeguard mechanism would ensure some degree of protection to the local industry.
What does RCEP mean for cross-border financial services?
Higher degree of ‘services liberalisation’, cross-border trade, money and labour movement have been complex topics that needs to be discussed, agreed upon and streamlined.
Layering it with elements such as prohibitive localisation requirements, safety net for trade deficit adjustments etc. adds to the complexity and also creates opportunities to evaluate creation and usage of digital currencies fuelling regional as well as global ambitions supporting platforms and global ecosystems.
Systemic Responsibilities and its network effects
I’ve spoken about how new economic corridors aid in creating network effects and how its time for us to have systemically responsible FinTechs in my previous articles.
This spur and stimulus through #RCEP not only let’s us reimagine future societies, cross-border trade, money, labour movement and new collaboration methods.
It also increases our responsibility to focus on the imperative of system stability, domestic growth through rationalised, global ecosystems.
Visit this section post 4th Nov 2019 to know the implication of the seven year long negotiation and the mega announcement to discuss the way forward.
Dilip Krishnan
Views are personal.
Also on http://www.dilipkrishnan.com/blog.html
http://www.dilipkrishnan.wordpress.com
The Gap Within: on the ‘Cost of Investing’, ‘Leftover Treasure’ and it’s ‘Synchronous Vector’
Dynamics of deposits, money market funds and debt:
It’s common knowledge that the first wave of online investments were relatively low risk money market funds – products that typically invest in cash and super safe short term debt instruments.
China’s flagship money market fund, the Yu’E Bao fund offered by Alibaba and local fund house Tianhong asset management launched in 2013, laid the foundation for this online investment market and has spawned a wave of copycat products from there on.
Yu’E Bao offered through Alipay was intended as a way for users to earn returns on spare cash sitting in their online account. Online investors were attracted to Yu’E Bao and the host of other online money market funds that came in its wake by the prospects of decent returns at relatively low risk thereafter.
What matters and where does it point to?
Quite apparently, investors’ sensitivity to returns has led them to consider placing money is riskier products digitally. Influenced heavily by market movements, their behaviour has led them to opt for equity funds when the stock market is up and money market funds or bond funds in a bear market.
To encourage this synchronous vector of risk appetite and digital investing, what matters for fund managers is whether these investors will ditch their short term attitude towards savings, which involves scouring for best rates and switching in and out of funds. The hunting mentality hasn’t surely let the Long term funds gain momentum.
This certainly does point to the fact that to go beyond selling money market funds, investment industry needs to make investors understand why they need a longer term plan, why they need to live with volatility and why investing is not risk free.
Despite the disruptive way in which digital investing came into being, the shift has not resulted in a material change in the economic dynamics of fund distribution. Banks still dominate the sale of funds both in terms of sales via their mobile apps or third parties, but broadly cost of investing has remained the same.
How much of an impact does CASA deposit interest rates have on millennials’ savings / investment habits?
Considering the average level of deposit holdings, income and spending behaviour of millennials, it warrants us to rethink if interest rates on CASA deposits really matter for the millennials when they make a choice for banking?
If you are a millennial (even at heart) do leave a comment if you think you’ll be open to consider parking your money with a financial institution offering zero interest?
Rather asks for a minimum commitment (can be built over a period of time) and works on a ‘result based, invite only program’.
Idea is, if you want to be a customer then have a minimum commitment both in terms on quantum and time.
Augmented Advisory as a Wealth Catalyst
The focus is essentially on ‘outcome based banking’,
‘Changes in wealth that result from measures or specific investments or interventions’.
Consistently build your portfolio. Every week look forward to computationally intelligent top 3 options on what needs to be done. Imagine your personalised finance coach on steroids.
Checks to complete,
I.Consistently spends less than ones income
II.Bills paid on time and in full
III.Sufficient savings to cover emergencies and services 6months of living expenses? Are savings on track for longer term needs?
IV.Are loan payments made in full every month? Monthly loan payments not exceeding a certain percentage of income
V.Do deposits, savings and investment earn competitive rates of return.
Outcome based banking
In my previous article on 5G ride towards augmented advisory, I would’ve touched upon how this manifests along with open banking and artificial intelligence.
Wealth catalyst to monitor financial freedom guided by financial security. Like the famous saying goes,
“We must plan for (financial) freedom, and not only (financial) security, if for no other reason than only (financial) freedom can make (financial) security more (financially) secure”.
