我最近一直在思考幾年前在硅谷投資圈內(nèi)很流行的一個(gè)問題——“你的業(yè)務(wù)是一個(gè)特色、產(chǎn)品,還是一門生意?”——以及它如何適用于大量正在爭(zhēng)奪美國客戶的所謂“挑戰(zhàn)者銀行”。
幾年前,通過利用客戶對(duì)現(xiàn)有銀行濫收費(fèi)用和糟糕的移動(dòng)體驗(yàn)的不滿情緒,挑戰(zhàn)者銀行(有些人稱之為數(shù)字銀行或新銀行)突然崛起。這些后起之秀以輕資產(chǎn)運(yùn)營(yíng)(不設(shè)分支機(jī)構(gòu),沒有出納員)著稱,并通過社交媒體和口碑獲取客戶的精明策略實(shí)現(xiàn)增長(zhǎng)。
最突出的挑戰(zhàn)者莫過于Chime,其估值最近達(dá)到145億美元。其他潛在的顛覆者包括Varo、Revolut、N26、Monzo、Dave、HMBradley和MoneyLion。這個(gè)名單還在延續(xù)。
我的問題是,再過兩年,這些挑戰(zhàn)者還會(huì)存活多少。我預(yù)感不會(huì)有太多?;氐健疤厣?、產(chǎn)品或生意”的問題上,許多此類公司看起來更像是一種特色服務(wù),而不是成熟的金融企業(yè)。這些挑戰(zhàn)者的許多特色服務(wù),比如透支通知或綴滿閃光飾片的借記卡,不僅被它們的新貴競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手仿效,也被一些老牌銀行競(jìng)相仿效。
與此同時(shí),它們的商業(yè)模式面臨著巨大的阻力。安德森?霍洛維茲基金(Andreessen Horowitz)在一篇精辟的文章中指出,美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)的低利率政策意味著, 通過提供高利息儲(chǔ)蓄率來挖走新客戶的做法不再可行。這家風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司還指出,可以廉價(jià)獲得的客戶池正在縮小,而將直接存款轉(zhuǎn)移到挑戰(zhàn)者銀行的客戶也變得越來越少。
那么,這些后起之秀要如何賺錢呢?最有可能的答案是它們并不賺錢。當(dāng)客戶刷借記卡時(shí),挑戰(zhàn)者銀行能夠從商戶那里獲得猶如涓涓細(xì)流的收入,但從長(zhǎng)期來看,這并不足以支持它們繁榮發(fā)展。要想成為一門生意,而不是一種特色服務(wù),它們就必須做成功的銀行一直在做的事情:吸收存款并將其貸出,以獲取利潤(rùn)。但這并非易事,因?yàn)楦?jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手已經(jīng)抓住了最具信譽(yù)的客戶,而且成為一家成熟的貸款機(jī)構(gòu)需要付出高昂的監(jiān)管成本。那么接下來會(huì)發(fā)生什么呢?
PitchBook數(shù)據(jù)公司的分析師羅伯特?勒指出:“這是一個(gè)非常擁擠的領(lǐng)域,我認(rèn)為許多小規(guī)模玩家將會(huì)出局,而那些擁有良好客戶基礎(chǔ)的公司會(huì)被收購。”他預(yù)測(cè),我們很快就會(huì)看到一場(chǎng)淘汰賽,Chime和SoFi等公司將獲得聯(lián)邦銀行執(zhí)照(Varo已經(jīng)有了),成為金融界的重要組成部分,而一些小公司要么消失,要么因?yàn)樗鼈兊奶厣?wù)而被吞并。
我認(rèn)為他的預(yù)測(cè)很靠譜。還有一件事情需要考慮:如果羅伯特?勒說得對(duì),整合即將來臨,那么收購者中是否會(huì)有像Coinbase、Kraken或Gemini這樣的大型加密貨幣公司?這些公司一直在積極并購,而搶購一家新銀行可以幫助它們擴(kuò)大金融版圖,并提供一種向數(shù)百萬客戶引薦比特幣的簡(jiǎn)單途徑。當(dāng)然,這僅僅是一家之言。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:任文科
我最近一直在思考幾年前在硅谷投資圈內(nèi)很流行的一個(gè)問題——“你的業(yè)務(wù)是一個(gè)特色、產(chǎn)品,還是一門生意?”——以及它如何適用于大量正在爭(zhēng)奪美國客戶的所謂“挑戰(zhàn)者銀行”。
幾年前,通過利用客戶對(duì)現(xiàn)有銀行濫收費(fèi)用和糟糕的移動(dòng)體驗(yàn)的不滿情緒,挑戰(zhàn)者銀行(有些人稱之為數(shù)字銀行或新銀行)突然崛起。這些后起之秀以輕資產(chǎn)運(yùn)營(yíng)(不設(shè)分支機(jī)構(gòu),沒有出納員)著稱,并通過社交媒體和口碑獲取客戶的精明策略實(shí)現(xiàn)增長(zhǎng)。
最突出的挑戰(zhàn)者莫過于Chime,其估值最近達(dá)到145億美元。其他潛在的顛覆者包括Varo、Revolut、N26、Monzo、Dave、HMBradley和MoneyLion。這個(gè)名單還在延續(xù)。
我的問題是,再過兩年,這些挑戰(zhàn)者還會(huì)存活多少。我預(yù)感不會(huì)有太多?;氐健疤厣a(chǎn)品或生意”的問題上,許多此類公司看起來更像是一種特色服務(wù),而不是成熟的金融企業(yè)。這些挑戰(zhàn)者的許多特色服務(wù),比如透支通知或綴滿閃光飾片的借記卡,不僅被它們的新貴競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手仿效,也被一些老牌銀行競(jìng)相仿效。
與此同時(shí),它們的商業(yè)模式面臨著巨大的阻力。安德森?霍洛維茲基金(Andreessen Horowitz)在一篇精辟的文章中指出,美聯(lián)儲(chǔ)的低利率政策意味著, 通過提供高利息儲(chǔ)蓄率來挖走新客戶的做法不再可行。這家風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司還指出,可以廉價(jià)獲得的客戶池正在縮小,而將直接存款轉(zhuǎn)移到挑戰(zhàn)者銀行的客戶也變得越來越少。
那么,這些后起之秀要如何賺錢呢?最有可能的答案是它們并不賺錢。當(dāng)客戶刷借記卡時(shí),挑戰(zhàn)者銀行能夠從商戶那里獲得猶如涓涓細(xì)流的收入,但從長(zhǎng)期來看,這并不足以支持它們繁榮發(fā)展。要想成為一門生意,而不是一種特色服務(wù),它們就必須做成功的銀行一直在做的事情:吸收存款并將其貸出,以獲取利潤(rùn)。但這并非易事,因?yàn)楦?jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手已經(jīng)抓住了最具信譽(yù)的客戶,而且成為一家成熟的貸款機(jī)構(gòu)需要付出高昂的監(jiān)管成本。那么接下來會(huì)發(fā)生什么呢?
PitchBook數(shù)據(jù)公司的分析師羅伯特?勒指出:“這是一個(gè)非常擁擠的領(lǐng)域,我認(rèn)為許多小規(guī)模玩家將會(huì)出局,而那些擁有良好客戶基礎(chǔ)的公司會(huì)被收購?!彼A(yù)測(cè),我們很快就會(huì)看到一場(chǎng)淘汰賽,Chime和SoFi等公司將獲得聯(lián)邦銀行執(zhí)照(Varo已經(jīng)有了),成為金融界的重要組成部分,而一些小公司要么消失,要么因?yàn)樗鼈兊奶厣?wù)而被吞并。
