Month: April 2020

Netflix spent US$16 billion in 2019 on producing and acquiring new content. Amazon pursued its original journey with US$6 billion. Quiby, a yet-to-launch streaming service raised a billion dollars to create a catalogue for Millennials.

There is an incredible amount of spending from both the legacy media companies and streaming startups to attract the consumer to their streaming services.

This leads to the important question of why this extravagant spending and how does it make sense? The answer to this question is three-fold:

Servicing existing demand

Media companies are attention merchants. They compete to gain access to consumers’ leisure time. Leisure time ranges from an hour of evening couch time to days of free time during a long weekend.

Disney, for example, captures leisure time during a vacation through their theme parks while at the same time serves them daily through ABC, National Geographic, and now Disney Plus.

The name of the game for media companies is — to capture the free time of the consumers’ waking time. Before TV became a household phenomenon, the theatre was the main medium for video consumption. Consumers flocked to theatres to consume content. With TV, the possibility of delivering content straight to consumer’s homes came alive. This new possibility created a new set of media companies (ABC, NBC & CBS).

Also Read: 5 reasons why podcasts are good for your content strategy

Consumers already had the free time to watch midday soap operas, it’s just that TV was able to capture it. That is how servicing the existing demand looked like in the era of TV transformation. With ubiquitous internet-enabled devices, content makers got a new opportunity. They can service the leisure time that was available but was not serviceable through TV.

Leisure time that wasn’t possible to service through TV —

• Watch while travelling in an Uber or in the subway
• Watch while running on a treadmill
• Watch at the workplace, church or in a park

This ability to service more of consumers’ leisure time means, creation of more content to service to use cases.

Distribution elasticity of demand

Price Elasticity of demand is — when a particular product’s price reduces, its affordability brings in new customers who could afford and consume the product.

The price reduction increases the size of the market. The media consumer today can choose from a platter of streaming services based on his content and pricing needs. The emergence of the new distribution medium in the form of internet-enabled devices expanded the market size of media consumption both in terms of time and dollars.

Also Read: Updated: Music streaming wars heat up as Spotify launches in Singapore

A streaming media product over the internet has a new consumer base that a traditional TV channel couldn’t reach. The barrier of owning a TV and subscribing to a Channel Bundle is now removed because of a commodity called mobile device.

These new consumers including teenagers to college students who would have otherwise not owned their first TV. But they now own a different content consumption device as early as at the age of 13 years.

Subscription model

Every tectonic shift in media distribution creates a new generation of companies. For example, the emergence of TV as a platform created companies such as CBS, NBC & ABC. Streaming as a new distribution platform also created a new generation of companies such as Netflix and Hulu.

The advantage of being a legacy media company (Disney or Warner Media) is the product created in the past, can be repurposed to be delivered using the new medium.

The same happened when TV was created, the content which was created for the big screens was monetised on the small screen. By launching their streaming services, legacy media companies will repurpose their content in new ways.

Disney will give access to a 100-year-old catalogue through Disney Plus. Warner Media will attract Harry Potter fans to its yet to be launched HBO Max. While old media companies will instantaneously have a large and diverse catalogue in their streaming service, the new-age companies don’t have that advantage. To make up this difference between the size, quality & variety in content it is an unavoidable compulsion for new media companies such as Netflix to spend aggressively.

Also Read: Singapore’s allrites raises US$1.1M to grow its marketplace for TV, film and sports content rights

They have to create a legacy without the major ingredient for a legacy, time. This is why HBO is only spending a fraction of what Netflix is spending. It doesn’t have an entourage nor sopranos which will offer a sticky fan base.

Netflix has to fix this time and catalogue gap with more dollars. The only other way would be a studio acquisition. That is a discussion for another time.

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Singapore-headquartered cross-border remittance company TranSwap is in talks to raise US$5-10 million in a fresh round of funding.

In a recent interview with e27, Co-founder and CEO Benjamin Wong said TranSwap is looking to close the round “quite soon”.

To date, the fintech company has secured US$2.5 million from investors, including Quest Ventures, and an unnamed family office and a few high net-worth individuals.

“We have raised about US$2.5 million to date, and we are going to close another bigger round soon,” he revealed to this publication. “We haven’t announced it yet but it will be quite soon. The amount is about US$5-10 million.”

