Bundesbank survey Germans are skeptical about the digital euro

Status: 16.06.2021 1:05 p.m.

The corona pandemic has further reduced the use of cash, also in Germany. According to the Bundesbank, Germans would be skeptical about the introduction of a digital euro. The European Central Bank (ECB) wants to decide this summer whether the introduction of a digital euro should be seriously tackled. This was announced last week by Burkhard Balz, board member of the Bundesbank. But the majority of Germans are skeptical about this project. Around 56 percent of all households surveyed were cautious in their initial assessment of the possible introduction of a digital euro, said Bundesbank board member Johannes Beermann yesterday in a speech at a cash conference of the German central bank. “Many of them are not convinced that this would offer sufficient additional value compared to the existing range of payment options.” Among other things, Beermann is responsible for the issue of cash on the board of the Bundesbank.

01/21/2021

Largely unknown project

In addition, according to the survey results, 77 percent of all respondents have never heard of or read about a digital euro. And those who know about it, fear in the first place that their personal data is not adequately protected. The security of the new means of payment also raises questions among the population, as does its availability within the entire euro area and the avoidance of additional costs. According to the central bankers, the digital euro could help on the way to the Smart Economy or Economy 4.0 by enabling programmable payments and supporting processing using modern technologies. However, the Bundesbank executive also emphasizes that the digital euro is not intended to be a substitute for cash. It is about a complementary offer. “As long as there is demand for cash, we will also offer cash,” said Balz.

04/16/2021

Cash as a safety cushion

ECB Director Fabio Panetta presented surprising figures on cash use during the Corona crisis at the Bundesbank conference. Accordingly, during the pandemic, people in the euro zone increasingly used cash as a safety cushion, although they made greater use of cashless forms of payment when shopping. According to Panetta, the demand for euro banknotes increased by 190 billion euros between March 2020 and May 2021. When comparing the volumes issued in spring 2020 with the average volumes of the past five years, this is an increase of four percent. At the same time, during the pandemic, significantly less purchases were made with notes and coins. “This seeming paradox – an increasing demand for banknotes despite a decline in cash payments – may be explained by the fact that people used cash as a means of dealing with uncertainty during the crisis,” said Panetta. Recent estimates suggest that even before the pandemic, only around 20 percent of the total amount of euro banknotes in circulation in the euro area had been actively used for payments. Panetta therefore assumes that euro notes and coins will survive the digital revolution.

The leader of BTS bought a house with cash without a loan and officially became the owner of the apartment on May 25. RM and Jimin have just become the owners of the most expensive apartment in Korea. Also on March 31, Jimin bought an apartment similar in size to RM’s new home at a luxury complex for about $5.3 million (about 122 billion VND) and paid in full in cash. He officially named the apartment on May 26. RM and Jimin are neighbors with cult stars like G-Dragon when buying a house here. According to an expert, because RM’s new house has an additional terrace as well as a better location, it leads to the price difference between the apartments of these two male idols. The BTS duo officially became the owner of the apartment at the end of May. Nine One Hannam is currently the most expensive apartment complex in Seoul, an ideal choice for many businessmen and stars. The two boys are also neighbors with famous Korean stars such as G-Dragon, So Ji Sub and Jun Ji Hyun when buying a house here. Located in a prime location, Nine One Hannam is located between 2 subway stations and in the heart of the busy Hannamdong area. Hannam The Hill – where BTS currently lives is also located right behind this luxury complex. Nine One Hannam is the most expensive apartment complex in Korea. RM is a male rapper born in 1994 of the global group BTS, highly appreciated for his leadership, songwriting, performance and deep understanding in all fields. Jimin was born in 1995, impressing with his unique voice and top-notch choreography. He is nicknamed “The King of Stage”, regularly leading the brand value rankings of male idols. Doan Phong
According to Koreaboo

“This group leaves cash in specific places – behind a bush or under a bus seat – for criminals to get. They send specific location instructions. This is a whole new profession.” Financial Times quoted Dr. Tom Robinson, founder of Elliptic organization specializing in analyzing cryptocurrency transactions. The dark web site Hydra (Russian) offers a variety of methods for criminals to exchange cryptocurrency for cash, for example exchanging Bitcoins for gift certificates, debit cards or iTunes vouchers. Special software is required to access the Hydra dark web. Photo: ZDNet. Anonymous but still leaving traces According to experts, the ability to store cryptocurrency without providing an identity makes this currency especially attractive to many criminal gangs, especially hackers specializing in breaking into networks of businesses. and demand ransom. Statistics from research firm Chainalysis show that in 2020, businesses and organizations paid at least $350 million in cryptocurrency ransoms to a number of hacker groups, including DarkSide, the group that attacked the pipeline system. Colonial Pipeline earlier this month. But while anonymous, cryptocurrency transactions are recorded on an immutable blockchain system, leaving a clear trail for anyone with any knowledge of the technology. A number of investigative firms have been established to assist national authorities in tracking various criminal gangs by analyzing the flow of cryptocurrency transactions. Chainalysis (headquartered in New York, USA) is one such company. Binance cryptocurrency exchange. In 2011-2019, cryptocurrency exchanges supported the conversion to cash of about 60-80% of Bitcoin transactions by criminal groups. Photo: Binance. Chainalysis raised $100 million in its initial public offering, reaching a valuation of over $2 billion. There are also Elliptic (headquartered in London, UK) and CipherTrace, a company supported by the US government. Chainalysis said that in 2020, some illegal organizations receive about 5 billion USD and transfer 5 billion USD to other organizations. This represents almost 1% of all global crypto flows. Initially, the criminals only withdrew funds through major cryptocurrency exchanges. Elliptic estimates that between 2011 and 2019, cryptocurrency exchanges supported the conversion of about 60-80% of Bitcoin transactions by illegal organizations into cash. Take advantage of crypto ATMs Since last year, exchanges have been concerned about the tightening of regulations by many governments, so they have begun to apply anti-money laundering (AML) and customer identity verification (KYC) processes. This change pushes criminals to unlicensed exchanges. Still, expert Michael Phillips of online insurance company Resilience said that unlicensed exchanges have low liquidity, making it difficult for criminals to convert crypto to fiat. “The goal is to make it more expensive for criminals to convert money,” he explained. However, criminals still have a way around. Research by Chainalysis shows that some intermediaries are quietly assisting gangs in conducting many illegal money conversion transactions. Meanwhile, small-scale transactions still flow through more than 11,600 crypto ATMs worldwide without any control, or through gambling sites that accept crypto payments. Criminals can use crypto ATMs to get cash. Photo: EPA. Faced with that situation, crypto security companies use the technology of analyzing blockchain transactions and intelligence to determine which crypto wallets belong to criminal gangs. At the same time, they provide an overview of the global crypto crime ecosystem. As a result, companies discovered that many hacker groups lease ransomware to criminal networks. Kimberly Grauer, director of research at Chainalysis, said hackers also pay support services to other criminal groups in cryptocurrency. Thus, a criminal cryptocurrency ecosystem has been formed on a global scale. “We were able to see the ransom transactions, how the gangs split the money and how that money went to groups in the system,” Grauer said. The tricks are getting more and more sophisticated However, cybercriminals are increasingly using a variety of high-tech tools to obscure the traces of cryptocurrency transactions. Some criminals use “chain-hopping” – repeatedly switching between different cryptocurrencies – to avoid the eyes of security companies. In addition, they use a “privacy cryptocurrency” like Monero, which has a high degree of anonymity. Another tool commonly used by criminals is a “mixer,” a third-party service that mixes illegal cryptocurrencies with clean money, before pushing them back onto the market. In April, the US Department of Justice arrested a Swedish citizen of Russian origin, who specialized in operating a “mixing” service called Bitcoin Fog. During the past 10 years, this guy has transferred a total of 335 million USD in Bitcoin. Governments need to modernize confiscation and asset freezing processes to make it easier to confiscate cryptocurrencies from exchanges. Tom Kellerman, director of cybersecurity strategy at VMware V “It is possible to untangle mixed cryptocurrencies. However, that requires high technology and a lot of processing and data power,” said Katherine Kirkpatrick, director of law firm King & Spalding. According to Elliptic, the popular 2020 coin mixers are highly anonymous “personal wallets”. They supported 12% of Bitcoin wash transactions last year. Tom Kellerman, director of cybersecurity strategy at VMware and a member of the US Secret Service’s advisory board, said that governments need to modernize the process of confiscating and freezing assets for law enforcement. easily confiscate cryptocurrencies from exchanges. In the past, blockchain security experts have floated the idea of ​​sharing a “blacklist” of crypto wallets used by criminals with exchanges, analytics firms, and governments. “Now is the right time to consider that initiative.” he Kemba Walden of Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit.