This brings back to the primary question, does interest rates on CASA deposits really matter for millennials when they make a choice for banking?
Dilip Krishnan
Also on http://www.medium.com/@krishdilip
http://www.dilipkrishnan.com/blog.html
Views are personal.
Creating ‘data from data’: the capricious conformity!
Depth of data APIs. Aggregated, defined and blurred
Data is at the core of any transformative vision spearheading and scaling businesses across various sectors. It’s potential grows everyday, exponentially so.
Utilising the multi-layer depths of data APIs in an aggregated manner by building the connectors shall eventually become the right source in today’s ever changing business atmosphere.
In my previous article on 5G ride towards augmented advisory, I would’ve touched upon the concept to #AugmentedAdvisory and its factor multiple. The areas we will focus in this article would be around,
I. Identifying disruptive opportunities
II. Non-differentiation necessitating established standards
…the ‘singularity (infinitude)’ effect
Different players across the consumer products industry have been facing transformation differently and at varied pace across its respective value chain. The indisputable fact remains that no category is immune to technological advancements not withstanding the rapidly evolving consumer expectations.
With this in context, investing in a transformative vision becomes an absolute necessity substantiated with the ability to visualise the ‘singularity aka infiniteness’.
Blurring the lines between traditional product lines
A product, no matter how great it is (or was), it is only a temporary answer to the basic, unrefined customer needs that a business serves.
Innovators over a period of time are able to articulate this raw customer needs to deliver dynamic customer experiences that the customer values. This results in the ability to tap hyper growth opportunities.
Traditional institutions started with an unique insight or model for meeting raw customer needs at one point, but overtime the impediments obscured the need and has eventually exposed the business to disruption.
Agnostic to any specific sector, businesses need to start looking at the more matured disruption spectrum to reboot their specific reference points.
Creating ‘data out of data’ to measure impact of disruption
Hyperawareness (both internal customer trends & macro trends) is a great start for any team.
Complementing it with real impact of these trends would aid in quicker and effective decision making by the management.
A dynamic roadmap for ‘Augmented Advisory as a Wealth Catalyst’
This brings us to the question, if it’s time for us to start thinking of ‘dynamic results based banking’ as a potential outlook for our future banking activities.
Taking a look back at companies who’ve been able to adapt, none of them actually knew what the future could hold for them but they ensured a dynamic roadmap and pivoted as they identified or created opportunities.
Spur, synergy, Stimulus
The spur in open ecosystems let’s us imagine future product categories in which products blur, experiences evolve and stimulate new channels expanding secondary markets.
Ability to continuously iterate using data from data and relying on consumers of future paves way to address the on-demand, niche audience through direct to customer platforms.
Join me in this year’s @Connectech Asia conference to discuss more on this.
Details here https://www.connectechasia.com/summit-programme
https://twitter.com/nxt_asia/status/1111055475947302912?s=21
Dilip Krishnan
Also on www.medium.com/@krishdilip
www.dilipkrishnan.com/blog.html
Views are personal.
Open Ecosystems – Faster, cheaper and more importantly ‘systemically responsible FinTechs(SRFs)’
Creating a new market accounts to bettering livelihoods, adapting to mass behavioural changes and also yearning towards a brighter future and more importantly ‘hope’.
The growing influence of open / platform ecosystems on economy, jobs, future planning etc. is more than obvious in our current context.
The flurry of new business models evolving through open ecosystems raises two major questions,
I. Is it time for us to identify ‘Systemically Important FinTechs?’
II. Can systemic importance be shaped and bestowed upon by market forces in a technology enabled landscape that’s ever evolving.
The market momentum that is…
If we observe closely, open ecosystems are constantly in a virtuous cycle of creating a new market, growing it and destroying it all at the same time. The resulting momentum is what sustains the model and eventual demand / market creation.
No profit, yet systemically important?
If a company can’t sustain itself by earning revenues then it clearly contradicts the very essence of systemic importance.
Mass employment and chasing sustenance
In Singapore context, the recent closures of HonestBee food delivery services and ongoing concerns within MilesLife are examples of thoughts to create new market and mass employment.
An approach coupled with sustenance and systemic responsibility will provide the required confidence and resultant momentum for scalable growth.