Started in 2015, TranSwap allows businesses to manage and execute payments globally while reducing FX costs and complexity. It also serves importers and exporters seeking to make payments internationally.

The firm holds money remittance licenses in Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

Last week, TranSwap announced a plan to launch in May a new offering, called Global Borderless Virtual Account (GBVA), in the US, European Union, the UK, and Indonesia. This new product will enable customers to open virtual bank accounts in these three locations. This will allow businesses to conveniently collect payments, convert foreign currencies, and send cross-border payments to over 180 countries worldwide.

The COVID-19 crisis

According to Wong, although many industries were taken a hit by the spread of COVID-19 globally, fintech is among the very few industries which haven’t seen much impact. The sector has, on the other hand, registered a decent growth during the period, owing to a rise in online purchases/e-commerce activities.

Also Read: Quest Ventures makes first close of fund II at US$50M led by Pavilion Capital, QazTech Ventures

He, however, admitted that if this situation lasts for over a year, every industry will come to a standstill, including fintech.

In view of the rapid spread of the epidemic, many businesses have shelved their plans to expand. TranSwap, however, plans to execute its geographic expansion plans.

As part of this, it has already hired one person in Malaysia, with plans to recruit more people in Indonesia and Singapore.

Outside of Asia, the fintech venture is also looking to hire in the UK and Europe.

“We are now accelerating our future plans. We have the resources and licenses to operate in Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. This year, we are going to apply for licences in the UK, Europe, Australia and Malaysia,” he said. “Our vision is to have global licenses in at least 15-20 countries.”

A veteran entrepreneur, who has seen various global crises, including the economic recession of 2008-09, Wong felt that cash flow is always important for startups to tide over unexpected events in life like COVID-19.

“Startups is all about expanding and burning money, so liquidity is very important,” he said. “Venture capital is likely to be short in times of crisis like this. Startups that have already raised funding should go back to their VCs for more capital. They also need to go their customers and employees and support each other,” he warned.

He also warned that post-COVID, the world won’t be the same. “It will change a lot of things. Many startups will not make it because of cashflow. Those who survive the attack of the virus will come out much stronger,” he said.

“Fortunately, the governments of all major countries are trying to help businesses in every possible way. You just need to hang on. Maybe, you don’t have three meals a day but make sure you survive. When it is over and if you get over the crisis, you’ll be much stronger,” he commented.

According to Wong, Asia’s remittance market is highly competitive, with the presence of multiple operators, including TransferWise and InstaReM. However, for TranSwap, its premium products help it stand out from the rest.

“We will be offering many premium products to businesses, mainly SMEs. Besides sending money, these businesses also need e-invoicing if they have operations in overseas countries like the UK and the US, which require them to open a bank account. TranSwap can issue borderless multi-currency accounts to them to collect and pay money, even though they don’t have an entity in these foreign markets,” he explained.

“Businesses also need hedging facility if they deal with currency, receivables, and payments. They also need treasury management. These offerings differentiate us from our competitors,” he continued.

Also Read: TranSwap obtains license to provide cross-border payments services for SMEs in Indonesia

Sharing his perspective on the rush for the new digital banking licences in Singapore and Malaysia, he said the digital banks will help serve markets and sectors, where traditional banks cannot reach.

“I think we can learn from the experience of the UK, where digital banking is getting an uplift. Because of the challenges posed by new digital banks, traditional banks in the UK have become much more competitive and transparent, which is eventually benefitting the consumer.

Besides, challenger banks in the UK are much cheaper — only GBP5 million is needed to start a challenger bank. So, digital banks have a crucial role to play,” he concluded.

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Image Credit: TranSwap

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With new businesses and startups growing faster than dandelions during a late spring shower, increasing sales and securing customers may be difficult.

One strategy that many successful companies use is to give away something valuable that makes each potential customer’s life easier and helps them to make a good decision.

Would car dealers have sales if they didn’t give some mileage away during the test drives? Even retail stores give away some of the clothing products—from t-shirts to hats to perfume.

Why does this strategy work?

There are two types of people in the world: people who are short-sighted and people who are long term oriented. Short-sighted people want to make a profit right away.

On the other hand, people with long term vision and business acumen understand that to run circles around the competitors, you give away things—or time—for free in order to get people interested, and then monetise downstream. That’s where the value ladder comes in.