我認(rèn)為他的預(yù)測(cè)很靠譜。還有一件事情需要考慮:如果羅伯特?勒說得對(duì),整合即將來臨,那么收購者中是否會(huì)有像Coinbase、Kraken或Gemini這樣的大型加密貨幣公司?這些公司一直在積極并購,而搶購一家新銀行可以幫助它們擴(kuò)大金融版圖,并提供一種向數(shù)百萬客戶引薦比特幣的簡(jiǎn)單途徑。當(dāng)然,這僅僅是一家之言。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:任文科
I’ve been thinking about a question popular in Silicon Valley investor circles a few years back—“Are you a feature, product or business?”—and how it might apply to the glut of so-called challenger banks competing for U.S. customers.
Challenger banks—some call them digital banks or neobanks—took off several years ago by exploiting customer frustration with the abusive fees and lousy mobile experience offered by incumbents. The upstarts grew by means of asset-light operations (no branches, no tellers) and a savvy strategy of acquiring customers by social media and word-of-mouth.
The most prominent of the challengers is Chime, which recently notched a $14.5 billion valuation, but other would-be disruptors include Varo, Revolut, N26, Monzo, Dave, HMBradley and MoneyLion. The list goes on.
The question I have is how many of these names will be around two years from now. My hunch is not many. Going back to the “feature, product or business” query, a lot of these players look a lot more like features than full-blown financial companies. The perks that once defined them, like overdraft notifications or spangled debit cards, have been copied not only by their upstart competitors but some old line banks too.
Meanwhile, their business model faces major headwinds. In an astute essay, Andreessen Horowitz notes that the Federal Reserve’s low rate policy means it’s no longer viable to offer high interest savings rates to poach new customers. The venture capital firm also notes that the pool of clients that can be acquired on the cheap is shrinking, while fewer of those customers are transferring their direct deposits over to challenger banks.
So how are all these upstarts going to make money? The most likely answer is they’re not. Challenger banks can earn a trickle of revenue from merchants when customers swipe their debit cards, but not enough to thrive in the long term. To be a business not a feature, they will have to do what successful banks have always done: take deposits and loan them out at a profit. But that’s no easy feat given that competitors already have their hooks in the most credit-worthy customers, and that the regulatory costs of being a full-blown lender are steep. So what happens next?
“It’s a really crowded space, and I think a lot of the smaller players will go out of business. Those with a good customer base will get acquired,” says Robert Le, an analyst with PitchBook. He predicts we’ll soon see a winnowing in which the likes of Chime and SoFi obtain a federal banking charter (Varo already has one) and become fixtures of the financial world, while the minnows disappear or get gobbled up for their, well, features.
Makes sense to me. One more thing to ponder: If Le is right and consolidation is coming, will any of the acquirers include the big crypto players like Coinbase, Kraken or Gemini? These companies have been active in M&A, and snapping up a neobank could let them expand their financial footprint and provide an easy way to introduce millions of customers to Bitcoin. Just saying.