What The FinTech #124 - 8 Jan 2023
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What was the FinTech this week in: 📰
HONG KONG
WeChat Pay HK helps with mainland cross-border payment services
Hong Kong brokers, fund managers get ready for virtual-asset trading as SFC widens access to retail investors
WeChat Pay HK helps with mainland cross-border payment services
WeChat Pay HK, a mobile payment platform under Tencent, welcomes the decision and anticipates a large number of Hong Kongers to visit the Mainland of China for family reunions, leisure and business travel.WeChat Pay HK users will be able to enjoy seamless, safe and convenient cross-border payment services in areas of travel, dining, shopping and entertainment.The resumption of travel betweenHong Kong and the Mainland of China is expected to boost demand in cross-border payments. WeChat Pay HK launched cross-border payments at the end of 2018, so Hong Kongers can now use their WeChat Pay HK wallet in the Mainland of China. Currently it supports more than 1 million merchants on the Mainland including popular F&B merchants, travel hotspots and transportation. Meanwhile, all transactions done in Mainland China via the WeChat Pay HK wallet are exempted from handling fees and will see a favorable exchange rate that’s much lower than that of credit cards.
Local brokers and fund managers have been asking about licensing requirements to trade virtual asset for retail clients following a key amendment to a local legislation. The Legislative Council last month passed the amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Act, imposing a new licensing regime on virtual-asset service providers from June this year under the purview of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The SFC is expected to issue a consultation paper on how to allow retail investors access to trading in virtual assets, versus the current restriction to professional investors. This represents an opportunity for local financial services firms to widen their reach to retail investors. Brokers currently do not require additional specific licences to service their clients in trading Hong Kong-listed exchange-traded fund futures based on bitcoin and ether. However, those planning to provide active trading of virtual assets – such as cryptocurrencies and their related futures products – will need additional approval from the SFC.
SINGAPORE
Singapore’s ChiChaPay debuts digital crypto wallet
Singapore’s ChiChaPay debuts digital crypto wallet
Singapore’s ChiChaPay launched a digital wallet thatprocesses both fiat and cryptocurrencies.ChiChaPay will offer a host of financial options for users including staking, reward points, and investing solutions based on blockchain technology.It is a Web3 wallet, allows access to Web3, and processes payments in digital currencies, or crypto.The company’s gateway can accept cryptocurrency payments from “all major wallets” through API integration.Fiat currency is still very much around, driving internet commerce, while the role of financial institutions andcentral authorities with regard to payments has only grown in importance as industries undergo digital transformations and consumers increasingly use digital wallets to purchase goods and services.
CHINA
How China is building a parallel generative AI universe
China adds more cities to its digital yuan pilot
Alipay+ rolls out holiday promo with GCash, global partners
UnionPay International's continuous expansion of its global network sees over 200 million cards issued outside the Chinese Mainland
Baidu granted with the first license to test out driverless taxis in Beijing
How China is building a parallel generative AI universe
Entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors in China are looking for ways to make their dent in the generative AI space. Tech firms are devising tools built on open-source models to attract consumer and enterprise customers. Baidu operates ERNIE-ViLG, a 10-billion parameter model trained on a data set of 145 million Chinese image-text pairs. Another Chinese tool that has made noise is Tencent’s Different Dimension Me, which can turn photos of people into anime characters. However, the AI generator exhibits its own bias. Intended for Chinese users, it took off unexpectedly in other anime-loving regions like South America. But users soon realized the platform failed to identify black and plus-size individuals, groups that are noticeably missing in Japanese anime, leading to offensive AI-generated results. China’s generative AI tools aren’t just characterized by the domestic data they learn from; they are also shaped by local laws. Baidu’s text-to-image model, for example, filters out politically sensitive keywords. That’s expected, given censorship has long been a universal practice on the Chinese internet. What’s more significant to the future of the fledgling field is the new set of regulatory measures targeting what the government dubs “deep synthesis tech”, which denotes “technology that uses deep learning, virtual reality, and other synthesis algorithms to generate text, images, audio, video, and virtual scenes.” As with other types of internet services in China, from games to social media, users are asked to verify their names before using generative AI apps. The fact that prompts can be traced to one’s real identity inevitably has a restrictive impact on user behaviour. However, even when Chinese tech firms want to invest in training large neural networks, they might lack the best tools due to US’ standing export controls on high-end AI chips to China.