Also Read: Customer churn analysis: How can startups get it right?

The value ladder is best explained through the following example:

A dentist loses money by providing free teeth cleaning. However, this gets them a long-term customer, and sometimes a lifetime customer because people don’t shop around for dentists if they’re happy, they stick with them!

A smart dentist understands that it’s okay to lose money upfront. The money is made in the following visits when the patients start bringing their children or partner for a routine check-up.

God forbid, if they had to get cosmetic or retainers, we all know how ridiculously expensive that could be.

The value ladder doesn’t exist just for dentists. If you’re innovative, you can create your way out of any box.

Think about how you can build a value ladder in your business by giving away things which have a perceived high value. Be unique, be helpful, and you won’t have to beg for clients anymore once you understand this concept.

Trust is the most powerful currency in business

The biggest hurdle between your startup and the potential customers is trust. People don’t know about the quality of your product or service; they don’t know if you’ll be able to deliver the promised service or product in a timely manner—heck, they don’t even know if you’re a genuine or fly-by-night business.

Also Read: Morning News Roundup: Antler pledges up to US$500K in funding to startups battling COVID-19

That’s why initially giving away something valuable is an important strategy.

This kind of practice is quite common in the online world. For example, SaaS companies offer anywhere from 14- to 30-day free trials. Netflix and Amazon Prime both offer a 30-day free trial.

Amazon Kindle offers a free sample of every book so that readers can assess a book and decide whether it is interesting enough to buy.

To encourage people to try out Adwords, Google offers up to a $150 coupon to new users.

As the marketing legend, Claude Hopkins in his book Scientific Advertising said, “I always emphasise that my proposals were always altruistic.  I was always offering service. Anyone could try what I offered without risk.”

When these multibillion-dollar companies are willing to give away something valuable to get people to interact with their services, why do you think that, without offering any monetary or non- monetary value upfront, you stand a chance of winning against your competitor who does?

Also Read: Good sales, good leads, here’s what your startup needs

However, the great news is that most businesses don’t do this. Look around your industry, and see if you can find anyone who is giving value upfront to the customers. The chances are slim.

Personal anecdote

Five years ago, when my girlfriend created her first website Get School Supplies; she knew very little about SEO and got almost zero traffic in the first few months. Then she decided to create a long list of schools and organisations who offered free school supplies in the town at that time and shared that article to Facebook groups related to mothers, parenting, education, and local towns.

As you can probably guess, she started getting thousands of visitors per day for the next two months during the back-to-school season.

The take-home message is to find something valuable which your competitors are not talking about; offer it your customers; be patient, and very quickly, you’ll realise that you are onto something.

–

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As we celebrated International Women’s Day last month; many people rallied together to celebrate the successes of women in all fields. While big names in the startup scene are often mentioned to laud their achievements, it is also imperative that we commend the successes of everyday women around us.

We usually hear about how full-time founders navigated through obstacles and persevered through challenges, inspiring us to believe that we too can do the same.

Thus, I felt that it would be refreshing for a chance to hear about a founder who is currently at the start of her entrepreneurship journey while being a student.

I was fortunate enough to be able to jump into a call with Ho Zhi Hui, to hear more about her experiences as a student founder and advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Zhi Hui is currently the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Skilio, a softs skills measurement and analytics platform that empowers organisations to track soft skill development.

Also Read: These Indonesian edutech startups are helping students cope and thrive during the COVID-19 crisis

Just last year, Skilio emerged as the National Champion for the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards 2020 and was also the winner in the Singapore leg of the Startup World Championship.

When asked about how she decided to start a company, she said laughingly, “Now that’s a funny story.”

Zhi Hui met her Founder, Felix, as they were in the same Orientation group in school two years ago. She is currently an undergraduate studying Psychology at the National University of Singapore.

She then realised that both had very similar interests and were able to get along very well (no wonder they say that finding a cofounder is akin to finding a partner). 

I asked Zhi Hui if she had any tips or advice for aspiring students who wish to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. 

Also Read: What not to do when you are married to the Co-founder of your startup

Here’s what she shared:

Look at entrepreneurship as a process, and not an end goal 

Many students yearn to be able to give out sleekly designed name cards, with “Co-Founder” printed cleanly under their names. However, how many of them understand what it entails?

