It’s definitely an interesting proposition, though as Nathan said above, the key differentiator for us is that we work entirely behind the scenes - you don’t need to give your email address at the till which I think is much better for a bunch of reasons (no risk of marketing, doesn’t matter if you forget to do it, you don’t have to take the time to hand it over to the cashier, etc.). The ability to have receipts matched for online purchases (that you’ll always get an email for) is a cool idea though, and one that we’ve had our eye on.
But - GooglePay is used by so many people, it’s definitely a “competitor” for us. But also a reassurance to us that the problem we’re trying to solve is a valuable one - if a company as big as Google sees this as a worthwhile investment of time and resource, that tells me that we’re on the right track I think over the next year or two we’ll definitely start to see more people trying to ‘disrupt’ this space - but it’s our plan to get there first!
Spelling out my address is a faff I’m not interested in, besides shops interested in quick lines such as takeaways and drive-thrus will they even implement Google’s service?
You can never be sure if they’ve typed it correctly until you get home and realise there’s no receipt.
Although with Google having my online purchases there I would want my in store ones in the same place too,
Are there any plans to let me get my data out from the Monzo/Flux integration?
Lets say I buy 20 KFCs a month, by the end of year, I’d like to be able to review that data line by line, is that something that’s been considered?
I’m really thinking ahead for if you get a supermarket on-board. I never look at my Tesco physical receipt, it’s cost what it cost and if they’ve mischarged me, I’m not going through 50 items line by line to check. But if I could get all of that data into Excel, well that’s where dreams come true.
I agree with this, but I think it’s a bit of both. In order to convince people to allow them to mine that data, they need to at least appear to be solving a problem somewhere that makes the trade off worth it, which is likely what they’re hoping.
But as ever with Google, they’ll do and try just about anything until they find something that works. So if this is not in the Google graveyard by 2023, then perhaps it’s safe to assume Flux were onto something. But for now it’s too early to gauge anything from Google’s more expansive foray into fintech.
I totally agree on both point and would never go for Google’s approach. I always decline if cashiers insist on my emails as it will land me with marketing emails and my email has in the past been leaked from a retailer.
But I don’t think it will be down to the user to decide. Why would a retailer go for Flux if they can go with the Google approach and get extra customer insights and send marketing emails? What’s the incentive for businesses and what can Flux do to make the service seem more appealing?
I would love love love Flux everywhere but I worry about the slow rollout and whether Google will come in with something more convenient and kill the concept?
Btw any chance Flux will be integrated with Amex at any point in the future?
Following on from the starling thread, just to reply to this.
At the till, you also have to trust the individual to respect your privacy. We’ve seen the abuse of the covid track and trace system, where personal details have been abused by employees to aid in stalking and harassing customers they found attractive.
Second, there are laws in place to protect you from unsolicited marketing email when shopping online. You have clear opt out/in options, and you can use private relay emails which aren’t often suitable to provide verbally to another human at a till.
Earlier this year, we had an internal Hackathon and one of the ideas we developed was a Flux web portal where you’d be able to view all of your receipts in one place and download/export the data.
The first version doesn’t have the ability to export, but it does have all of your Flux receipts in one place for you to view. We actually have our second Hackathon coming up in December and this was something I was considering exploring more
If you’re interested in seeing the prototype from last time, DM me and I’ll share it with you (it’s a working prototype, so you’ll be able to see your own receipts). Feedback and ideas on what you’d find useful in a portal like this would be really welcome - I’ll let the rest of the team know what you think in advance of the Hackathon to see whether the other teams want to explore some of your ideas
I think it’s a bit of both - the ultimate goal of any business is making money, but for retailers operating in such a competitive landscape, customer experience is key to make sure people keep coming back. When we’re pitching Flux as a product, we’re always trying to find that sweet spot where we can slot into existing strategy and help a company succeed - but that sweet spot is different for every retailer!
Thanks, I do appreciate the offer. But as I only have 2 or 3 KFC transactions in my history, it’s probably not something that’s hugely beneficial to me at the moment. But good to know we’re thinking along the same lines!
There isn’t anything lol about it. Barclays are a big bank and having all their customers onboard will be a big plus for flux when trying to sign businesses up
If i was a business and i had the chance to realise something that could be utilised by 5 mill people or 10 mill people i know which would make me feel more confident about investing in that feature
(Dont know how many customers barclays have but thought around 5 mill wouldnt be far off)
I think over the next year or two we’ll definitely start to see more people trying to ‘disrupt’ this space - but it’s our plan to get there first!
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