China adds more cities to its digital yuan pilot
More Chinese cities will be added to the nation’s digital yuan pilot –with a rollout edging closer to reality. The city of Jinan, Shandong Province, will be added to the pilot area. Also joining the pilot will be Nanning and Fangchenggang in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as Yunnan Province’s Kunming. The Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture will also be added.The latter is an autonomous prefecture for ethnic Dai peoples, located in the very south of Yunnan Province. The move sees the pilot move into somewhat unfamiliar technology. While the first batch of pilot cities comprised IT and financial powerhouses in the East of the country –the likes of Shanghai and Beijing –Yunnan’s economy is much more traditional. The province’s biggest industries include tobacco producers, agricultural firms, mining companies, and tourism operators. Guangxi borders Vietnam and is famous for its mineral reserves and rice production .Jinan, meanwhile, is a major rail hub and an up-and-coming industrial center in Shandong. The province is another part of China popular with tourists due to its natural beauty. Introductory giveaways have also been launched on some e-commerce platforms. Lucky draw participants in the new pilot cities are in line to win over $11 worth of digital yuan tokens if they download wallets on their mobile devices.
Alipay+ rolls out holiday promo with GCash, global partners
Alipay+, the provider of global cross-border digital payments and marketing solutions, has rolled out its first year-end promotion campaign with merchants across Asia and Europe, in collaboration with five Asian e-wallet partners: AlipayHK (Hong Kong SAR, China), GCash (Philippines), Kakao Pay (South Korea), TrueMoney (Thailand) and Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia).Japan:Between Dec. 15 2022 and Feb. 15, 2023, users of AlipayHK, GCash, Kakao Pay, TrueMoney and Touch ’n Go eWallet will receive three coupons in their respective apps upon arrival in Japan. Each of the three coupons offers a ¥50 discount with a minimum of ¥51 spent, and can be redeemed at all local merchants accepting Alipay+ payments across Japan. In addition, Alipay+ has also introduced other merchant-specific coupons. Such offers include, but are not limited to: ¥1,000 OFF with a minimum of ¥5,000 spent at merchants such as Daimaru Department Store, KeioDepartment Store, Kintetsu Department Store, merchants at Fukuoka Airport, BicCamera stores, and many others. ¥500 OFF with a minimum of ¥3,000 spent at merchants such as Tsuruha Drug Store, Sapporo Drug Store, and many others.South Korea:Until the end of December, users of AlipayHK, GCash, TrueMoney, and Touch ‘n Go eWallet can redeem digital coupons by simply using the respective e-wallets to scan the Alipay+ in-store promotion QR code displayed at the store cashiers, and enjoy instant discounts of up to 10%, when they pay with their e-wallets via Alipay+ at local merchants.Singapore:Until Jan. 31, 2023, users of AlipayHK, GCash, Kakao Pay, TrueMoney and Touch ’n Go eWallet will be given three coupons upon arrival in Singapore and enjoy savings when shopping in Singapore. Coupon 1: SGD 1 off with a minimum of SGD 1.01 spent; Coupon 2: SGD 3 off with a minimum of SGD 3.01 spent; Coupon 3: SGD 8 off with a minimum of SGD 100 spent; Alipay+ has extended more promotions with various merchants at Changi Airport and Paragon Shopping Centre. Until Jan. 31, 2023, e-wallet users can enjoy three more deals: Coupon 1: SGD5 off with a minimum of SGD20 spent; Coupon 2: SGD10 off with a minimum of SGD100 spent; Coupon 3: SGD18 off with a minimum of SGD200 spent. Europe: Until Jan. 31, 2023, users of Kakao Pay, GCash, TrueMoney, and Touch ‘n Go eWallet can enjoy up to 10 EUR in instant discounts when paying with the respective e-wallets at the aforementioned merchants. In addition, Printemps in France is also offering e-wallet users a special 5% store-wide discount and a free bubble tea voucher at the Printemps Haussmann store. E-wallet users can visit the store information desks to check for specific details.