The glamour and pride of being able to be the boss of your own company is merely the tip of the iceberg. What keeps the iceberg afloat is the heavy foundation of countless cups of coffee and innumerable hours spent in the office. 

“Don’t make being a startup founder your driving force, but instead let the purpose behind it push you.”

For Zhi Hui, starting a company was never an end goal, but a means to fulfil her purpose and vision in life.

Falling back to herself as an example, she reflected that starting a company was not on her mind when she first joined university.

Instead, it was through various projects and activities she planned that she gradually learned what she wanted to do in life: Engage other people and help them seek their potential. 

When Felix shared about Skilio, she realised that it was a way to bring her purpose to life and have a real impact on people.

Whenever she feels lost or burnt out, what keeps her going can be boiled down to one word: Purpose. The reason she started it all in the first place. As we all know, the most challenging part of starting a company is making it last.

Also Read: Why should universities teach blockchain to students?

Having a definite purpose is the bedrock in keeping the flames burning, to always have something concrete to fall back on in times of uncertainty.

Starting your own company is an opportunity, not an excuse

As a student, one’s schedule is often already packed with lectures and tutorials. Not to mention the various activities and projects that students have outside the classroom – time always seems to be never enough.

Along with the workload and responsibility of running a startup, it is easy to use this as a reason to justify when things do not go well. 

Zhi Hui, too, agreed that it is not easy to juggle between studies and Skilio.

With lessons taking the bulk of her time, she had to make productive use of whatever time left. She fondly recalled that nearing her finals examinations last year, Skilio managed to clinch their first paying customer.

As the timeline given by their client was tight, the team had to spend many nights rushing out the deliverables, while finding pockets of time to prepare for their exams. “You just have to get it done”, she quips.

Instead, she encourages aspiring future student founders to make full use of the opportunity available to expand your scope beyond your comfort zone. People, in general, tend to stick to what they are familiar with, due to the fear of trying something new or the lack of avenues even to do so. 

Being a founder gives you that extra push

Startups in the early stages usually rely on a lean and agile team. This enables one to have the opportunity to put on many hats and try their hand at different things.

Also Read: NUS, Ripple launch new initiative to expose students, professionals to fintech in Singapore

For students, being relatively fresh in the workforce, this is especially important to learn more about themselves – what makes them tick or gets them excited. There is a more definite sense of direction in what they wish to pursue in their future careers.

Being a student founder gives purpose to your learning

How many times have we heard about students questioning the practicality of what they learn? While students usually understand the theory of the concepts they learn, the problem arises when they do not have the practical experience to put ideas into action.

Therefore, much of their learning is based on past case studies and not first-hand experiences, leaving students unconvinced of the value of what they are learning. 

“Whenever I attend lessons, a constant thought that runs through my head would be how could this be applied to Skilio”, Zhi Hui said. 

Running a startup concurrently while studying, therefore, gives purpose to what students learn in lessons as they get to put it into use in real-life situations. 

For her, the Psychology and Business modules she learnt could be applied in Skilio, which provides a soft skills measurement and analytics platform.

“Learning is also immediate as what I learn today can be applied right after the lesson,” she adds.

Referring to past examples would not be able to replicate the level of understanding that first-hand application would be able to provide. Being able to try, make mistakes and learn from them produces a different experience altogether. 

However, this would also mean that the learning curve would be steeper as one has to be quick in picking up concepts to be able to apply them immediately. This is a challenge that Zhi Hui relishes.

Also Read: NUS, Ripple launch new initiative to expose students, professionals to fintech in Singapore

On hiring

I was genuinely interested in how she and her other co-founders approached hiring for the team, given their relative lack of work experience. “So far, some of the interns that we hired were older than me, some who I do admit are more experienced than myself”, Zhi Hui remarked. 

She mentioned that when looking for potential hires, the most important indicator that strikes her is the willingness to learn. It never mattered co-founders themselves were younger or had less experience. This actually meant that there is always something to learn from each hire that joins.

In the end, they made it a point to ensure that interns that come aboard are genuinely picking up useful skills and knowledge.

This is done through a milestones approach where the founding team guides interns closely through different checkpoints.

Once the interns start to get the hang of their work, will they then give them more freedom.