Dilip Krishnan
Also on http://www.dilipkrishnan.com/blog.html
http://www.medium.com/@krishdilip
Views are personal.
Hear more of this in Seamless Asia 2019
F8: Paradox of the ‘Heap’!
…activate ‘safe mode’ with F8
‘Future is private’ or is it?
To all of us who’ve been following F8 developer conference by Facebook, we can pretty much summarise the pivot as synonymous to activating ‘safe mode’ (read F8 key).
The more common functionality (aka) mobile payments
Experiments and product launches have been one too many in the mobile payments space but it has somehow not been fully embraced as yet.
The tech giants’ assumed, persistent commitment towards this space has greatly boosted this more common functionality (aka mobile payments).
All roads(insights) points towards an ‘integrated experience’
Insights data has led us to focus on the portion that customers are not only looking for the product, they also want a sensorial and social shopping experience.
Increase in traffic and conversions both through offline and online channels over the past few years attributes to the combined experience achieved through smart companion phone and the physical store.
An interesting outlook for mobile payments business
Interestingly, all the big tech companies (GAFA) have been constantly renewing their offerings and platforms to own the mobile payments space but with slow progress.
Noticeably, Facebook is the one strategically aligned with an interesting ‘commercial’ viewpoint towards mobile payments business. And this got even clearer with their go to plans as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp combined together controlling ones smartphone screen time.
The now Mark Zuckerberg’s companies(WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook) clearly has a better understanding of the ‘commercial possibilities’ of mobile payments and user experience.
‘Messenger’ of hope? Understanding consumer habits / credit behaviour
Facebook messenger is probably in the best position as it already understands millions of consumer habits and personal preferences (add data from WhatsApp and Instagram).
Couple it with their expertise in managing mobile user experience and advertising in this interface along with bots / NLP, Messenger could probably be a mobile payment method even without an account or card.
Probably, the element lacking to own the mobile payments space amongst the triumvirate of non-intrusive source of inspiration through mobile, data across the ‘group’ to provide an invisible mobile payment method and eventual commercial possibilities was the invisible payment method.
As the ‘paradox of heap’ goes, “When is a heap of sand no longer a heap?”
Apple Pay is already available in 20+ countries and has not stopped growing ever since its launch in 2014. Apple’s business approach with Apple Pay attributes towards exploiting the usage by raising fee on the platform.
With all these developments fronted by BigTechs, the question that still leaves a wide majority guessing is,
“What’s the definition of ‘heap’ or critical success in mobile payments market context?”
“Do ‘heaps’ or critical success metric even exist?”
Dilip Krishnan
Also on www.dilipkrishnan.com/blog.html
Open Banking – from efficiencies to externalities!
“Do we have an API for that?!”
This has somehow become the most commonly asked question these days.
The solution or approach to the above common question lies in one’s business model per se.
Individualistic business models demands a separate type or purpose of an API. Currently it can either be an ‘enabler’ or a full fledged ‘product’ themselves.
Linear to networked model – an efficiency ‘enabler‘:
API’s which act as enablers reduces friction to a large extent in business operations.
As enablers they provide internal service to different departments, frontend application developers and external partners in the creation of products, services for efficient internal services.
Externalities through API products:
Data interfaces and business model externalities unlocks value by focusing on the client improving elements such as engagement, conversion and awareness through service & product customisation.
Google, Facebook, Twitter, PayPal and the likes base their day to day activities on interfaces distributed to external community which are core to their businesses sold through an API.
As consumables, API products includes a triumvirate of business models, data interfaces resulting in an enhanced user experience.
Dilip Krishnan
Also on http://www.dilipkrishnan.com/blog.html
http://www.medium.com/@krishdilip
Views are personal.
API Days: to hear more on this topic join us on 23-Apr-2019 / 24-Apr-2019 in Singapore where I’ll be sharing more on this topic.
https://www.apidays.co/singapore2019
#APIDays #Singapore #2019
In the aisles of democracy…it’s all things ‘execution’!
19th May 2019: As the world’s largest democracy(India) completes its voting to decide its future five years, this election is more than a normal prime minister election to be followed by the book.
It is clearly a defining moment for Indians, global trade, future workforce and the concept of ‘democracy’ itself as a political ideology.