With the issuance of UnionPay cards exceeding 200 million outside the Chinese Mainland, UnionPay International (UPI) is stepping into a new decade of providing high quality, cost effective and secure cross-border payment services to the world's largest cardholder base. UPI's partners have expanded from 60 initial members since establishment in 2012 to 2,500 institutions internationally with an acceptance network that currently spans 181 countries and regions, 78 of which now issue UnionPay cards, ensuring convenient local services to an ever-growing number of global UnionPay cardholders and merchants. Over the past decade, UPI has ceaselessly developed cutting-edge payment technology to share a brand-new cross-border payment experience with UnionPay cardholders in every corner of the globe. Presently,outside the Chinese Mainland, 38 million global merchants accept UnionPay cards, a four-fold increase since 2012, with four million new merchants added in 2022 alone. UnionPay card acceptance rates in APAC, Europe and North America have reached 95%, 80% and 80% respectively, while 22 million online merchants in 200 countries and regions now use UnionPay for payments. During these ten years, the digital transformation of the global payments industry has developed rapidly, and UPI has accelerated product iterations and service upgrades to meet the ever-changing payment habits of international customers. Collaborating closely with central banks, national switch networks, and payment alliances, UPI has shared its innovative financial infrastructure and technical standards in countries such as Thailand, Philippines and has become the unified cross-border chip card standard of Asian Payment Network. In recent years, the unified UnionPay App was launched for the banking industry that supports UnionPay contactless, QR code and In-APP payments, largely enhancing mobile payment experiences for cardholders. Including the UnionPay App, more than 170 UnionPay standard e-wallets have been launched outside the Chinese mainland, and over 16 million international merchants can experience the convenience brought by QR code payments or the "swipe" QuickPass.
Baidu granted with the first license to test out driverless taxis in Beijing
After being granted the green light to launch the driverless taxis in the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Chongqing, Baidu — China’s biggest search engine and artificial intelligence firm — became the first company to receive a license to test unmanned autonomous vehicles in Beijing. The move would eventually pave the way for Baidu to launch fully driverless paid robotaxi service in the country’s capital city. Baidu’s end goal for this year is to build the world’s biggest fully driverless ride-hailing area and put an additional 200 fully driverless robotaxis into operation. Till date, Baidu has accumulated more than 40 million kilometres of L4 autonomous driving test mileage and 3,477 autonomous driving patent families, holding the world record for number of autonomous driving patents for four consecutive years. A company spokesperson added that the generalization ability of Baidu’s autonomous driving technology has progressed at a more advanced pace than expected and the lead time to deploy autonomous driving technology in a new city is only 20 days.
ASIA
How Payment Trends Are Set to Evolve Across Asia in 2023
Japanese fintech leader Smartpay first to launch the next phase of digital consumer finance through open banking
Indian Bank unveils QR bill-based payment system for CESC-Mysuru
Cashfree payments now offers India's widest 'Buy Now Pay Later' suite
DeeMoney pairs up with Visa to empower near real-time, cross-border payment
Yes Bank partners Falcon to tap into the embedded finance market
3 Buy Now Pay Later players thriving in Thailand
Visa invites Malaysia’s top startups to join accelerator programme
MUFG invests $200M in Indonesian digital banker Akulaku
How Payment Trends Are Set to Evolve Across Asia in 2023
The way we pay for goods and services is constantly evolving, and the payment trends in Asia are only accelerating in 2023 as digital innovations are increasingly harnessed to offer ease and convenience to consumers in a competitive retail environment. Here are the top payment trends to watch in the year ahead:
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) will gain more popularity in Asia as it remains a popular source of alternate financing for online purchases, particularly among the younger and lesser-banked segments of the regional population. The BNPL payment industry in the APAC was estimated to have grown by 45.3% annually to reach US$201.9 billion by end-2022.
Cross-border payment bridges that allow users to link their bank account with an overseas account will make it easier to pay overseas.
Personalised loyalty offers will become more crucial.
Mobile will be king among payment trends in 2023 amid the continued growth of mobile adoption, the increasing use of digital wallets, the rise of contactless payments, and the growth of in-app payments.
