Summary of the presentation
Square is a mobile payment service application built on iOS and Android. It aims to bring immediacy, transparency, and approachability to daily life. With the hardware support, Square enables iOS and Android mobile phones to use the credit card or other cards at any time and any places. It will benefit the user who will have a relatively low monthly transaction cost. Overall, Square is a relatively nice-designed application both on the user interface and user experience. The only concern for Square is the security issue on both hardware and software.
The three points I felt important are:
1. Target Customer and relative competency
During the presentation, it was very impressive to see their analysis on the target customer. They compare the cost between POS and Square based on monthly transaction volume. From the graph they presented, it shows a clear result of benefits for the low transaction user. I believe this analysis is very important because it indicates the target customer of this app and its competency. Without knowing its customer and its relative competency, it is hard to market and advertise an application. In addition, by comparing with POS, we also could see their potential market size in future.
2. Security Concern
In fact, I did not realize that hardware will bring security concern before they mentioned about the hardware concern. For most of the applications, as they are built without installing new hardware to the device, it will hardly have hardware security concern. Hence, this application is a bit special. Meanwhile, as it is a financial related application, the security concern should always come first. Any possible security issue will possibly bring huge damage or lose to the application developers and company. For this application, both hardware and software should try to ensure the safety of all the transactions. In fact, up to now, Square did quite well in software but not hardware. It still gets room for the improvement on the security of hardware.
3. E-payment
What I learn from this application is their idea on E-payment. In fact, E-transaction is a relatively common idea nowadays. But all the E-transactions will be done via E-bank account. They seldom consider to use the card physically. Many small vendors will like this application. An iPad + Square will be a moveable all-on E-payment machine. Comparing to the heavy and expensive POS machine, it is more convenient and lower cost.
My ideas about this application
1. What is the future of Financial Related Application?
In future, most of the financial related application will be dominated by large banks or financial institutions. It will be very hard for small company to come up with Financial related application especially involving payments. There are two reasons. First, financial institution or banks have a nice network and could easily attract and "force" customer to use its application because of its "monopoly" market position. Secondly, comparing to these large institutions, small company did not have enough money to support the application development or possible loss in future. It is quite obvious that any errors occurred in financial related application will result in a huge lose to the company. Normal software company could hardly bear with such lose.
2. How to make a successful application?
No one could guarantee that one application could be successful in future. However, as long as it makes the important ideas correct, the chance to be successful will increase.
1) Good Target Customer: whole world or rich people or adults?
2) From the perspective of target customer, what is their fundamental requirement?
3) Design a very goood UI to solve their problem.
4) Market your product to your target customer.
It seems that all the four steps are clear. But it is very difficult to achieve all of them, especially for the 2nd and 3rd item. What is the fundamental requirement of your target customers? Sometimes, even the customers do not know what they want, it will be difficult for us to figure out. Also what is a good UI? It really depends on different perspective.
I agree with what you said about the 4 steps of a successful app. I've never anatomized those apps that I use or am willing to download before taking this module. Later I realized what they have in common is that the interfaces are all very simple and no more extra functionality. Specializing in one field or targeting a specific group of people is important. Fulfilling those four steps is difficult but your analysis is quite impressive.:)
ReplyDeleteHi Yingbo! (ok i realize i probably lost my post so i'll keep this short and simple instead)
ReplyDelete1) I think it's not really a question of monopoly, but rather that of eligibility since only large banks and financial institutes can handle the consequences. With great power comes great responsibilities indeed. :)
2) I agree that the target audience is important as that is what's probably driving the app forward. (as well as the rolling of your money) and indeed, answering a user's fundamental requirement is difficult. I guess for that, one'll probably need to first understand their user and subsequently ask themselves what vision the app should have in the context of a user.
There's a lot of work going on behind designing a UI but ultimately, all UI must be user centric. also, marketing is akin to being a rocket booster on a space shuttle. For launch, sustenance and eventually discarded as burden. Subsequently, smaller scale launches to alter the ship's direction as well as bring it back to Earth. :)
I agree with your point that having financial institution and bank as the owner of the app can sort of "enforce" upon it's user to use it. But then we shouldn't consider the aspect of "possible loss" and be detered from building such applications.
ReplyDeleteI was also wondering, wouldn't it be better if people strive to build a application and then try to market to the bank, instead of having prior knowledge that the bank is going to fund them. The likely result is the former would produce a better application.