It is also interesting to note that many of the interns that come aboard willingly work for free. In return, Skilio uses its grants to send them to courses that enable them to upskill themselves. Valuable opportunities such as meeting investors and attending conferences were also opened to interns.

Funnily enough, Zhi Hui, is currently an intern at another Israeli startup, Inception as part of her school’s NUS Overseas College programme.

This unique situation allows her to understand the perspectives of those working under her. Observing how her founders carry themselves and work with a larger team gives her insights into what kind of a founder she wants to be as well. 

For example, the founder at Inception made it a point to check up on her weekly on the work she was doing. If it is too menial and operational, rather than brainwork that is purposeful, she will make the necessary adjustments to ensure that she was always learning.

Also Read: Rethinking the way we do student internships

Similarly, at Skilio, she makes learning a priority for her interns and that they were still making meaningful contributions through their work.

Give it a chance!

Not everybody is meant to be a startup founder. However, given the opportunity, I truly believe that it is something worth trying for. After all, many other full-time entrepreneurs start their own companies but ultimately fail in the end. 

There is little harm in starting early. Even if you do not decide to pursue it full-time, you might discover something that you could be passionate about or adept at. Being a founder would bring new perspectives and lessons that an internship might not be able to provide.

Like Zhi Hui, you might never know, your passion could lead you to the start of your entrepreneurial journey!

–

Register for our next webinar: Mindful meditation for working professionals

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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To most people, business continuity plans (BCPs) are about as interesting as aviation security announcements. To the average employee, compliance trainings are probably as fun as airport security checks. Having downside protection in relation to an abstract scenario leaves a majority of people unbothered, simply because it is easier for us today to imagine our likely tomorrow –as opposed to an unlikely situation a year from now.

So, as the world got punched in the face by COVID-19, we learned that existing contingency plans did not really work, probably because nobody thought it was purposeful or fun creating them in the first place. Generally speaking, most people are bad at things they do not really care about. That also includes following rules one does not understand or perceive as useful.

What resulted was a situation in which we needed to improvise, devising effective solutions fast. Initially, few managed to do so. Gradually, governments and the private sector got up to speed. Now that we have (somewhat of) a plan and a common enemy (the virus), we still lack overarching purpose.

We must realise that enforcing new rules and compliance measures alone won’t make people care about playing their part. Mainly, that’s because rules are rarely designed to be human-centred. Which is a problem if the intention is for people to follow them.

Also Read: 10 things you should incorporate into a business continuity plan

Following rules for fear of consequences is an extrinsic, highly reactive behaviour: We do it because we have to, often with a minimum effort approach. Beyond that, what we really need is everyone to proactively do the right thing. That means moving beyond rules alone and making people concur with a universal purpose in doing so.

A rule is an equivalent of telling someone: Actually, I do not trust you to do what is right, therefore I shall be forcing you to do it. Rules are important as a fallback for when purpose does not do the job, but they cannot and should not replace efforts to make people believe in behaving rightly. The way to reduce alcohol consumption is not taxation alone, it is in swaying public opinion of it from positive to negative. For that to happen, social dynamics need to compel everyone to consider this shift worthwhile.

Bottom line: We need to stop thinking rules will fix everything all by themselves. Mobilising as many as we can to champion the right behaviour should be an absolute priority.

Exactly the same applies to organisational transformation and equally, personal growth. We must seek consensus on the why behind the change before we reach for the whip. As a famous saying goes:

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, instil a yearning in them for the vast and endless sea.

In fact, telling people what to do automatically makes them feel they are not in charge, which is dangerous especially in times like these. More than ever, we need each and every one of us to contribute to solving the global Coronavirus problem. Now that we have the urgency and we designated rules to follow, let us address that glaringly obvious missing element connecting humanity in this global fight: A simple narrative to unite us in purpose. That will change everything and leave behind a better post-crisis world.

It is time to stop thinking rules will fix this, and empowering us everywhere to feel we are part of the solution, not the problem. Perhaps this approach will also finally get us on a right track in addressing climate change. We must believe in it because we actually care and want to make a difference. We must feel this challenge is our problem and that our contribution will be part of the solution. A wise person said, “The difference between heaven and hell is doing things willingly.” Investing globally in proliferating shared purpose and agency for all of us to tackle our planet’s biggest challenges will make us feel much better regarding the current situation we are all in, and leave us with better future for humanity. I would say it is worth it.