Japan-based fintech Smartpay has launched Smartpay Bank Direct, the country's first digital consumer finance service that allows customers to pay for online installment purchases straight from their bank accounts.Smartpay Bank Direct emphasizes user security while delivering convenience for the consumer, througha network of 67 partner banks across Japan. Smartpay is Japan's first digital consumer finance company to utilize Japan's open banking system.Smartpay's application has received wide acceptance from consumers and merchants that prefer beautifully uncomplicated digital payments, which supports the transformation of a cash-based society into a digital one. The company's strategy was built in two phases. The first phase was focused on financial inclusion, and helping those that don't have access to credit, to join the digital BNPL economy. It also solved the issue of cash usage and created a platform and an ecosystem to move towards a paperless payment system that would be more efficient. Smartpay is moving into the next phase of its digital consumer finance journey, which is focused on targeting middle and high-income users and offering them smart financial solutions that are safe, convenient, fast and create real value for the entire ecosystem. The company's adaptive UX, accessible technology, eKYC (electronic know your customer), dependable security features and sound business model is built for users that have a need for efficient digital finance solutions, which will transform markets with similar conditions, high inflationary pressures on consumer psychographics, and demographics. High-income consumers who want to extend their monthly cash flow with smart, digital point-of-purchase, cash flow management tools, and who want to have a better control over their month spending, have been most receptive to Smartpay's digital solutions.
Indian Bank unveils QR bill-based payment system for CESC-Mysuru
Public sector Indian Bank has unveiled QR code bill payment system for Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Ltd (CESC) making it as the first power distribution company to offer such an initiative to customers in Mysuru.By using the dynamic QR code linked to the unified payments interface (UPI) on printed electricity bill, customers would be able to make their payments without visiting any online portal or physically going to any payment centre.Instant acknowledgement is issued and the QR code is disabled once the transaction is completed.The CESC is in the process of introducing a new type of bill generation and payment system in coordination with Indian Bank besides a facility to make RTGS-NEFT payments for bulk consumers using virtual account number (VAN).
Cashfree payments now offers India's widest 'Buy Now Pay Later' suite
Leading payments and API banking solutions company, Cashfree Payments is now offering India's widest 'Buy Now Pay Later' (BNPL) suite.Cashfree Payments' BNPL suite will enable online businesses to provide customers with over 30 flexible financing options during checkout. The company has launched its BNPL suite in time for the upcoming holiday season to help online businesses offer their customers easy and instant access to credit, thereby increasing sales. Cashfree Payments' financing options include leading brands such as ZestMoney, Homecredit and KreditBee for Cardless EMI; Simpl, LazyPay and Freecharge for Pay Later mode and more than 16 banks for card based EMIs. Currently more than 20,000 online businesses use Cashfree Payments' BNPL suite. Businesses using the offering have seen a growth of upto 30% in sales. Leading online companies using Cashfree Payments' BNPL suite include EaseMyTrip, Wakefit, Byjus, among others.
DeeMoney pairs up with Visa to empower near real-time, cross-border payment
SawasdeeShop Co., Ltd, branded as DeeMoney, Thailand’s leading and fastest-growing fintech company specializing in cross-border payments, has announced a partnership with Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, to integrate Visa Direct solution into DeeMoney’s international payment platform.The partnership will allow DeeMoney to offer its customers near real-time cross-currency payment service using only the recipient’s Visa card credentials to over 170 countries and territories. The move is in line with DeeMoney’s mission to expand its borderless payment product offerings to reach more people, reaffirming its position as Thailand’s leading fintech. The company will launch this new service within 2023. An API with near real-time push payment capability, Visa Direct is changing how the world sends and receives funds. The solution helps deliver fast, convenient peer-to-peer payments that are seamlessly integrated with customer accounts and cards. Visa Direct provides banks and fintechs, such as DeeMoney,new opportunities to engage with customers through cross-border P2P transactions. Through DeeMoney’s licensed international payment platform, customers can easily send money to friends, families, or businesses by entering the recipient’s 16-digit Visa card number. The funds will then be credited to the recipient’s eligible Visa credit, debit, or prepaid card within 30 minutes. The recipient can use the received funds at any Visa merchant or ATM. When sent to a Visa credit card, the amount is offset againstthe outstanding balance.
Yes Bank partners Falcon to tap into the embedded finance market
India-based Yes Bank has partnered banking-as-a-service (BaaS) startup Falcon to improve the banking experience of its customers.The partnership allows YesBank to offer customised financial solutions to its clients by implementing Falcon's products and leveraging its state-of-the-art technological infrastructure. Falcon offers a future-proof stack that institutions and tech companies can use to create bespoke cards, payments, lending products, and accounts.Falcon’s stack can either be seamlessly embedded via flexible open APIs or launched instantly with no code solutions. As for Yes Bank, it offers a selection of products, services and technology-driven digital offerings for MSME clients, retail, and corporate entities. Yes Bank officials cited by the same source highlighted the bank’s inclination towards adopting digital initiatives in order to improve the banking experience of their customers. They also touched on the Falcon partnership and how it enables the bank to create new propositions within shorter time periods without compromising on quality and convenience.