In recent days, the whole country has continuously recorded a record increase of Covid-19 cases, many consumers have begun to change the way they go to the media market, instead sitting at home still “shopping online” quickly.

Previously, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Thao, who lives in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, used to get up early to go to the market, but in recent weeks, her family has begun to gradually switch to online shopping. In particular, after District 3 recorded Covid-19 cases, she limited going out and promoted online shopping more. Thao shared: “After breakfast, I took advantage of “going to the online market”. In less than 2 hours, the food is delivered to my home, carefully preserved and fresh, I can keep it in the refrigerator for a week to eat and drink, avoiding crowded places. Use Happy Digital card on Nam A Bank’s Open Banking application to shop online and get 10% cashback. Not only “online shopping”, all transaction activities of Mr. Nguyen Van Nam (Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City) in the past 2 years have been used online for a very practical reason. “Going shopping, meeting a partner for lunch, going to a coffee shop with friends… we all pay online. In particular, on this occasion, I used Happy Digital card on Nam A Bank’s Open Banking application to shop online and get up to 10% cashback. During the Covid-19 epidemic season, paying by online form will easily look up the travel information where you have been” (Mr. Nam said).

In fact, non-cash payment is a current development trend, especially during the Covid-19 season, this form is chosen by many people because of its superiority in fast, safe payment speed. security and limit direct person-to-person contact. “I have been using online payment methods for many years now. Not only shopping but also paying bills for electricity, water, phone bills, etc., I also do it through Nam A Bank’s Open Banking app, which is very fast and convenient” (Ms. Thanh Mai, resident of Binh Tan District).
At the same time, in order to encourage users to transact online, banks also “accelerated” the digital transformation process to bring the most useful financial solutions to customers. At the same time, banks also waive many kinds of fees to encourage customers to use. Online payment is the current development trend, especially during the Covid-19 season, this form is chosen by many people For example, Nam A Bank’s Open Banking application is one of the most modern and latest technology applications, helping customers maximize their online transaction experience. For example, Nam A Bank’s comprehensive automatic electronic customer identification feature – eKYC allows customers to register for account opening 100% online on the Open Banking application.
In addition, the Bank also has many preferential activities for customers using the services on this application. Using Happy Digital card right on Open Banking without keeping the card in the wallet, without worrying about losing the card, customers also get up to 10% cashback on transactions. Especially, from June 2021 to the end of 2021, Nam A Bank credit cardholders will receive a discount of up to 500,000 VND when shopping online at Tiki e-commerce site. Or this bank is encouraging customers to save online with a higher difference at the counter from 0.05 to 0.8 percentage points. The highest online savings interest rate is 6.8%/year for a term of 13 months or more. This is a profitable, safe and stable investment channel with competitive interest rates… According to information from the State Bank at a recent press conference, electronic payments via the Internet, mobile phones, and QR codes have achieved remarkable results, attracting a large number of customers to use. Compared to the same period in the first 3 months of 2020, transactions via the Internet channel reached 156.2 million items with a value of 8.1 million billion (up 55.9% in quantity and 28.4% respectively in value). ; transactions via mobile phone channel reached 395.05 million items with a value of more than 4.6 million billion VND (increasing respectively 78% in quantity and 103% in value); transactions via QR code channel reached 5.3 million items with a value of VND 4,479 billion (up 83% in quantity and 146% in value respectively)….

Mobile Money serves up to 90% of small transactions Faced with this shortcoming, the Ministry of Information and Communications believes that Mobile Money will be an effective solution to add to the means of payment for Vietnamese people. If Mobile Money service is licensed to telecommunications companies, the coverage of e-payment services will quickly reach 100% of the population. This will promote e-commerce, agricultural commodity exchanges, especially in remote areas, promote online public services, promote Fintech companies, innovative startups, help economic growth. All countries that allow Mobile Money generate economic growth of up to 0.5%. According to calculations by major service providers, Mobile Money will probably serve up to 90% of small transactions. This is an opportunity for telecommunications companies to promote digital transformation of customers. Because, users can easily buy online goods services as well as digital content services in the telecommunications company’s ecosystem. On the contrary, this is also the driving force for telecommunications companies to digitally transform. This will bring great benefits to society to move towards a digital economy and digital society in the future. Commenting on this issue, Mr. Vu Hoang Lien, Chairman of Vietnam Internet Association, said that Mobile Money service will bring many benefits to consumers and society and promote non-cash payments. However, the Mobile Money service will also impact payment intermediary service providers as the service will share the market, customers and business algorithms. However, with the trend of technology, we need to further improve the payment environment to be a driving force for development. “If licensed soon, Mobile Money will be the Government’s first sandbox to create breakthroughs and create strong momentum for new technologies and new services to be introduced to society. If we look at the services If new services bring benefits to the people and the country, it will be very easy to put these sandboxes as a driving force for development. Whether the policy admits new things and new components to the market or does it still keep its own territory for the old ones Sandbox will create a breakthrough legal environment that dares to accept change, accept new things create new vitality of society in the trend of digital transformation,” said Mr. Vu Hoang Lien. Mobile Money: an opportunity for telecom companies The Chairman of Vietnam Internet Association emphasized that the opportunity for telecommunications companies for Mobile Money service is very clear when they have a customer base because most Vietnamese people use mobile phones. The telecommunications company’s services are also the foundation for connecting many essential services of society, so it will open up great opportunities for the development of Mobile Money services. Three major service providers, Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone have also applied for permission to provide this service. In this race, the company that solves the management problem to bring benefits to customers will prevail. From Mr. Lien’s point of view, Viettel is slightly better than other service providers because of its large customer base and good management. However, telecommunications companies can take advantage of their strengths to attract customers, so this will be a hot market in the near future. Currently, the Government has agreed to test the Mobile Money service for 2 years, but service providers are still waiting for a license. Commenting on this delay, Mr. Mai Liem Truc, former Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications (now the Ministry of Information and Communications) said that Mobile Money was delayed by about 2 years. If this service is licensed early, it will bring many benefits to society and the economy. Mr. Truc also emphasized, Sandbox is the direction for the Government to vigorously test new technology services that bring benefits to the people and the country. “Sandbox” is a pilot institutional framework, allowing a small number of businesses, to test new technologies and new business models in a practical environment but with a defined scope and time, under the supervision of regulators and have appropriate hedging plans in place to prevent the consequences of failure without having a major impact on the national financial system. Following the government’s direction, the State Bank is currently building regulatory sandboxes for financial and banking services based on information technology, including Mobile Money.

Now, instead of always worrying about carrying too much cash, consumers can go out with peace of mind with just a credit card or simply a phone and smart watch. In many countries, the Covid-19 pandemic has shortened the transition to cashless payments. Many central banks around the world are also planning to issue digital currencies, led by the People’s Bank of China. “Each country has its own development needs,” said Zhou Xiaochuan, former Governor of the Central Bank of China and vice-president of the Boao Forum for Asia. We can expect that in the long run, the world’s digital currencies can integrate and exchange rate problems can become less complicated. This is a development direction.” Illustration: KT Late last year, Google, Singapore’s Temasek, and venture capital firm Bain & Company jointly conducted a study on the adoption of digital platform technologies across Southeast Asia. The results show that, in the 6 largest economies of Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam), the number of people accessing the internet reached 40 million people for the first time last year, raising the number of internet users to 40 million people for the first time in 2020. the total number of internet users in the region to 400 million, about 70% of the population of these countries compared to 250 million in 2015. At the same time, the size of the region’s internet economy also surpassed the $100 billion threshold for the first time. If this trend is maintained, the report predicts, this number will likely triple to more than $300 billion by 2025. A newer Mastercard report released on May 4 adds more detail to the day-to-day impacts of the pandemic, particularly on consumers’ daily spending habits. The report shows that access to digital payment technologies has increased in the Asia-Pacific region. Specifically, 94% of the respondents said that they would consider using at least one emerging payment method in the next year such as QR code, e-wallet or mobile phone, installment plan, cryptocurrency, credit card, etc. biometrics… According to Mastercard’s Executive Vice President of Product and Innovation – Sandeep Malhotra, consumers in Asia Pacific have seen major changes in their payment habits and this is not only driven by demand, but also by demand. based on considerations of personal safety, security, and convenience, at a time when these concerns are paramount. However, economic experts also warn, whether digital currency or digital asset, all must integrate and serve the real economy and the global financial crisis of 2008 is money label lesson. Once the financial sector separates from the real economy, the risk of deviating is inevitable.