(By the way, the ship quote is by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, also known as the author of The Little Prince. We can learn a lot from that chap.)

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This is the new normal.

Around the world, small businesses are closing shop, and non-essential workers are being either laid off or asked to go on unpaid leave, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The International Monetary Fund has declared that the world is in a global recession, which means countries will need fiscal or monetary strategies to stimulate their respective economies.

Until our medical experts find a cure or vaccine for COVID-19, businesses will have to deal with the impact of physical distancing policies, which often result in the halt of businesses and trades deemed as non-necessities.

Digital-first businesses or brick-and-mortar industries that have gone the digital route are still thriving amid reduced demand. After all, life must go on, at least in some form. For traditional businesses, this means finding innovative ways to continue earning revenues, such as dealing with customers through online or alternative channels.

Either way, social distancing is changing the way we do business–even for traditional businesses. Case in point: Paying through traditional currency is seen as a risky move since physically handing paper money and coins can result in the transmission of pathogens like the coronavirus.

As such, businesses have shifted to cashless transactions such as mobile and digital payments.

Also Read: RIP travellers’ cheques: Digital payments pave the way for faster, cheaper, and more convenient travel

Here are some ways through which the digital payments industry is enabling businesses to survive and even thrive during these times.

New digital payment technologies offer a near-instantaneous settlement

For many merchants, one of the biggest challenges in using digital payments is the length of settlement. Small businesses especially need to stay liquid, and having to wait for long settlement times means they are unable to utilise the received payments in business operations or paying for their own vendors and supplies.

New fintech providers combine the use of digital currencies with settlement partners (such as banks, financial institutions or other fintech providers) in ensuring a high speed of fund settlement.

Dmitry Fedotov, Business Development at BC Vault, a hardware wallet platform with offices in Slovenia and Hong Kong, says that partnership and integration within the fintech ecosystem had resulted in a very high level of convenience for users. “This gives the user the chance to be able to do even more things with the product in the same ecosystem.”

He cites how interconnectivity and collaboration with industry players can automate exchange between cryptocurrencies and with fiat money, which includes fiat money. This enables “exchange of crypto coins from currency A to currency B fully in the native application itself.”

With the latest innovations in digital payment platforms, merchants don’t have to go through the extra effort of exchanging their digital currency into their local currency. Nor do they have to wait lengthy clearing times, which can be a cause for delay in fulfilment or resupply.

Digital currency is increasingly more secure

Because of the cryptographic nature of digital currency like cryptocurrencies, these are inherently secure, especially with distributed consensus mechanisms and immutability (thus irreversibility) of transactions. For both merchants and users, this ensures the integrity of transactions, leading to more confidence in transacting online.

Also Read: The case of e-wallets: which e-payment apps do Singaporeans use the most?

While there had been news of crypto hacks and thefts, especially in the early days of the industry, digital wallets today provide increasing levels of sophistication in terms of security. 

For one, hardware wallets are increasingly becoming popular. These are devices that store the private key that cryptographically signs all transactions, which make secure cryptocurrency payments possible. Meanwhile, online wallets are also providing better security features.

“Software wallets can implement the option to securely connect to a hardware wallet for signing of transactions and accessing services in the software app whilst hardware wallets would keep all private keys secure on the device, therefore enjoying the best of both worlds; the great usability, features, native support of assets and integrated services of software wallets and the unparalleled key isolation an offline device offers,” says George Kimionis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Coinomi, a multi-chain cross-platform wallet.

Alen Šalamun, Chief Technology Officer at BC Vault, adds some valuable insights regarding the importance of security: “Hardware wallets store the private key separately from the potentially vulnerable computer/smartphone and never expose the private key. They take in requests for transactions and send back signed transactions. This means that a remote attacker controlling your computer/smartphone is unable to gain access to the private key.”

Adoption and integration of digital payments is growing

Even as digital payment platforms offer higher levels of convenience and security than before, the biggest challenge would be mass adoption. Users will be unable to transact with digital currencies if merchants do not accept such payments. For merchants, having a wider user base means more potential customers.

