If most people do really prefer to transact with their existing bank / credit / debit card (as per my last post), and if this process is seamless and customers don't need to leave the merchant site....then what an easy thing for 231Million MC cardholders to be able to engage with and what a great thing for the 10's of millions of merchants....and it does not matter who you bank with....it is just another choice as part of the exsiting transaction process that people make every day....noting, for MC holders, this amounts to 4Billion transactions per year....of course, not all of these are for the products that the SPLITIT focusses on.
I guess the test now is does it work?.... do people take this option up at such a rate that merchants see the benefit and MC see the benefit...if the answer is 'yes'....and you add to the numbers above with both Union Pay and VISA.....well, this SP could get interesting.
Of course, if the answer to above is 'no'....then the SP could also get interesting, just in the other direction.
IMO - given Union Pay kicks off mid-year, we are 12 months away from knowing the final answer, but of course there are likely to be indications along the way as to how this is unfolding.
So...read bit of discussion over the week on the next quarterly and apps!
In my view, not really that interested in the upcoming quarterly, the results will reflect the current predominant operating mode that is about the direct merchant to SPLITIT arrangements currently in place, which is not the measure here. What has happened to date is not the true business model. The test is the outcome of the MC/VISA/Union Pay......and as I say IMO the measure of that success is now not too far away....one way or another.
On the App, the moment SPLITIT gets an app, I am selling, because then I will know the business model and vision as failed.
EB
SPT Price at posting:
88.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