3 Buy Now Pay Later players thriving in Thailand
Atome:Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) firm Atome announced that it has achieved 1 billion THB (US$26.3 million) in total gross merchandise value (GMV) since its launch in Thailand last September. Since its launch, Atome Thailand reports that it has partnered with 1,000 merchant brands across a wide spectrum of categories, including food and beverage, fashion, beauty and sports.With the growing popularity of BNPL in Thailand, Atome said that it plans to continue expanding to newer categories such as hospitality, travel and lifestyle. The BNPL firm will also be launching Atome+, its in-app loyalty rewards programme, allowing consumers to earn points for purchases made using Atome across online and offline retailers.
K Pay Later by Kasikornbank:Kasikornbank has launched K PAY LATER, the first Buy Now Pay Later facility launched by a bank in Thailand that offers BNPL features to consumers. K PAY LATER enables its customers to buy products and services in instalments, with a maximum interest not exceeding 25% per year. The maximum loan limit is 20,000 baht, and applications are accessible as no documents or collaterals are needed.
Pace: Pace Enterprise is a hypergrowth FinTech startup operating in the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) industry with operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Taiwan. Pace enables its customers to spread their purchases across later payments, allowing them to shop for more at one time with no interest or hidden fees. It encourages people to take charge of their spending without giving up on the things they need or deserve.
Visa invites Malaysia’s top startups to join accelerator programme
Visa, a world leader in digital payments, is announcing an open call for startups across Asia Pacific to apply for the Visa Accelerator Program 2023 and applications will close next week on 10 January. Now in its third year, the Visa Accelerator Program selects a small group of startups to collaborate on some of the most pressing challenges in the payments industry. The 2023 program will focus on developing solutions in the following areas: Web 3.0, global money movement, embedded finance, merchant and small business enablers, and open banking solutions. Applications for the Visa Accelerator Program 2023 are now open and will close 10 January 2023. The program is the right fit for startups that are at Series A and above, have a long-term commitment to Asia Pacific growth and existing operations in the region, and have a market-validated, proven solution.The six-month program will allow selected startups to work together with Visa’s payment experts, product architects and business development teams to rapidly co-develop, test, and iterate solutions, while pursuing tangible go-to-market opportunities with Visa’s extensive network of financial institutions, merchants and digital partners.
MUFG invests $200M in Indonesian digital banker Akulaku
Mitsubish UFJ Finanicial Group (MUFG), a Japanese bankholding and financial services company, has invested $200 million in Akulaku, an Indonesia-based banking and digital finance platform. Akulaku is the business name of Silvrr Technology Co Limited. the goal of the investment is to boost its customer base in the Southeast Asian region. For Akulalu, the new investment is an addition to the $100 million funding it received earlier in February from Siam Commercial Bank PLC, a leading commercial bank in Thailand.Akulaku disclosed that it has entered into an agreement with MUFG to work with the latter’s companies across Southeast Asia. Areas of collaboration under the framework include product development, distribution, financing, and technology.
BLOCKCHAIN - CRYPTO - DIGITAL ASSETS - DE FI
China launches national digital asset exchange for NFTs, metaverse
Leadership change at StanChart digital asset firm Zodia Custody
Growing consumer and business interest in the Metaverse expected to fuel trillion dollar opportunity for commerce, Accenture Finds
Digital Wallets Core to Adam Neuman’s Latest PropTech Venture, Flow
Mercedes to use Nvidia’s digital twin tech to modernize its factories
China launches national digital asset exchange for NFTs, metaverse
China launched a state-sanctioned secondary trading platform for digital assets on New Year’s day. After concern about the speculation around non-fungible tokens (NFT), the four tech giants Tencent, Ant, Baidu and JD self-imposed a ban on the secondary trading of digital collectibles in mid-2022.The new national trading venue only has a live signup process, so it remains to be seen what kind of intellectual property is supported, with the platform’s innovation working group made up of museums, tourist organizations, and copyright holders. The state-owned China Digital Assets Trading Platform was jointly created by the China Technology Exchange, the Cultural Relics Exchange, and the Copyright Service Centre aiming to standardize the trading process to dampen speculation. One of the drivers is that China recognizes that digital assets will be important for the development of the metaverse, whether for avatars, clothing, art or museum pieces. In addition to the innovation working group, there is a metaverse working group that includes local governments and state-owned enterprises.
