Opportunities with no real barrier to entry attract many players
eager to make abnormal returns on the upward curve of a trend once it
has become apparent.
Such is the state of the local
fintech ecosystem and more specifically the micro lending space with
over 20 legitimate digital anglers on the Android mobile operating
system alone.
Banks have borne the brunt of the
disruptor’s deadly charge, first from the ubiquity of mobile money and
second from the growing adoption of smart enough, data enabled devices.
However,
in the classic kiosk model mentality many of these anglers are simply
replicating what first, fast movers did, without the attendant network
effects due to market saturation, often paddocked around short-term
loans, bill payments and airtime purchases.
I looked at Loop, the recently relaunched digital banking
service by 56-year- old Commercial Bank of Africa that debuted in March
2017, and it is clear that some work has gone into rethinking the core
value proposition for their target customer. While the stock features
that I mentioned are available, basic aspirations dictate that consumers
push daily towards esteem and self-actualisation. Financial inclusion
should be more about visibility and empowerment, not “assistance” in the
defeatist connotation that the latter carries.
CBA is
smart to build for a long-term relationship that compounds in shared
value. This means that consumers start to view the service as trusted
side-kick with a different and more relatable loans and personal finance
offering.
Money wants to be free, and the reduction in tariffs and charges is a sure way to drive stickability and usage.
The
leverage of certain mobile money relationships to build seamless
payment integrations and reduce the number of steps to fulfilment is
welcome and could over time lend a certain je ne sais quoi value.
When
it comes to matters finance, one is forever curious about how they
stack up. Social media, a key source of fodder is a bad barometer, often
manipulated and skewed to present a certain narrative or position.
The
community feature, using anonymised spend and category data, is a great
start to full blown gamification that can lead to transformative
behaviour change — that all important reassurance or subtle nudge on the
personal finance journey.
The need for storage and
movement of value will always remain. It is just the form that changes,
never the function. Loop has the makings of a habit forming product that
is balanced on service provider returns and consumer value.
No comments :
Post a Comment