You may want to look outside the traditional vendors to an emerging new set of players set to disrupt telecom equipment. With everything available "as-a-service" these days, and capex being scarce, AWS - and to an extent Azure - could be the next big players: https://www.economist.com/business/will-the-cloud-business-eat-the-5g-telecoms-industry/21806999 And who better than Jio to take the next bold technology leap?

Srikanth Rajagopalan

A little context would help in sizing the problem: 1. Your data show a fraud-to-gross (FTG) ratio for UPI of 0.02% by value and 0.002% by volume. I can't think of a single payment system worldwide operating at UPI's scale that achieves such a remarkably low FTG. The *reported* losses on credit/debit cards in just Oct '19 was INR 84.7 crore across 5,377 transactions would suggest a far higher FTG metric, given the lower base for card payments. 2. What makes UPI so safe is that your bank account number is never revealed. While this may delay fraud inquiries, let's keep in mind the solid design principle that led to such a remarkably safe ecosystem. Like UPI itself, safety mechanisms need to be simple and universally understandable 1. Consumers need to be told one thing simply, repeatedly, and by everyone - RBI, banks, PSOs - PIN ONLY TO PAY. Most scams would fail at this step. 2. Make it easy to report a problem. Have a big red SOS button in the app to flag a transaction as suspicious. Centralized repositories of suspicious transactions work only when they have enough raw data - which means consumers must find it easy to report a problem rather than have to run to a police station first. 3. There is work happening in the Account Aggregator ecosystem in Online Dispute Resolution that can be extended to accommodate UPI disputes. Chargebacks may not be relevant given UPI's instant settlements. https://www.bloombergquint.com/opinion/dispute-resolution-in-the-account-aggregator-ecosystem-anchored-by-sahamati

Srikanth Rajagopalan

In 2019, the RBI banned banks from using DSAs for sourcing retail loans. The primary concern was data theft and KYC fraud by agents of the DSA. "Co-lending" walks and talks like a DSA - so it must be a DSA. No surprises that the RBI is chasing banks down this time as well. If you think DSAs are having a tough time with the RBI, wait till the Data Protection Bill becomes law and the Data Protection Authority operational - in addition to their business models, their data privacy and protection mechanisms will have to stand up to stringent scrutiny. DSAs will not be able to monetize the customer base they build for banks, so the investment case becomes even weaker.

Srikanth Rajagopalan

Once upon a time, MBAs minted from top-class IIMs were hired to sell soaps and shampoos. Humanity's most pressing problem was to get consumers to buy Close Up, not Colgate. Fast forward a generation, first-rate tech brains are starting up to deliver groceries. Humanity's most pressing problem is to reach the kitchen before a consumer finishes dicing the veggies and realizes she's out of paav bhaji masala. Yay!

Srikanth Rajagopalan

Would you know how many loans are transferred out every month? Account Aggregation and the upcoming Data Protection law will offer some respite in porting out data.

Srikanth Rajagopalan

Aren't online property search sites an alternative to offline builder relationships?

Srikanth Rajagopalan

And this phenomenon is hardly unique to India: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/12/07/crypto-lobbying-is-going-ballistic

Srikanth Rajagopalan

Storm in a teacup. Once credit delivery on UPI takes off, credit cards will become as irrelevant as floppy discs.

Srikanth Rajagopalan

To be fair, you can't blame Big Tech for having to invest in public policy and advocacy in a country where laws and regulations are evolving with the market and can change unexpectedly and illogically. We have the unique distinction of changing laws retrospectively at the taxman's whim. Who knows how many millions of $$ of investment plans were brought to naught by the farm laws being reversed? Absent a logical and predictable policy and regulatory environment, you have to "manage the scene".

Srikanth Rajagopalan

Shouldn't charging outlets be standardized like 91 ON petrol or a 15VA plug top? Interoperability across charging stations is going to be key to gain consumer confidence. Let providers compete on location and facilities, not standards.

Srikanth Rajagopalan

Softbank + rock-star founder + overhyped vaporware + execution disaster .... Loved the detail and context in your piece. Buggy scooters can be far more harmful than cancelled rides and exploited drivers. Even if the basics are right, but say the display keeps popping up with error messages when riding, the distraction is dangerous enough to harm the rider. Let's hope they don't put customer safety at stake in the race to vanity metrics.

Srikanth Rajagopalan

Where do they manufacture? If it's anywhere but China, they have geo-politics perfectly timed for their advantage.

Srikanth Rajagopalan