Illustration. Source: Internet. Implementing an effective Mobile Money pilot requires readiness in terms of technical infrastructure, technology, human resources, finance and moreover, the security issue cannot be taken lightly. Ready to “enter” Mobile Money Mobile Money service helps people, especially in remote and isolated areas, have more means of non-cash payment, especially for small expenditures under 100,000 VND. People will be able to withdraw and top up money at telecommunications transaction points or business transaction points authorized by DNVT as a legal entity. Sharing about Viettel’s preparation to deploy Mobile Money service, Deputy General Director of Viettel Digital Services Corporation, Major Truong Quang Viet said: “Viettel has successfully tested Mobile Money for 40,000 customers. internally, ready to provide services to 100% of Viettel customers In addition, we have a set of knowledge ready to train for Mobile Money transaction points, so as soon as it is approved by the authorities , all transaction or payment acceptance points of Viettel have a certain understanding of Mobile Money to support users.Besides, Viettel also prepares a 24/7 customer care system for advice and answers. all customer inquiries. Preparing to enter a completely new field, Deputy General Director of MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation Bui Son Nam informed: MobiFone established MobiFone Digital Service Center and prepared the entire technical infrastructure to ensure deploy Mobile Money as soon as the Government allows. Commenting on the advantages of operators when implementing Mobile Money, Deputy Director of the Department of Telecommunication (Ministry of Information and Communications) Tran Duy Hai said: “Thanks to taking advantage of the telecommunications network infrastructure and transaction points on the Internet. Nationwide, DNVT has many advantages when deploying this service, however, the implementation process also faces certain difficulties such as: Changing user habits or DNVT previously only stopped at deploying e-wallets, now the network will be expanded and deployed to remote areas, accompanied by requirements for risk prevention and control, ensuring the safety of money in the account, and anti-money laundering … “. Security comes from both sides As a non-cash payment activity, one of the biggest concerns of users when using Mobile Money is information security and safety. Regarding this issue, according to Deputy Director Tran Duy Hai: In the Prime Minister’s decision to allow pilot service, the pilot enterprise must have a system that meets the requirements of ensuring system safety. Level 3 information in accordance with current law. In addition, there must be a system to store the arising Mobile Money transaction history; at the same time, there must be a backup copy of archival information in service of inspection, examination and information provision upon request from competent state management agencies. For accounting documents, enterprises conducting the pilot must store them in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Accounting,… From the point of view of a cybersecurity expert, Deputy Chief Technology Officer of Vietnam Cybersecurity Technology Joint Stock Company Ngo Quoc Vinh also gave warnings about security when people in remote areas approach Mobile. Money. The reason is that people in this area do not have knowledge about network security as well as have no conditions to equip measures to protect equipment or personal data. Cybercriminals will take advantage of that and be well-prepared to target financial theft. Specifically, making the most of fake websites, messages, and information to reach users. Mr. Ngo Quoc Vinh also said that in order to be licensed, service providers must comply with and equip a series of security architectural solutions at the request of the State. Therefore, what businesses need to do is to continuously strictly maintain the state of the system to ensure information security to the highest level. At the same time, continuously improve the security level for users’ terminals when using the service. Meanwhile, users themselves must raise awareness that digital assets are targets for cybercriminals to exploit personal data and steal assets. Users need to follow instructions and directions from authorities in the field of information security. When they comply with that regulation and raise their awareness, the ability to prevent and combat risks will increase. Major Truong Quang Viet said: Viettel has experience in deploying telecommunications services to 70 million users, deploying e-wallets in 6 markets around the world. ViettelPay digital ecosystem is the infrastructure for Viettel to deploy Mobile Money. ViettelPay has ensured that security related regulations meet the world’s leading standards. Besides, Viettel has a network security company that protects users from attacks on the system or stealing accounts. Referring to measures to prevent money laundering, Viettel’s representative said that this enterprise applies big data technology and artificial intelligence to ensure the detection of all unusual transactions. Responding to users’ concerns when the Mobile Money service only transfers within one provider, Deputy Director Tran Duy Hai explained: “Mobile Money accounts can only pay with internal accounts in telecommunications carriers. registration, there is no cross-linking between carriers to help limit risks that may arise during the testing process.After a period of implementation of technical solutions along with evaluation of the results of the test implementation process. point, internetwork can be suggested”.

According to the Bloomberg Over the past time, many international experts have expressed concern about China launching a national digital currency. British historian Niall Ferguson predicts that the digital yuan threatens to threaten America’s dominance in the global financial industry. Michael Hasenstab, head of investment fund Franklin Templeton, said that the digital yuan will weaken the position of the dollar, the reserve currency in the world. The administration of US President Joe Biden is studying the potential threat of the digital yuan to US national interests. However, those who are actually using their digital NTD are indifferent. Shenzhen is the city that runs the largest-scale digital yuan testing campaign. Reply Bloomberg Participants said they were not interested in leaving Ant Group or Tencent Holdings’ online payment apps. Online payment apps have been replacing cash in China for a long time. Photo: Getty Images. No conversion is intended “I’m not excited at all”, Bloomberg quoted Patricia Chen, who works in the telecommunications industry, as saying. She is one of more than 500,000 Shenzhen residents eligible to participate in the digital yuan trial. In this test, participants will download the government’s e-wallet application on their phones, connect to their bank accounts, and can convert up to 10,000 yuan ($ 1,548) in cash to digital currency. number (e-CNY). Similar to Alipay’s Ant Group app and Tencent’s WeChat Pay, digital yuan transactions are done very quickly using QR codes. When there is no Internet, users can use near field communication technology to make payments. Vera Lin – 25, an employee of a financial company in Shenzhen – said using digital yuan is quite easy. However, she has no intention of switching to digital yuan as the current online payment applications work seamlessly with other e-commerce services and platforms. Many people in Shenzhen said they have no intention of switching to digital yuan altogether. Photo: Reuters. Many stores participate in a trial of a 10% discount on digital yuan customers. However, that was not enough to convince Lin. She said Ant Group or Tencent’s platforms often offer discounts on many services, from ride-hailing to food delivery. Privacy is also a concern for Jan Chen, a 33-year-old civil servant. “The fact that the authorities can track every payment transaction is scary,” Chen said. I’m not excited at all User Patricia Chen In addition, some merchants and store owners revealed that they are concerned that information about all transactions goes directly to government databases even though the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) previously secured most of the delivery. translation will be confidential. In March, a representative of the Institute of Cryptocurrencies Research confirmed that PBOC will not directly know the identity of the user. However, the Chinese government may obtain information from financial institutions if it is suspected of illegal conduct. In addition, PBOC also encourages stores and merchants to use digital yuan by using free of charge. Currently, Alipay and WePay apps charge 0.6% per transaction. Difficult to take market share The yuan currently accounts for only 3% of total global payments. Expert Zennon Kapron, Director of consulting firm Kapronasia (Singapore) said that the digital version will only help the Chinese currency increase its market share by 1%. “The global impact of the digital yuan will be very small, unless China changes its economic structure and financial system,” said expert Kapron. Chinese officials themselves also show restraint when talking about the digital yuan. Last month, Mr. Li Bo – PBOC’s deputy governor – affirmed that China is developing a digital yuan to serve the domestic market, not with the intention of replacing the dollar. Previously, former PBOC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said the digital yuan was a solution to help China fight the potential threat from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Kapron predicts that if the digital currency fails to attract users, the Chinese authorities will take steps to increase the control of data collected by internet and financial companies such as Ant Group and Tencent. . Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Francis Chan also thinks that Chinese authorities can force Internet platforms and businesses to use the digital yuan. Chan and BI analyst Sharnie Wong predict that the electronic yuan will be widely used in China before the 2022 Beijing Olympics. It is likely that the digital yuan will take up 9% of the domestic online payment market share by 2025. That will be a big change, but the digital yuan still has a long way to go before the challenge. status of Alipay and WePay. These two payment applications account for a total of 90% of the market share in China. Expert Michael Ho, director of financial services at Oliver Wyman, also said that convincing the world to accept the digital yuan even more difficult.

