The Taxi Companies Still Don't Get It

I walked past a taxi this evening and noticed a sign on their car that said "Free Booking App". Thats great, but everyone knows that nothing in life is free, someone has to pay. In almost in every case the consumer picks up the tab. So, slightly amused that maybe they had fooled some of the people some of the time, I let it slip. But I could not help draw the comparisons with Uber. I don't use Uber because the App is free (I have never paid for an App on the Google Play Store yet). I use Uber for their entire range of features. This includes the ability to pay with credit card, tracking your Uber's location and the ratings feature.  It puzzles me as to why you would build an App whos main feature is 'free' when this is not the reason why the Taxi industry is so afraid of the Uber business model. I understand the need to be different, but simply offering a 'free booking app' will not cut it. They are making the necessarily steps, but they are still at least five moves behind their competition.

Open Letter to the Hon Simon Bridges on the iPredict Decision

Dear Hon Simon Bridges,

I am writing to you to urge you to reconsider your decision to not allow iPredict an exemption to the anti-money law requirements. 

The funds that are permitted to be deposited into iPredict to trade with, are such a small amount that one would have to have hundreds of accounts to move any meaningful amount of currency. This would not only be time consuming, but also very inefficient to establish this number of accounts to move any meaningful amount.

Instead of taking the easy way and forcing iPredict to close down, why not attempt to work with the Non-Profit, University run organsation and its members to come to a solution? The members are very passionate about iPredict and would be willing to make comprises in order to see the site continue.

Here are two simple steps suggested by a user of iPredict that could be implemented:

1) Each current / new member pays a one-off membership fee of (say) $20 to join. Users who opened multiple accounts would have to pay $20 for each account, which should discourage the practice. There would be a further fee of $5 per annum, deducted from each user's account at the start of each year. This money raised would allow iPredict to staff a "verification" service to oversee member details. 

2) Only traders with a NZ-domiciled bank account are permitted to be members. NZ banks require new account-holders to provide full ID details. This would effectively eliminate the risk of money-laundering as the banks the account is with would have already done their due diligence.

I urge you to reconsider your decision as a heavy handed blanket approach never works and will only stifle innovation in the finance industry - an industry that is already extremely saddled with regulation, which as seen little to no innovation in the last 50 years. This strangle hold is now flowing over to a hobby industry that this regulation was never intended for.

Best Regards,

Robert Davey

Mt Maunganui

Concerned citizen who see the governments power is ever increasing to the detriment of our liberty.