Of a Dinosaur

*Disclaimer: This is a rambling discourse and in no way reflects the true situation facing the average Singaporean citizen today.*

And yes I'm speaking of a certain electronic payment company.

Today, let uncle rb dissect the reasons behind a certain electronic payment compan'sy debate for you, and offer a way in which the consumers (with abit of help from a certain private company) can hit back at a certain electronic payment company.

a certain electronic payment company's says...

"The reality is that if we want to ensure its future presence, it has no choice but to bite the bullet and re-align its business model to continue operating in a sustainable manner. Should we chooses the option of inaction, Singapore retailers would ultimately be left with only a debit payment service run entirely by international card schemes which charge higher rates."

Well, most bloggers and analysts have already derided that as bullshit. In order to be more competitive, you charge higher rates? HELLO?!?!?!

And we have the online opinion, which is:
brown-san: "Go back to cash"
Cowboycaleb-san: "I agree with mrbrown and will be paying by cash or credit card from now on. If enough of us do this, we could demonstrate our unhappiness to a certain electronic payment company in a very effective way."

Sorry guys. I like what you write, but I think you're wrong in this case.

Why?

Take a look at the shareholders of a certain electronic payment company. They include the certain financial entities.

I've been reading a book on game theory recently, so lets apply abit of that and step into the local bank's shoes.

Option #1: A certain electronic payment company continues to operate
All fine and dandy, status quo just that with higher profit margins. Good.

Option #2: The citizens vote with their wallets and debit/credit cards.
A certain electronic payment company closes down. What then? Mode of payment becomes exclusively debit/credit card, and what happens is that Visa/Mastercard/Amex could very well be laughing all the way to the bank. Or from the bank, as the case may be.

But frankly... will this hurt the banks? Think about it. A certain electronic payment company charges the merchant effectively less for the same service as a debit card. Closing down a low margin investment, trimming operations, cutting costs and giving up a thin margin which will probably be offset by higher prices charged by merchants. There are places in Singapore which will tack on a surcharge if you pay by debit/credit card. We all know where they are.

Well... I'm sure the banks will be crying and screaming to themselves: "why oh why did we raise the charges! A certain electronic payment company has closed down!" Get real.

So, dear reader it seems that we're screwed either way. Unless we use the extremely troublesome option of carrying prodigious amounts of cash around.

The way out? The way to hit them where it REALLY hurts?

Pay by a certain contactless card system. If that company could tolerate a short term heavy infrastructure investment, offering retailers tie-ups for electronic payment, and here's the clincher: GIRO for free top-ups to your contactless card system card, won't you then be more willing to pay by an alternate method? Heck, Citibank offers GIRO top-ups at a nominal fee to your contactless card system credit card anyway.

As a sidenote, rumours have it that a certain electronic payment company's office is really spartan, reflecting their total commitment and suffering. They only have facilities like large, comfortable sofas in their KTV room, a glass-walled gym next to the KTV room and a pool table so people can play pool while waiting for their turn to sing. They is suffering ok. Gotta give up a bowling alley to stay competitive.