In the 2021 annual general meeting of shareholders on the morning of April 23, Mr. Le Quoc Binh, General Director of the company, explained the reason. Mr. Binh said that CII really wants to pay dividends because the BT project of Thu Thiem new urban area (total investment of over 10,000 billion dong) will finish this year and create cash flow for the company. However, this cash flow is late, and the debt index of the company at the end of 2020 will increase due to having to issue a large amount of bonds. In fact, bondholders forced CII to stop paying dividends to shareholders. Besides, the negotiation with foreign partners is quite difficult, so it is impossible to say when it is possible to close the right to pay dividend, Mr. Binh said. Shareholders suggest the company should use retained earnings from previous years to pay dividends in cash for shareholders. In response, Mr. Binh shared that according to the law, in order to pay dividends, the debt obligation criteria must be guaranteed in advance for a third party. Not to mention, CII needs to accumulate money to invest. Mr. Binh noted that it will be difficult for the company to ensure both debt repayment and investment and also pay dividends to shareholders. Therefore, Mr. Binh suggested that shareholders agree to the decisions of the Board of Directors to distribute profits, but Mr. Binh also affirmed that the company will do its best to ensure dividends to shareholders. 2021 is 12% cash (1,200 dong / share) “. The audited consolidated financial statements show that by the end of 2020, CII’s total liabilities are over 21,761 billion dong, of which short-term debt is 8,293 billion dong and long-term debt is over 13,468 billion dong. Debt to equity ratio is about 2.81 times. At the end of the stock trading session on April 24, the price of CII stock was temporarily stopped at VND 21,350 / share, a slight increase compared to the previous session, but down more than 6% within a week. CII share price fell by nearly 12% within a month and nearly 8% within a quarter.

Produced | Sohu Technology

Author | Zhang Yating

Edit | Yang Jin

Huawei, which has always been prudent and prudent, has recently made intensive adjustments to its cloud business, which has aroused heated discussions in the outside world. On April 9, Huawei announced the appointment of Rotating Chairman Xu Zhijun as Chairman of Huawei Cloud, and Huawei Consumer BG CEO Yu Chengdong was appointed as Huawei Cloud CEO.

A week ago, on April 2, Huawei announced the abolition of Cloud&AI (cloud and computing) BG. On March 30, Huawei just appointed 11 members including Zhang Pingan (formerly President of Consumer Business Cloud Services) as Cloud&AI BG managers; Zhang Pingan was appointed as Cloud BU President.

At this point, the structural adjustment of the cloud business has come to an end in the turmoil. The latest Xu Zhijun + Yu Chengdong, the luxurious lineup of two generations of Huawei’s Titans, also made the speculation that “Huawei Cloud will develop independently or be sold” spread like wildfire. Some insiders bluntly said that “this is the management configuration of a listed company.”

At the Huawei Analyst Conference on April 12, Xu Zhijun gave a formal response to related hot topics. He pointed out that the abolition of cloud and computing BG is to focus on developing cloud business, increase the proportion of software service revenue, and reduce dependence on hardware.

As we all know, Huawei started by making communication equipment, and hardware revenue has always been the main driver. In recent years, the revenue of consumer business, which is dominated by mobile phones, has supported about 50% of its revenue. However, the blow of the ban made Huawei have to think about how to go on leaving the chip?

The cloud business is regarded by Huawei as a key “chess piece” for increasing software revenue. Guowei, the chief product official of Huawei Cloud, told Sohu Technology that this year’s cloud business will definitely continue to grow in three digits. On the one hand, Huawei attaches great importance to the cloud business, and customer demand is also great. According to official disclosures, Huawei Cloud will grow by 168% in 2020.

It should be noted that even if the cloud and computing BG has been withdrawn, the current cloud and computing entire sales and channel system remains consistent. Shi Jilin, President of Huawei Cloud and Computing Global Marketing and Sales Service Department, told media including Sohu Technology, “The future sales and channel system will be optimized and adjusted accordingly as business development needs.”

“The shortcoming that needs to be made up most is the user experience”

Compared with mainstream cloud vendors, Huawei Cloud is almost 10 years behind. Amazon AWS cloud computing service was commercialized in 2006, Alibaba Cloud was formally established in 2009, Tencent Cloud was commercialized in 13 years, and Huawei only established Cloud BU in 17 years and officially entered the public cloud.

“It is necessary to make up for shortcomings but also to find ways to surpass other manufacturers.” Fang Guowei told Sohu Technology that the biggest challenge for Huawei’s cloud business is that the business started relatively late. .

He pointed out that it took Huawei almost four years to go through the product development process of other manufacturers for about ten years. “We started to do public cloud in 17 years and developed more than 200 products in almost four years. The number of products is about the same as that of other vendors.”

The speed of HUAWEI CLOUD’s development should not be underestimated. According to Canalys’s Q4 China Cloud Service Market Report last year, Alibaba Cloud occupies an absolute leading position with a 40% share, Huawei Cloud ranks second with a 17% market share, and Tencent ranks third with a 15% share.

Dai Mingzhe, an analyst at Head Leopard Research Institute, told Sohu Technology that because of its first-mover advantage, Alibaba Cloud has always maintained the first place in market share. However, HUAWEI CLOUD is catching up with its accumulation in the ICT field and the precipitation of the government and enterprise markets, and is constantly shortening the gap with the leading manufacturers in the market.

Of course, in the pursuit of rapid development, Huawei Cloud also needs to make up for its shortcomings. “We are a traditional hardware-advanced company. There are no examples in the world of transforming into a software-advanced company. Our difficulties are imaginable.” Ren Zhengfei realized that changing from selling products to selling cloud services requires building cloud services. The ability and support to provide customers with the operation, operation and maintenance capabilities of cloud services.

A business manager of a domestic leading cloud vendor told Sohu Technology that Huawei Cloud’s long-tail customers have relatively weak operating capabilities. “Customers who consume hundreds of thousands a month in the order of magnitude, either look at the brand or buy the cheap ones. Huawei Cloud is a bit embarrassed in the middle. And the stability and performance of its products still need to be polished.”

Fang Guowei also bluntly told Sohu Technology that the shortcoming that needs to be made up most is the user experience to make the product more usable. Previously, it was more to quickly complement the functions, but there is still a lack of user experience. This year, it will be promoted as a focus.

“For example, in terms of product design, interaction design will strive to be more user-friendly; in terms of documentation, I hope that customers will understand how to operate immediately after reading the documentation, because a very important point in the cloud is self service.”

Relieve the pain of lack of core

Undoubtedly, sending two generals, Xu Zhijun and Yu Chengdong, can see how much Huawei attaches importance to the cloud business. Of course, frequent architectural shocks can also reveal Huawei’s entanglement in exploring cloud services.

At the beginning of 2020, Cloud&AI (cloud and computing) rose to Huawei’s fourth largest BG, Hou Jinlong served as the president of Cloud and Computing BG, and Peng Zhongyang as the president of Enterprise BG.

In January of this year, Huawei internally issued a document stating that consumer business CEO Yu Chengdong will concurrently serve as the president of Cloud and Computing BG, and Hou Jinlong, former president of Cloud and Computing BG, intends to appoint the chairman of Digital Energy. At that time, a Huawei insider revealed to Sohu Technology that “the development progress of the cloud business is average, and the slogans are more powerful. I hope Mr. Yu’s leadership can change the current state.”

On April 2, Huawei adjusted its cloud business again, appointing Zhang Pingan as the president of Cloud BU, and at the same time withdrew the cloud and computing BG, and the original server and storage were classified as “network products and solutions.”

About a week later, Huawei Cloud ushered in new personnel appointments again. Rotating Chairman Xu Zhijun was appointed as Huawei Cloud Chairman, Yu Chengdong was appointed as Huawei Cloud CEO, and Cloud BU added two deputy directors, Peng Zhongyang and Tao Jingwen in charge of corporate business. And process IT.

From the establishment of Cloud and Computing BG to the dismantling of Cloud and Computing BG, Cloud BU has once again returned to an independent state. Xu Zhijun said to the relevant changes that Huawei Cloud has always been an end-to-end independent BU. At the beginning of the establishment of HUAWEI CLOUD, it was hoped to coordinate the operation of servers and storage with HUAWEI CLOUD, but the collaborative operation was found to consume the energy of the cloud team.

He pointed out that the adjustments made now are to hope that the cloud business will be more independent and focus on developing cloud. At the same time, in the long run, we hope to increase the proportion of software service revenue.

Under the influence of the US ban, Huawei is also actively thinking about future business development issues. How does the future go? Xu Zhijun put forward five key strategic measures in the future, and the first one is to optimize the industrial mix and enhance the resilience of the industry, especially the enhancement of software capabilities, the strengthening of investment in advanced technology and weak-related industries and the investment in the smart auto parts industry.

Dai Mingzhe told Sohu Technology that under the ban, the chip industry chain will have a certain impact. However, Huawei’s cloud business will focus on software development in the future, and it is expected that this impact will be mitigated to a certain extent.