Leadership change at StanChart digital asset firm Zodia Custody
The founding CEO of Standard Chartered’s Zodia Custody, Maxime de Guillebon, has stepped down as a director of the digital asset custody firm. Julian Sawyer has been confirmed as the new CEO. For a year and a half, Sawyer was CEO of cryptocurrency exchange BitStamp until May 9, 2022. That followed a brief stint at Gemini Europe and a four-year term at UK challenger bank Starling where he was Chief Operating Officer. Zodia described it as a planned succession with Sawyer’s experience designed to accelerate the firm’s path from startup to scale up. In a December announcement, Zodia Custody launched Interchange, which offers an alternative to pre-funding and margin models on exchanges. Zodia Custody enables clients to keep assets using Interchange, which can be mirrored on a cryptocurrency exchange but are protected in the case of an exchange bankruptcy. There are two Zodia brands, one for custody and the other is a crypto brokerage Zodia Markets, through a partnership with Hong Kong exchange OSL.
Growing consumer and business interest in the metaverse as a creator economy and tool to enhance day-to-day tasks is expected to fuel a $1 trillion commerce opportunity by the end of 2025, according to findings from Accenture. According to the research, more than half (55%) of the roughly 9,000 consumers surveyed see the metaverse as a business opportunity for creating and monetizing content. Most (89%) C-suite executives also believe the metaverse will have an important role in their organization’s future growth, according to a parallel survey of 3,200 C-suite executives. The findings estimate 4.2% of company revenues, or a total of $1 trillion, could come from metaverse experiences and commerce by the end of 2025. The findings indicate 55% of consumers want to be active users of the metaverse and nearly all of them (90%) want to do so in the next year. The top features consumers want are easy-to-use interfaces (cited by 70%) and access to a wide variety of applications (68%), which outperformed more “form” features, such as flashy headsets (55%) and the ability to personalize avatars (55%). While gaming is appealing for 59% of metaverse users, only 4% of consumers see the metaverse as just a gaming platform. In fact, 70% say they intend to use the metaverse to access products and services across media and entertainment, fitness, retail, travel and healthcare.
Digital Wallets Core to Adam Neuman’s Latest PropTech Venture, Flow
Digital wallet and embedded payments will help PropTechs turn renting an apartment into a community based, digital experience. Earlier this month, residential real estate company Flow, WeWork founder Adam Neumann’s latest venture, said it is partnering with Bond to launch a digital wallet tool in what Flow has said will aid “an experience that will fundamentally change what renters expect from their homes.” Although details of Flow’s business model have yet to be disclosed, the real estate company seems on track to borrow at least some aspects of WeWork’s operations, with standardized access to technology, amenities, and the goal of fostering a sense of community for renters. The idea is to provide Flow’s community members — the people who rent within their portfolio — with a seamless experience, for everything from getting into their unit, to completing the rental application to using the [complex’s] facilities to paying and transacting within and outside of the community. Digital wallets are gaining traction and the network approach is already finding a berth in the rental market. The interplay between rental communities, merchants, and providers in the surrounding vicinity, for example, can be a good way for rental companies to build networks around their specific target audiences and tie all of those activities together through apps and payments capabilities. Networks can also evolve to include grocers, gyms and health programs, complete with embedded payments and loyalty programs tied to the apartment’s brand.
Mercedes to use Nvidia’s digital twin tech to modernize its factories
Mercedes is one of Nvidia’s latest customers to use Omniverse Enterprise, a software platform used to build and operate metaverse applications. Mercedes will use Omniverse to design, plan and optimize its factories. Specifically, Mercedes is preparing to manufacture its new electric vehicle platform at its plant in Rastatt, Germany. Using Omniverse, the automaker will be able to build a digital twin of the factory and simulate new production processes without disrupting existing vehicle production. Having a virtual workflow will let Mercedes quickly react to supply chain disruptions and reconfigure the assembly line as needed. A complete factory simulation could help automakers assess potential bottlenecks, create more ergonomic working conditions or determine where a robot might fail to complete a task before the facility actually starts production. Mercedes plans to scale this strategy to its factories globally in the future.
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