“We believe the integration of one type of wallet to another one can be an extra push towards mass adoption. Our common goal is to implement crypto into daily life,” says Konstantin Gladych, Chief Executive Officer at Atomic Wallet, a non-custodial multi-asset wallet based in Estonia, and who is also Cofounder and former CEO of Changelly.

For digital wallet companies, this means being able to interface with services like e-commerce providers, exchanges, and even payment gateways. “Clearly, this is a factor that leads to mass adoption of Blockchain technology. People will be more comfortable to try out the technology and get more benefits,” says Son Truong, Marketing Manager of Bacoor Inc., a digital wallet company with offices in Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Also Read: Are e-wallets in Malaysia on the money?

Truong adds how the digital payments industry is growing, even amidst the current economic hardships the world is facing. “At this very moment, more companies and investors are joining the industry. If we take a look back to five years ago, the market cap was approximately US$3.8 billion. Now, it has increased 55 times, which is US$165 billion at the time of this conversation despite the downtime.”

Digital wallets are highly integrated into mobile devices and mobile lifestyles

Increased adoption also means having the convenience of accessing digital funds on devices that we are already familiar with. “We’ve definitely come a long way since the early days when accessing the blockchain via a wallet was a privilege of the few. Today anyone can securely set up a wallet in minutes, with just a smartphone,” says Coinomi’s Kimionis.

BC Vault’s Fedotov says that digital platforms will need to work closely with the community to ensure that users are well-familiarised with the digital assets industry. “We try to make things clear and also provide deep down information on complicated things. Basically 80-90% of all support questions arise from lack of knowledge about how blockchain/crypto fundamentally works.”

The global recession is making a big impact globally, with ripple effects across industries. Digital businesses are not exactly immune to this, but solutions like digital payments can empower both digital and brick-and-mortar industries into providing innovative services to their customers.

With better security, increased partnerships, and more participation from the community, such solutions can help the industry survive and even thrive amidst the current economic climate.

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Mounting concerns over the coronavirus pandemic in Singapore is having an impact on online consumer behaviour. The prospect of being trapped at home for weeks has seen people embark on a work-from-home setup and other activities.

As movement is being restricted in Singapore, consumers turn online to purchase items.

As such, we were able to observe really unique and unexpected items consumers were interested in after analysing more than hundreds of thousands of shoppers on iPrice.sg. As a result, the demand for unexpected products under categories such as healthcare, electronics, gaming, home & livings, appliances, and drinks have soared since February.

Safety is important

We probably are not surprised that vitamin C, face masks or hand sanitisers are what people are looking for online. But how many of us thought that Singaporeans was searching high and low for condoms too? Data reveals that searches for condoms shot up to 67 per cent in the week of March 23.

Also Read: Singapore’s e-commerce is getting stronger thanks to highest per capita income in the region: iPrice report

Consumers scrambling to set up a home office

Though Singaporeans are socially distancing from each other, being socially connected with close family, friends and colleagues via online has been at an all-time high. Driving this new norm, we saw that consumers were searching high and low in interest for items such as webcams, Wifi routers, printers, and keyboards.

According to iPrice’s data, we recorded that there is an 85 per cent increase in searches for webcams and 99 per cent for Wifi routers. On the other hand, the increase of search interests for keyboards and printers also jumped by 137 per cent and 67 per cent respectively, in the week of March 23 and March 29. This has shown that Singaporeans are searching on mindfulness materials for a work-related purpose.

Contagious rise of gaming

The gaming industry today has experienced immense attention as people are looking for more ways to stay entertained at home. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been highly supportive of gaming though declaring video games addiction a mental health disorder a year ago.

As such, our data shows that entertainment items such as video games consoles and TV were recorded to have the highest searches during this COVID-19 period. This may indicate that most Singaporeans have turned to gaming as the new digital hangout option.

Observing gaming related items such as Nintendo Switch and PS4 since March 1 and 12, our data reveals that PS4 and Switch saw an amazing improvement in interest by 713 per cent and 57 per cent respectively, while TV experienced an over 35 per cent increase in searches.

Cooking at home

Now that most of us are cooped up in our homes, this presents an exciting opportunity to try out new recipes and home-made food after getting bored with packed foods. Our data also reveals that the interest of searches on cooking equipment such as cookware, dish racks, and rice dispensers grew by 57 per cent.