Can the cloud business become the next “cash cow”?

The cloud market still has development potential. Gartner data shows that as of 2019, the global cloud computing market reached US$188.3 billion, and it is expected that the market size will reach US$350 billion in 2023. According to the “2020 Cloud Computing Development White Paper” issued by the Institute of Information and Communications Technology, China’s cloud computing market is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the next four years.

At the same time, the cloud business has brought huge returns to the top manufacturers. According to the 2020 earnings report, AWS cloud services contributed 11.7% of revenue and 59% of profits for Amazon. According to Microsoft’s financial report, since the Q3 quarter of fiscal year 2020, revenue from the smart cloud business has become Microsoft’s largest source of revenue for three consecutive quarters.

Of course, before the cloud business brought huge returns, it was also a terrible “golden beast”. Only after a huge investment can manufacturers “lie down and make money.” From the official commercial use of Amazon AWS in 2006 to 2015, it took nearly 10 years to turn around. year. Alibaba Cloud was founded in 2009, but it achieved breakeven for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2020, and it took about 11 years from a huge loss to a balance.

Gu Fan, general manager of cloud service product management for AWS Greater China, once said that it took nearly 10 years for AWS to achieve its first $10 billion in revenue from scratch, and it took 23 months for the second $10 billion increase. The third $10 billion increase took 13 months.

Huawei hopes to avoid excessive capital investment and emphasizes the construction of application ecology. Ren Zhengfei pointed out in his internal letter at the end of last year, “We can’t simply take the same path as Ali and Amazon. We don’t have that much money. They have endless amounts of money in the US stock market. How do we develop, we must find a way out. , Rather than simply imitating.”

In China, BAT Internet vendors, three major operators, Huawei Cloud, Kingsoft Cloud and other vendors gathered in the cloud computing track. A cloud computing-related practitioner told Sohu Technology that compared with other vendors, Huawei’s advantages lie in sales capabilities, key customer relationships, hardware coordination capabilities, and a top-to-bottom ecosystem.

Through the growth process of Amazon and Alibaba, we can see that cloud is not a “quick money” business. From its exposure to cloud computing in 2011, to its formal entry into the public cloud in 2017, and to the further improvement of its strategic position today, Huawei has not disclosed the revenue of its cloud business to the public.

It is foreseeable that Huawei Cloud still has a long way to go in the process of increasing software revenue and optimizing the industry mix.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Nghiem Xuan Thanh – Chairman of Vietcombank – said that the bank’s management board will submit to shareholders a specific business plan for 2021 along with the plan to increase charter capital to over VND 50,000 billion. is expected to increase through 2 times with a total increase of more than 13,300 billion. Specifically, in phase 1, Vietcombank will increase its charter capital from VND 37,088 billion to VND 47,325 billion by issuing more than 1 billion shares from the remaining undistributed after-tax profit after dividends in 2019 (billion 8% in cash). Implementation period in 2021. Vietcombank plans to increase its capital through 2 shares issuance Phase 2, Vietcombank will issue private shares with a scale equivalent to 6.5% of charter capital at the time of offering. Expected additional capital increase phase 2 is more than 3,076 billion. After the issuance, the bank’s chartered capital will increase to VND 50,401 billion. Offering subjects are institutional investors with financial potential, which may include one or several existing shareholders. During the private offering, Vietcombank plans to issue at least 46 million shares to strategic partner Mizuho Japan to keep its ownership rate at least 15% and issue more to other investors. Shares will be issued to a maximum of 99 investors. The issue price is not lower than the valuation of the valuation organization and arithmetic average of the closing price of 10 trading sessions on HoSE, immediately preceding the date the investor announced the purchase. The execution period will be in 2021 and will continue in the following year if not completed. Vietcombank’s new capital raising plan is 9% higher than its 2020 plan and 36% higher than its current charter capital. In addition, at this morning’s shareholders meeting, Vietcombank also plans to use all remaining profits after tax, deducting funds for 2020 to pay dividends. However, the specific plan needs to wait for the State Bank’s official opinion. In 2021, Vietcombank sets a target of 5% increase in total assets, 10.5% increase in credit balance and 7% increase in mobilization. According to the plan, the target consolidated profit before tax of Viecombank will increase 11% to VND 25,600 billion. NPL ratio less than 1%. HA Mr. Pham Quang Dung: Twice appointed General Director of Vietcombank

When it comes to Qibao Ancient Town, it can be said that it has a lot of background, and it is said that “Shanghai has seen the Bund for a hundred years, and Qibao has been seen by Shanghai for a thousand years”, which shows the status of this place in Shanghai. Since this place is called an ancient town, how “ancient” is it? According to records, the history of Qibao Ancient Town can be traced back to the Jin Dynasty. The ancestral hall of the famous writers Lu Ji and Lu Yun was here, named “Lu Baoyuan”. Later, Lu Baoan, Qibao Temple, etc. were renamed many times. It was not until the Song Dynasty that the scale of Qibao Town was officially formed here. It is said that the saying of “Seven Treasures” is still circulated among the people, such as: Flying Buddha, Triton Bell, The Golden Lotus Sutra, the sacred tree, the golden rooster, the jade axe, and the jade chopsticks, but I don’t know where these treasures are now. With the passage of history, Shanghai has become an international metropolis, but Qibao Town is still in the hinterland of Minhang District. Just walked in and even felt a little amazing. The tenderness of the Jiangnan water town is coming, and the thousand-year history has cast a deep foundation here. The historical heritage of the city, and the retro buildings are like a piece of pure land in a prosperous city, with willow trees hanging down, and a feeling of “big hidden in the city”, and the relatively superior geographical location and lower consumption have also made this place a Shanghai A better choice for people to travel to water towns. There is no charge for entering Qibao Ancient Town, so why do I say that I have to buy tickets here? Because in addition to retro buildings and small vendors, there are also many museums and ancient buildings, such as Qibao Winery, Zhang Chongren Memorial Hall, Cricket Thatched Cottage, Qibao Pawnshop, Zhou’s Miniature Sculpture Hall, etc. Some of these places require tickets. You can enter, and only supports cash payment. It doesn’t work either by scanning the code or buying tickets online. My friend and I didn’t have much cash after searching all over the body. We had to pick a cotton weaving workshop. It tells about “a trip to my country of a kapok”, which mentions that the southern, southeastern and northwestern frontiers of China are among the earliest places in the world to grow cotton. In addition to graphic materials, there are Many cotton objects, loom replicas, etc., together tell the history of the origin and spread of cotton planting, which is very interesting. On the second floor, the finished products of cotton are displayed, such as quilts made of woven fabrics, cotton clothes, etc. Of course, they also talked about the wedding homestays here in Shanghai. In the past, people were looking forward to Western-style weddings and felt that wedding dresses and suits were one. This kind of romance, and now you will find that Chinese weddings are also distinctive. Large areas of red are also very festive. Gradually, there are more Chinese weddings. I have to say that this is one of the expressions of cultural confidence. In addition to seeing the “thousand-year-old Shanghai”, the current Qibao Ancient Town has another special place, that is, it has become a love resort. I have just said that this is a wedding homestay in Shanghai. It is meant to be love, but more importantly, there is a place for wishing. Many newlyweds will make promises of love here and pray for a long time. It is said to be very spiritual. , It also allows more and more young people to come here to make a wish, which can be regarded as giving new life to the thousand-year-old town. Not only that, there are many authentic delicacies in Qibao Ancient Town, such as distilled grains made of glutinous rice and sweet wine medicine, Qibao square cakes that have a historical relationship with Fan Zhongyan, and white-cut mutton from a century-old shop, etc. It also makes Qibao Ancient Town another reason why Shanghai must punch cards, but don’t worry, these stores still support electronic payments, only tickets do not. The current old street has become a prosperous street market integrating “leisure, tourism and shopping”. Although it has a thousand years of history, the basic supporting facilities are relatively complete. There are also high-end brands such as Le Méridien Minhang Hotel and Liuli. Entertainment facilities such as workshops, tropical storms, etc., no matter what kind of consumption style you are, there is no problem at all. Go and check in “Shanghai Thousand Years Ago”! Travel traffic tip: Shanghai Bus Group (Ordinary Downtown Line) Route 87: Longhua-Qibao-Zhongchun Road and Huazhong Road Road 91: Beixinjing-Qibao-Xinli Road 92 Road: Shanghai Stadium-Qibao-Jiuting 189 Road (formerly Xinji Line): Xinzhuang Metro Station (North Square)-Qibao-Jiwang No. 196 (former Xinbei Line): Nanfu Road, Xihuan Road-Qibao-Beixinjing Road 198: Danshui Road-Qibao-Jiuxing Hongmu Home Furnishing Market Road 735: Luoyang New Village-Qibao-Zhongchun Road and Huazhong Road 748 Road: Hongqiao Road Kaixuan Road-Qibao-Jiuting 753 Road: Lianhua Road Metro Station-Qibao (Caobao Road Station)-Lvyuan Road 763 Road: Xinzhuang Metro Station-Qibao (Xinzhen Road Station)-Shanghai South Railway Station 803 Road: Shanghai South Railway Station-Qibao-Jinfeng Community Shanghai Rail Transit Shanghai Rail Transit Line 9: Yanggao Middle Road-Qibao-Songjiang South Station Shanghai Rail Transit Line 10: Hangzhong Road-Xinjiangwan City Shanghai Rail Transit Line 12: Qixin Road-Jinhai Road The picture/text is original by Xia Xia Xia, a travel mad, unauthorized reprinting is prohibited About the author: now go over 500+ global city, and had studied at Oxford University and Waseda University, UK, Sri Lanka and worked as international volunteers are welcome to continue to focus, eat, drink all over the world to share with you, like to remember the point Like Comment Or share!

