7 ms·

It is now time to take all the innovations that have been happening in china around WeChat/WeiXin and to implement them into messenger. This time it's the other

by pierre 11y ago

It is now time to take all the innovations that have been happening in china around WeChat/WeiXin and to implement them into messenger. This time it's the other way around, we are actually going to copy the Chinese (they have had an API addressable messaging platform way before us and are ahead of us in the exploration of what work / is possible) : - this may disrupt Local business/shop relation to client. (see how weixin is used by small online shop) - this may disrupt insurance (see how zhongan is selling micro-insurance through weixin) - this may disrupt paypal, as soon as you can send 'money' over a messaging app. - this may disrupt movie / theater ticket selling ... (there is tones of other example) There is a lot of land to grab, the working use cases are already known (we get 5 year of china market data). I hope I had a couple of millions to invest in this market.

djsumdog 11y ago
> - this may disrupt paypal, as soon as you can send 'money' over a messaging app. American banking is so backwards and this will only make it worse. In Australia and New Zealand, no bank offers you checks. Do I own you $50? Well give me your BSB and account number. I type it into my phone app or web browser, type $50 and click send. It shows up tomorrow morning. Works on weekends, holidays, ANZAC day, New Years Day and no fees. $0. Person-to-person transfers are free, move in 24 hours and your account number doesn't need to be private. I came back to America back to the world of three business days for an electronic ACH payment to clear (if you're lucky)!! WTF?! Our banking system is in the 1990s because PayPal, Square and now Facebook will lobby to keep their business models. Fuck. That. Shit. Money should move through the banking system using standards, not via Facebook with their proprietary PayPal like garbage.
- knz 11y ago
  I don't think the average kiwi has seen a cheque in decades. After 10 years of living in the US I have started to rejoice in how despite being one of the most technologically advanced nations on earth the US still clings to things like paper cheques, $0.01/$0.05/$0.10 coins, US customary units, and a plumbing system that requires most houses to own a plunger. Perhaps it's a sign of assimilation?
  - JoshTriplett 11y ago
    > and a plumbing system that requires most houses to own a plunger. Getting off topic for the article at hand, but what's different in Australian plumbing in that area?
    - codeka 11y ago
      https://youtu.be/ryIQYYogQ8A https://youtu.be/ryIQYYogQ8A I've literally never owned a plunger in my whole life, and I don't know anybody who does. It baffles me everything I'm in the US and every toilet has a plunger!
      - matwood 11y ago
        Why wouldn't these be the default in all new construction everywhere? Are there downsides?
        Rapzid 10y ago
        Not that I'm aware of. Lived in NZ for 5 years and just moved into a brand new construction in CA just a few months back. Terrible. I've had to plunge(technically I use the scrubber to generate the pressure) a few times already :( Also, the showers mostly all have baskets under the drain caps to capture hair and stuff now.
        matwood 10y ago
        I searched Lowes website and could not find any toilets like this. There has to be some reason!
      - crwll 10y ago
        I don't think any toilet built here in Finland since at least the 50's (some of those still exist, earlier I'm not sure of) have needed a plunger either, those things just work. The US plunger thing just baffles me. And banking too, sure.
    - 10y ago
- martinald 11y ago
  The UK has the same but instant (technically 2 hours, but I've never seen it take that long) up to £100,000, works 24/7, free for personal (and v cheap for business - usually 30p up to 100k, or cheaper for start up business accounts). Next day would seem as backwards as US ACH to us now :).
- jeffasinger 11y ago
  At least ACH is slowly working towards being faster. In less than 2 years, next business day ACH should be pretty universal. In about 6 months, some ACH transactions will clear the following morning.
  - ascorbic 10y ago
    Meanwhile the UK has had instant transfers since 2008. That's about two years after I last wrote a cheque.
- Mandatum 10y ago
  It's been within 2 hours for the past 3 years in New Zealand (govt requirement).
- michalskop 10y ago
  Btw., being from the Czech Republic, I have never used a cheque in my not-so-short life. The bank transfers take here from 0 seconds (within the same bank, costs 0 in my case), through a few hours/usually (within CZ, costs 0) to around two days (within EU, costs 0.7€). Paypal is used here because of the ease to pay abroad and competes with Visa/Mastercard mainly.
- rybosome 10y ago
  > Our banking system is in the 1990s because PayPal, Square and now Facebook will lobby to keep their business models. I find it thoroughly unbelievable that banks are trying to offer advanced, consumer-friendly features, only to be thwarted by the lobbying efforts of the technology industry. Don't get me wrong: technology companies are not morally superior and above political manipulation, but they would most certainly lose going head-to-head with the banking industry. The banking system is stuck in the 1990s because banks have insufficient incentive to change, and there is a non-trivial segment of the population lacking knowledge of, access to, or trust in technology when it comes to financial matters.
hackaflocka 11y ago
Peter Thiel called China "copiers." This turned around fast.
fbthrowaway 10y ago
can you elaborate more on zhongan and micro-insurance? thanks! is it basically just chatting with an agent over weixin instead of chatting face-to-face or over the phone?