Indian politics and the ecosystem has always demanded nothing but a no-nonsense, aggressive, ‘EXECUTION’ mode (whoever comes to power to lead India) and play ‘no politics’. The importance of execution is manifold in today’s context. The absence or lack of planning, prioritisation and execution can result in no momentum or lack of results (no positive impact) of the announcements made with noble intentions.
Unfollow the ‘sparkles’
In five years of tenure, we as the general public should not be compromised if the bare basics of at least 2 big initiatives are not fully delivered across every government department. These big initiatives should be over and above their existing backlogs and business as usual activities.
The government at the centre should refrain from the ‘sparkles’ or new announcements every month which doesn’t progress. Focus on those two key deliverables that would pave the way to ensuring the government machinery keeping mistakes to a minimum or nil(read corruption) with higher transparency (achieving KPI’s) and absolute commitment to delivering within a certain timeframe.
Institutional autonomy and electoral bonds
The role of institutions and its ‘autonomy’ to function unbiased cannot and should not be taken for granted at any cost. Our government institutions uphold the epitome of ‘democracy’ and they must function sans political or power bias. This also gives them the feeling of accomplishment of their own initiatives and motivates to perform more of the unexpected too.
Future societies…it’s price and purpose!
As a progressive society, we need to come to terms that future societies will be ‘diverse’ and there are no two ways about it. I really can’t emphasise more on how diversity multiplies the effect on economic growth. Its purpose is to bring in global standards, jobs, opportunities and sustainable growth. The price to acquire that is by maintaining ‘communal harmony’ and encouraging diversity.
There again, the above is what the political system needs to deliver at any cost in the next five years. This is our only chance to catch up and one person at the helm won’t be able to change everything.
It’s a collaborative, continuous, incremental, wholehearted, all-in game with more than equal participation from its citizens (including an accountable, noble, honourable Prime Minister of the country).
Jai Hind
Dilip Krishnan
Also on http://www.dilipkrishnan.com/blog.html
http://www.medium.com/@krishdilip
Views are personal.
#Epoch: Apple of the ‘I’
5G ride towards ‘Augmented Advisory™’ — A Financial Services MOAT
Appealing truly to the ‘I’ in every individual, #Apple has indeed pivoted its platform model into the ‘Me’ domain of privacy and personal needs through services subscription.
Taking reference from the book ‘Subscribed’ (written by TienZhou), Apple as an organization is now fluid but cohesive, recurring & responsive and above all relentlessly centered around the customer.
For the ones who would need a little context on my proposed approach towards bettering platform business through ‘trusted, transparent, organised, high value products / platform businesses’, please do visit my write-up on ‘The everything everyone economy’ here.
Apple card is one such example of how boring essentials can be spruced up resulting in an edge.
So, what do I mean by augmented advisory™ and why is it an important financial services MOAT in today’s context?
Three important whys and wherefores,
AUGMENTING access through an ‘accountable ecosystem’
Using the apple device to apply and get access to its card is a smart way to further reduce the entry barrier to traditional financial products.
Revisiting my article on blurring the lines between financial products, this move by apple is one step closer to providing access to financial products by making it a more embedded experience through the device rather than an add-on which needs to be applied and availed separately.
By binding to the device, it also makes the ecosystem accountable for its application and usage.
AUGMENTING segmented, split second, everyday decisions
Not much on the apple card per se, but the pivot to services strategy has paved way to augment customers’ everyday spending behaviour, buying pattern, current and future decision-making behaviours.
With 5G speeds about to storm the connected world with reduced latency, increased data capacity and reliability, it would substantially increase the scope of services offered in real-time augmenting segmented, split second, everyday decisions.
AUGMENTING the notion of ‘discreteness’ or ‘privacy’
Privacy sells. Even better, the notion that it exists sells faster. 😊
Jokes aside, an effective package that shows customer value of their privacy (or data) to consolidate their ‘digital living’ and access through an accountable DigitalIdentityWall™ (an effective example: Apple card tied to Apple ecosystem) could effectively augment privacy and discreteness.
Dilip Krishnan
#AugmentedAdvisory #TheDigitalAmaze #TheEverythingEveryoneEconomy
P.S: Augmented Advisory™, DigitalIdentityWall™ terms are pending trademark. Not to be used without permission.
Also on www.dilipkrishnan.com/blog.html
http://www.medium.com/@krishdilip
Views, thoughts, concepts, ideas are personal.
Dipnik Inc.
Dipnik Inc. 