In the special signing ceremony, there was the participation of Mr. Nguyen Huynh Dang Khoa – General Director of Co., Ltd. OH Pocket General Hospital and Mr. Vu Thanh Trung – Member of the Board of Management – Director of Military Bank of MB Bank. The signing ceremony was in the presence of Mr. Nguyen Huynh Dang Khoa – General Director Dr. OH and Mr. Vu Thanh Trung – Member of the Board of Management – Head of Banking Division, MB In the context that non-cash payment is one of the solutions concerned by the Government, promoting non-cash payments in medical examination and treatment is inevitable. According to the cooperation agreement between MB and Dr. OH, MB will provide Dr. OH cashless payment solutions. From there, customers using the service can pay more easily and conveniently. Mr. Nguyen Huynh Dang Khoa – General Director Dr. OH is sharing about the growth path and the potential that the partnership is heading towards In addition, MB’s digital banking services will be integrated into Dr. Software. AI – the standard pharmacy management software according to Decision No. 777 / QD-QLD dated November 27, 2018 and Decision No. 540 / QD-QLD dated August 20, 2018. This helps customers to Order medicine anywhere and receive medicine anytime with smartphone on the DR app. OH and MB. With that, MB will coordinate with Dr. AI deploys Dr. hospital management software AI HIS, includes functions such as: hospital information management, payment solution integration, wallet solution integration for hospitals and clinics in Vietnam. This software is expected to create a breakthrough in the field of medical examination and treatment, bringing a better experience to customers. The signing ceremony ends with the handover of flowers and souvenirs by representatives of the company Dr. OH and Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank representatives Also included in the cooperation agreement is the development of the Dr. wallet platform. OH – MB. Accordingly, customers using MB’s services can link their MB account with Dr. wallet. OH. Through that, Agents / Associates / Customers of Dr. OH is implemented including but not limited to transactions of deposits, deposits, cash withdrawals, transfers, payment for goods and services, collection and payment, COD delivery and other services.

Ran Dimension (ID: chaintruth) original Ran Caijing product

Author | Deng Shuanglin Du Xiaoling Guo Yimeng Cao Yang Sun Mina

Edit | Rao Xiafei

“How long have you not used cash?” This is actually a question of soul torture.

“I even forgot what cash is like”, “Whoever uses cash now, even roadside beggars can scan the code”, “I withdrew 3,000 yuan two years ago, and now I still pay it back There are more than two thousand at home, and I have never used it.”…

In the past, wallets were a must-have for people to go out, but nowadays, mobile phones have almost completely replaced the status of wallets, and cash is gradually fading out of people’s lives.

A set of data can directly support this conclusion: in 2020, the number of ATM machines will shrink by more than 80,000 units, and the number of ATM machines per 10,000 people nationwide will also drop from 7.87 units in 2019 to 7.24 units, a year-on-year decrease of 7.95%.

This shows that “withdrawing cash” is no longer a necessary behavior for consumers, and the change in this behavior has become particularly obvious since 2016.

In the Spring Festival of 2015, WeChat began to join hands with the Spring Festival Gala to launch the red envelope grabbing activity for all people. In the Spring Festival of 2016, Alipay launched the “Five Fortune Collection” campaign for the first time. Under the behavior of the people “crazy grabbing” cash red envelopes, mobile payment quietly replaced cash payment. Status.

The “China Payment and Clearing Industry Operation Report (2017)” shows that the transaction value of cash withdrawal business in 2016 was 65.5 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.46%.

However, the mobile payment services of Alipay and WeChat have achieved rapid growth. By 2016, the total mobile payment transactions of payment institutions had reached 51.01 trillion yuan, accounting for 77.9% of the cash withdrawal business, compared with 30% in the previous year.

After the 2020 epidemic, the “cashless” consumption method is even more respected. Nowadays, mobile payment has almost completely changed the payment habits of consumers and the settlement methods of merchants. More and more people do not remember when they last touched cash.

Statistics show that as of December 2020, the number of mobile payment users in China has reached 853 million, accounting for 86.5% of mobile Internet users.

But, is cash really not “sweet” anymore?

In fact, cash is still a rigid need in the lives of some people, such as the elderly who have difficulty adapting to electronic payments. In the lives of many young people, cash has not yet “dead”. There are still some scenes where cash must be used, such as gift giving.

In this issue, we chatted with 6 young people. They still use cash in different situations and even feel the convenience brought by cash. Some of them use cash to buy food at the vegetable market for the sake of “whole wool”, some find that cash is faster to queue up for registration, and some find that cash is more convenient when traveling abroad. Some young people follow the tradition and directly use red envelopes for gifts during the holidays.

The experience of these young people reflects to a certain extent that cash has not completely left people’s lives. In different scenarios, cash still has an irreplaceable position.

In the hospital, cash payment for registration saves a lot of time

Cocoa｜26-year-old community operation

Today’s young people, few people go out with cash with them, as long as they bring a mobile phone. But my experience this time makes me take 100 yuan in cash every time I go out.

Last weekend, I went to the hospital to see a doctor. When I arrived at the hospital, it was almost 11 o’clock, and the 10 registration windows were full of people. I was a little anxious, afraid that I would not be able to register for the morning. At this moment, I suddenly discovered that there were very few people in a line, only a few people.

I was still thinking about not lining up in this team, so I went to that team to line up. When it was my turn, it was very fast. During the registration, the doctor told me directly after inquiring about the department I registered, “The registration fee is 10 yuan, in cash.”

I was stunned. It turned out that this was the cash window. I looked at the doctor awkwardly and said that I didn’t bring it. The doctor told me that this window only accepts cash and there is no way. I had to go to the WeChat Alipay window to queue again. As a result, the WeChat Alipay window was full of people, and it would not be my turn at all for a while.

Because I was afraid of the number after the morning, I decided to try something out. With the mentality of trying, I thought that the people who came to the cash window to register must have brought cash, so I asked, “Hello, can I change the cash? I will scan the code and send it to you.”

I asked several people in a row, but they were not willing to scan the code for me. In fact, I also understand that because the people at the cash window are all too old, although they will carry cash with them, they are probably afraid of meeting a liar, and their faces are questionable.

After waiting a while, a young man finally came to register at the cash window, and I once again plucked up the courage to ask. This time I successfully changed to 100 yuan in cash, and then used WeChat payment and receipt to pay him. I quickly registered the account, saving time.

While waiting in line, the young man laughed at me and said, “Why don’t you come to the hospital without cash? You don’t come to the hospital often.” I said helplessly, “Because mobile payment is very convenient now!” A young man laughed at the time and said, “Sometimes, cash is more convenient. When necessary, you still need to prepare some cash for emergencies.”

As the young man said, it makes sense to put a few pieces of Grandpa Mao’s body in his pocket. Although electronic payment greatly facilitates our lives, if only electronic payment is used, it will bring another trouble to life.

In order to save some money for grocery shopping, I always have change in my wallet

Xiaowen | 24 years old operating

“Green vegetables, two yuan and three.” “I pay in cash, don’t ask for three cents.” This is the scene where I buy vegetables and bargain prices from vendors every weekend.

This is not the first time I go to the morning market to buy food in cash.

But before that, because it’s very convenient to scan the QR code to pay, and I hate to find change, there are always so many coins left in the bag, and even lost. Every time I go shopping, I only bring my mobile phone and scan it directly. Code payment.