by pierre 11y ago

djsumdog 11y ago

> - this may disrupt paypal, as soon as you can send 'money' over a messaging app. American banking is so backwards and this will only make it worse. In Australia and New Zealand, no bank offers you checks. Do I own you $50? Well give me your BSB and account number. I type it into my phone app or web browser, type $50 and click send. It shows up tomorrow morning. Works on weekends, holidays, ANZAC day, New Years Day and no fees. $0. Person-to-person transfers are free, move in 24 hours and your account number doesn't need to be private. I came back to America back to the world of three business days for an electronic ACH payment to clear (if you're lucky)!! WTF?! Our banking system is in the 1990s because PayPal, Square and now Facebook will lobby to keep their business models. Fuck. That. Shit. Money should move through the banking system using standards, not via Facebook with their proprietary PayPal like garbage.

knz 11y ago
I don't think the average kiwi has seen a cheque in decades. After 10 years of living in the US I have started to rejoice in how despite being one of the most technologically advanced nations on earth the US still clings to things like paper cheques, $0.01/$0.05/$0.10 coins, US customary units, and a plumbing system that requires most houses to own a plunger. Perhaps it's a sign of assimilation?
- JoshTriplett 11y ago
  > and a plumbing system that requires most houses to own a plunger. Getting off topic for the article at hand, but what's different in Australian plumbing in that area?
  - codeka 11y ago
    https://youtu.be/ryIQYYogQ8A https://youtu.be/ryIQYYogQ8A I've literally never owned a plunger in my whole life, and I don't know anybody who does. It baffles me everything I'm in the US and every toilet has a plunger!
    - matwood 11y ago
      Why wouldn't these be the default in all new construction everywhere? Are there downsides?
      - Rapzid 10y ago
        Not that I'm aware of. Lived in NZ for 5 years and just moved into a brand new construction in CA just a few months back. Terrible. I've had to plunge(technically I use the scrubber to generate the pressure) a few times already :( Also, the showers mostly all have baskets under the drain caps to capture hair and stuff now.
        matwood 10y ago
        I searched Lowes website and could not find any toilets like this. There has to be some reason!
    - crwll 10y ago
      I don't think any toilet built here in Finland since at least the 50's (some of those still exist, earlier I'm not sure of) have needed a plunger either, those things just work. The US plunger thing just baffles me. And banking too, sure.
  - 10y ago
martinald 11y ago
The UK has the same but instant (technically 2 hours, but I've never seen it take that long) up to £100,000, works 24/7, free for personal (and v cheap for business - usually 30p up to 100k, or cheaper for start up business accounts). Next day would seem as backwards as US ACH to us now :).
jeffasinger 11y ago
At least ACH is slowly working towards being faster. In less than 2 years, next business day ACH should be pretty universal. In about 6 months, some ACH transactions will clear the following morning.
- ascorbic 10y ago
  Meanwhile the UK has had instant transfers since 2008. That's about two years after I last wrote a cheque.
Mandatum 10y ago
It's been within 2 hours for the past 3 years in New Zealand (govt requirement).
michalskop 10y ago
Btw., being from the Czech Republic, I have never used a cheque in my not-so-short life. The bank transfers take here from 0 seconds (within the same bank, costs 0 in my case), through a few hours/usually (within CZ, costs 0) to around two days (within EU, costs 0.7€). Paypal is used here because of the ease to pay abroad and competes with Visa/Mastercard mainly.
rybosome 10y ago
> Our banking system is in the 1990s because PayPal, Square and now Facebook will lobby to keep their business models. I find it thoroughly unbelievable that banks are trying to offer advanced, consumer-friendly features, only to be thwarted by the lobbying efforts of the technology industry. Don't get me wrong: technology companies are not morally superior and above political manipulation, but they would most certainly lose going head-to-head with the banking industry. The banking system is stuck in the 1990s because banks have insufficient incentive to change, and there is a non-trivial segment of the population lacking knowledge of, access to, or trust in technology when it comes to financial matters.

hackaflocka 11y ago

Peter Thiel called China "copiers." This turned around fast.

fbthrowaway 10y ago

can you elaborate more on zhongan and micro-insurance? thanks! is it basically just chatting with an agent over weixin instead of chatting face-to-face or over the phone?