Practicing good hygiene at your kitchen and any surfaces in your house is also highly important especially during this global pandemic. Therefore, Singaporeans also seem to be searching for disinfectant related items such as Dettol more than ever as it was recorded to increase massively by 127 per cent. This probably shows that average households are stocking up hygiene products to ensure a clean environment at home.

Also Read: Afternoon News Roundup: Malaysian e-commerce aggregator iPrice raises US$10M Series B financing

Caffeine and alcohol 

With “stay at home” as our new mantra, scheduling regular breaks for stepping out of your isolation bubble is needed to continue your work effectively.

It turned out that most Singaporeans were also looking for coffee and alcohol to create an experience of re-grouping after spending time on tasks, which suggests these items are pretty essential as well during this “circuit breaker” mode.

Our data reveals that the increase in searches of coffee was recorded a 107 per cent upsurge growth in interest and followed by alcohol that experienced a 47 per cent increase as well.

One of the many potential reasons that led Singaporeans to consume these was to ease the stresses and help kill the time during this period.

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As people stay at home due to quarantines and social distancing measures, one unsung hero has been busy crossing empty streets to fulfil society’s needs: delivery drivers.

Though going out is heavily discouraged, people still have demands to be fulfilled such as getting food, delivering packages, and stocking up on household goods. The conflation of e-commerce, technology and virus fears have birthed what could be a new normal of last-mile services: contactless delivery.

Google searches for Uber Eats, Door Dash, Postmates and Grubhub jumped 53 per cent on a month to month basis, with home delivery rates doubling since the outbreak announcement in the US. Data in France shows that e-commerce purchases in Q1 20202 are 15 per cent higher compared to the previous quarter, and supermarkets such as Roth’s Fresh Markets overburdened by a 700 per cent increase of their grocery delivery services.

Contactless delivery allows couriers and recipients to complete deliveries without having to interact –reducing the likelihood of infection. Contactless delivery is not new, but since the outbreak, companies around the world have quickly been implementing them to their systems. Gojek, Grab, UberEats, Meituan and Postmates are a few names among many that have added contactless delivery options on their platforms.

Also Read: News Roundup: RaRa Delivery raises over US$800K funding; Nusantics completes COVID-19 test kit prototype

The most popular form of contactless delivery is what is termed as “curb-side delivery” and many food delivery services now include a “leave the order at my door” option.

Indeed, the reception of contactless delivery has been tremendous; Chinese delivery provider giant Meituan found that between January 26 and February 8, more than 80 per cent of their orders nation-wide were requested with a contactless delivery option. Delivery data from Wuhan– revealed that 95.1 per cent of orders requested a contactless option.

Consumers are adapting behaviour to suit; many residential compounds and buildings around the world are limiting access for couriers and having them leave the package in a designated area to minimise contact between persons whilst ensuring package security.

Aside from eliminating physical interaction, many customers are increasingly turning to cashless payment options such as e-wallets instead of conventional Cash on Delivery. This change is evidently motivated by current global circumstances; however, if this does prove to be a safer, more secure and more efficient business model, why would it not persist when the outbreak ends?

The most interesting implication of this evolution of consumer preference reaches a delivery model once reserved for sci-fi movies: complete automation. A behaviour revolution of contactless delivery could tip the scale towards adoption of delivery by autonomous vehicle – instead of having drivers at all, why not take to the sky using drones that know where and when exactly to drop your package?

Also Read: As Malaysia closes borders, travel and delivery startups share responses to the current crisis

JD.com has started conducting deliveries in Wuhan using its autonomous robot delivery to reduce human to human contact. Meituan meanwhile is piloting autonomous delivery vehicle in Beijing for contactless delivery initiatives and has delivered over 600,000 times last year in Beijing and Shenzhen.

Even today, Chinese food delivery service giant Ele.me has already deployed delivery robots to send meals to rooms in a quarantined hotel over at the city of Wenzhou.

Contactless delivery is quickly sweeping the last-mile delivery industry because of pressing virus fears, with an unexpected development from this being the rise of completely automated models of delivery.

Many facets of business and society will be reoriented in a post-Coronavirus world, and it is likely how we think about deliveries will be one of the major ones.

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For more insights by RHL Ventures on COVID-19’s impact on the transportation industry and various other sectors, please visit this link.

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