But later, I discovered that elderly grandpas and aunts always carry their wallets. No matter how much they buy, they are paid in cash. At the time, I still felt that they were too outdated. Until one day I found out that grandpas and aunts were using cash. When paying, they will always bargain with the stall owner, for example, wiping out zeros directly. In many cases, the stall owner will simply erase the odds for convenience. After discovering the truth, I also learned it.

In order to use cash to buy vegetables, I even went to the ATM to get cash. After I bought something in the nearby supermarket, I changed the 100 yuan in cash, and then used the change to buy vegetables at the vegetable market. At first, I would be embarrassed to bargain with vegetable vendors, and always wait until there are fewer people to tell the boss that I pay in cash.

Later, I always followed my grandfather and aunt to buy groceries together, learning to see how they used cash to bargain, and even learned their tone of voice, “Just the three cents, don’t ask for it.” I, these words are very smooth, and I never feel embarrassed when bargaining.

Of course, you will also meet bosses who don’t want to erase anything, but the few cents you find can eventually be spent. A few days ago, I met a vegetable seller who said to me: “There are not many people paying in cash now.”

In fact, paying for the food in cash is not to squeeze some wool, but to save a few bucks, to exchange for change. Although it is troublesome, it adds so much fun to my life.

Next time I go shopping for groceries, I will still bring my prepared change, maybe I can save money for a Coke.

It’s better to use cash for tipping.

Chen Pan | 29 years old Japanese translator

In the summer of 2018, I returned to China after graduating from Nagoya University with a master’s degree. It was not as much as I am now. In addition, I am more Buddha and I was not in a hurry to find a job. I spent a few days at home. One day, my mother saw an aunt in her circle of friends who went to Thailand. She was too envious and started to persuade me. In the end, I couldn’t stand my mother, and I really wanted to travel and relax, so I decided to go play once.

Before I left, I checked the strategy. Everyone said that WeChat and Alipay can be used in Bangkok, but because cash was basically used in Japan before, I finally went to the bank to exchange some, about 7,000 or 8,000 baht, just in case.

When I arrived in Bangkok, although I did my homework, I was shocked to see the Alipay and WeChat advertisements on the street. Hotels and large supermarkets can scan the code.

I have a habit of going to a new place and visiting the local vegetable market first. It turns out that cash at the stall is still useful. When buying mangoes, the boss’s phone did not show up after scanning the code, and he was so anxious that he had to ask many people for help. After that, I paid in cash to minimize the trouble to others. Later, I learned that the roadside stalls and vegetable markets in Bangkok had just been connected to WeChat and Alipay.

Another place where you must use cash when you go to Thailand is to tip. Although Thailand is a Southeast Asian country, it is particularly influenced by Western tipping culture. In many places, tips are required.

The massage industry in Thailand is more developed than in the country, and street shops are everywhere. The day before we left, we found a high-rated massage shop on the review platform and gave me a 50-year-old aunt who was very simple. Chat with us and tell us what is interesting and delicious in Thailand. I was ticklish and screaming. She was very patient. She kept smiling and said, “It’s so comfortable, it’s so comfortable.” At the checkout, I gave my aunt a tip of 50 yuan, which is not a small amount, but I think it’s worth it!

Generally speaking, there are not many tips for this trip. After all, with my mother, I didn’t go to a few places with strong service. If you are with the little sisters, you will definitely watch a ladyboy show and go to a bar for two drinks. Cash in these places must be used.

After returning home, there was a lot of Thai baht left, because the bank exchange fee was deducted, so the bottom of the box was pressed. I think that after the epidemic is over, I want to go with my sisters again, and then use it again.

Companies that use cash to pay wages must be cautious in entering

Yang Yang | 22 years old copywriter

When I first graduated and entered society a year ago, I didn’t understand the importance of five social insurance and one housing fund, and I didn’t know how to distinguish whether the company was formal or not. So confused, I joined a newly established small company to do copywriting.

There are not many people in this company. There are only 10 people including the boss. The monthly salary is paid to us after the boss seals the cash. At that time, I had too little social experience and didn’t understand what this behavior meant. Instead, I felt quite ceremonial. After all, in the era of rampant mobile payments, many people have few opportunities to touch a large stack of them on a regular basis. Cash out.

Although it is very happy to count the money after receiving the cash salary, the trouble is that after the count is finished, I still find time to go to the bank to deposit it. After all, as mentioned above, mobile payments are rampant, and many merchants only accept payment by scanning QR codes. Sometimes they carry a hundred-yuan bill to buy vegetables, and the stall owners don’t have enough change to get it back.

When I left my job and prepared to go to the next company, I discovered that the former employer’s cash salary was actually for tax evasion. If you don’t use company accounts to pay salaries, you don’t need to explain the origin of the money, and naturally you don’t have to pay social security and provident funds for your employees.

I also encountered great trouble when I joined the next company. Since my salary was paid in cash in the past year, there was no way to form a bank salary flow, and there was no way to prove my past salary to the next company. There is even no way to prove whether I really formed a labor relationship with the previous company.

After many twists and turns, I finally joined a formal company. Five social insurance and one housing fund are paid on a monthly basis, and my salary will be paid to my bank card on a regular basis every month. Although the happiness of losing a few cash every month, I am still very fortunate to have escaped from that small company that is full of pits.

It is said that many small businesses still use cash wages to evade taxes. I can only say that everyone must keep their eyes open when looking for a job and don’t be fooled like me.

Every Chinese New Year, my family’s cash flows between deposits and withdrawals

Strings | 35 years old product manager

The last time I came into contact with cash should be when my child’s 3rd birthday. At that time, the red envelopes that grandparents and grandparents gave were all cash, which could be directly given to the children.

Except for the child’s birthday, it is the New Year. Thinking about it now, it seems that the time of Chinese New Year every year is the time when I see the most cash in a year.

Our family’s annual New Year’s practice is to give each parent a red envelope, and the amount of red envelopes is generally 2,000 yuan per person. Then give 500 yuan each to grandma, grandma and children. But we usually don’t have any money in our salary card, so it’s all in Alipay or wealth management products. So just wait for the salary for the month of the New Year and get it after it is paid.

The salary payment date of my previous work unit was on the 9th, and it was basically paid before the Chinese New Year. But last year was approaching the New Year, and I changed my job, and I could only get half a month’s salary in that month of the New Year, and of course there was no year-end bonus. Then I had to go and take away those thousands of dollars.

I remember very clearly that I first transferred the money in Alipay to the salary card, and then took the salary card to the bank ATM to withdraw the money. At that time, it seemed that I could only get 2,000 yuan at a time. Anyway, I got it back and forth 3 times or 4 times.

After the New Year, put the money in red envelopes to the old people.

Of course, the old people will also prepare red envelopes for us and our children. In this way, we give the money we have gone, and we will give it back after a round. Because I can’t spend cash at all, I have to go to the bank again after receiving the money and deposit the money back into the bank card.

Maybe on these occasions, cash red envelopes are more ceremonial. Especially the old people, they will feel that the New Year, birthday, these festivals to give children red envelopes is a very auspicious blessing.

In fact, many times I don’t think it is necessary to take this ritual sense, but even though I don’t think it is necessary, I walk every year in accordance with the usual practice.

Sending cash red envelopes is the only way for me to follow the people

Bubble | 28-year-old employee of Dachang

Ma Weiwei said in “The Story of Strange Flowers”, “Men’s money is the world’s robbery of single dogs.” I agree with this view too much. At that time in college, the angry young people felt that the bad habit of followers shouldn’t be abolished? How can affection be measured by money? Isn’t it more mindful to make your own gifts?

So in the first two years after graduation, some classmates and colleagues said on WeChat, “I am getting married, come here sometime.” My first reaction must be a blessing, and then I asked myself “Do you want him to be there when I get married?” If yes If it is negative, I will not go, let alone WeChat transfer.

Later, I set up a principle myself, that is: The kind of money that needs WeChat transfers must not follow, and people must be present and give cash red envelopes.

Think about it, everyone is so busy now, all in the world, and you can lay down your work and catch a plane to attend a wedding, what kind of feelings it must be. So I shot it, it was a big red envelope, which was delivered well and opened even better.

Last year, when a girlfriend of more than ten years got married, I wrapped a big cash red envelope to surprise my girlfriend.

In fact, when I first started, I also planned to give a gift. I even started to study what to give her a month in advance, and sew a cross stitch. Who likes young people now? Silk quilt? It is impossible not to buy a quilt. How about giving a necklace? It’s too expensive to buy, and cheap is not suitable… Then I discovered that it is really too difficult to pick a gift! Why don’t you pack a 1,000 yuan red envelope? Buy it yourself.

Later, my girlfriend told me that she wanted to tell me not to prepare gifts. She didn’t lack anything, but she didn’t want to distract me, so she didn’t say anything. So when I handed the red envelope to her, her expression was really surprised, and jokingly said that this was the most tangible gift she had received.

In fact, many times, gifts are just a form of cash. Isn’t it better to look at it?

*The image of the title and the accompanying image of the text are from Visual China.In the text, Yangyang, Coco, Xiaowen, Chen Pan, Strings, and Bubbles are all pseudonyms

*Disclaimer: In any case, the information or opinions expressed in this article do not constitute investment advice to anyone.

Produced | Sohu Technology

Author | Zhang Yating

Edit | Yang Jin

Huawei, which has always been prudent and prudent, has recently made intensive adjustments to its cloud business, which has aroused heated discussions from outsiders. On April 9, Huawei announced the appointment of Rotating Chairman Xu Zhijun as Chairman of Huawei Cloud, and Huawei Consumer BG CEO Yu Chengdong was appointed as Huawei Cloud CEO.

A week ago, on April 2, Huawei announced the abolition of Cloud&AI (cloud and computing) BG. On March 30, Huawei just appointed 11 members including Zhang Pingan (formerly President of Consumer Business Cloud Services) as Cloud&AI BG managers; Zhang Pingan was appointed as Cloud BU President.

At this point, the structural adjustment of the cloud business has come to an end in the turmoil. The latest Xu Zhijun + Yu Chengdong, the luxurious lineup of two generations of Huawei’s Titans, also made the speculation that “Huawei Cloud will develop independently or be sold” spread like wildfire. Some insiders bluntly said that “this is the management configuration of a listed company.”

At the Huawei Analyst Conference on April 12, Xu Zhijun gave a formal response to related hot topics. He pointed out that the abolition of cloud and computing BG is to focus on developing cloud business, increase the proportion of software service revenue, and reduce dependence on hardware.

As we all know, Huawei started by making communication equipment, and hardware revenue has always been the main driver. In recent years, the revenue of consumer business, which is dominated by mobile phones, has supported about 50% of its revenue. However, the blow of the ban made Huawei have to think about how to go on leaving the chip?

The cloud business is regarded by Huawei as a key “chess piece” for increasing software revenue.Guowei, the chief product official of Huawei Cloud, told Sohu Technology that this year’s cloud business is definitely still growing in three digits. On the one hand, Huawei attaches great importance to the cloud business, and customer demand is also great. According to official disclosures, Huawei Cloud will grow by 168% in 2020.

It should be noted that even if the cloud and computing BG has been withdrawn, the current cloud and computing entire sales and channel system remains consistent. Shi Jilin, President of Huawei Cloud and Computing Global Marketing and Sales Service Department, told media including Sohu Technology, “The future sales and channel system will be optimized and adjusted accordingly as business development needs.”

“The shortcoming that needs to be made up most is the user experience”

Compared with mainstream cloud vendors, Huawei Cloud is almost 10 years behind. Amazon AWS cloud computing service was commercialized in 2006, Alibaba Cloud was formally established in 2009, Tencent Cloud was commercialized in 13 years, and Huawei only established Cloud BU in 17 years and officially entered the public cloud.

“It is necessary to make up for shortcomings but also to find ways to surpass other manufacturers.”Fang Guowei told Sohu Technology that the biggest challenge for Huawei’s cloud business is that the business started relatively late..

He pointed out that it took Huawei almost four years to go through the product development process of other manufacturers for about ten years. “We started to do public cloud in 17 years and developed more than 200 products in almost four years. The number of products is about the same as that of other vendors.”

The speed of HUAWEI CLOUD’s development should not be underestimated. According to Canalys’ Q4 China Cloud Service Market Report last year, Alibaba Cloud occupies an absolute leading position with a 40% share, Huawei Cloud ranks second with a 17% market share, and Tencent ranks third with a 15% share.

Dai Mingzhe, an analyst at Head Leopard Research Institute, told Sohu Technology that because of its first-mover advantage, Alibaba Cloud has always maintained the first place in market share. However, HUAWEI CLOUD is catching up with its accumulation in the ICT field and the precipitation of the government and enterprise markets, and is constantly shortening the gap with the leading manufacturers in the market.

Of course, in the pursuit of rapid development, Huawei Cloud also needs to make up for its shortcomings. “We are a traditional hardware-advanced company. There are no examples in the world of transforming into a software-advanced company. Our difficulties are imaginable.” Ren Zhengfei realized that changing from selling products to selling cloud services requires building cloud services. The ability and support to provide customers with the operation, operation and maintenance capabilities of cloud services.

A business manager of a domestic leading cloud vendor told Sohu Technology that Huawei Cloud’s long-tail customers have relatively weak operating capabilities. “Customers who consume hundreds of thousands a month in the order of magnitude, either look at the brand or buy the cheap ones. Huawei Cloud is a bit embarrassed in the middle. And the stability and performance of its products still need to be polished.”

Fang Guowei also bluntly told Sohu Technology that the shortcoming that needs to be made up most is the user experience to make the product more usable. Previously, it was more to quickly complement the functions, but there is still a lack of user experience. This year, it will be promoted as a focus.

“For example, in terms of product design, interaction design will strive to be more user-friendly; in terms of documentation, I hope that customers will understand how to operate immediately after reading the documentation, because a very important point in the cloud is self service.”

Relieve the pain of lack of core

Undoubtedly, sending two generals, Xu Zhijun and Yu Chengdong, can see how much Huawei attaches importance to the cloud business. Of course, frequent architectural shocks can also reveal Huawei’s entanglement in exploring cloud services.

At the beginning of 2020, Cloud&AI (cloud and computing) rose to Huawei’s fourth largest BG, Hou Jinlong served as the president of Cloud and Computing BG, and Peng Zhongyang as the president of Enterprise BG.

In January of this year, Huawei internally issued a document stating that consumer business CEO Yu Chengdong will concurrently serve as the president of Cloud and Computing BG, and Hou Jinlong, former president of Cloud and Computing BG, intends to appoint the chairman of Digital Energy. At that time, a Huawei insider revealed to Sohu Technology that “the development progress of the cloud business is average, and the slogans are more powerful. I hope Mr. Yu’s leadership can change the current state.”

On April 2, Huawei adjusted its cloud business again, appointing Zhang Pingan as the president of Cloud BU, and at the same time withdrew the cloud and computing BG, and the original server and storage were classified as “network products and solutions.”

About a week later, Huawei Cloud ushered in new personnel appointments again. Rotating Chairman Xu Zhijun was appointed as Huawei Cloud Chairman, Yu Chengdong was appointed as Huawei Cloud CEO, and Cloud BU added two deputy directors, Peng Zhongyang and Tao Jingwen in charge of corporate business. And process IT.

From the establishment of Cloud and Computing BG to the dismantling of Cloud and Computing BG, Cloud BU has once again returned to an independent state. Xu Zhijun said to the relevant changes that Huawei Cloud has always been an end-to-end independent BU. At the beginning of the establishment of HUAWEI CLOUD, it was hoped to coordinate the operation of servers and storage with HUAWEI CLOUD, but the collaborative operation was found to consume the energy of the cloud team.

He pointed out that the adjustments made now are to hope that the cloud business will be more independent and focus on developing cloud. At the same time, in the long run, we hope to increase the proportion of software service revenue.

Under the influence of the US ban, Huawei is also actively thinking about future business development issues. How does the future go? Xu Zhijun put forward five key strategic measures in the future, and the first one is to optimize the industrial mix and enhance the resilience of the industry, especially the enhancement of software capabilities, the strengthening of investment in advanced technology and weak-related industries and the investment in the smart auto parts industry.

Dai Mingzhe told Sohu Technology that under the ban, the chip industry chain will have a certain impact. However, Huawei’s cloud business will focus on software development in the future, and it is expected that this impact will be mitigated to a certain extent.

Can the cloud business become the next “cash cow”?

The cloud market still has development potential. Gartner data shows that as of 2019, the global cloud computing market reached US$188.3 billion, and it is expected that the market size will reach US$350 billion in 2023. According to the “2020 Cloud Computing Development White Paper” issued by the Institute of Information and Communications Technology, China’s cloud computing market is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the next four years.

At the same time, the cloud business has brought huge returns to the top manufacturers. According to the 2020 earnings report, AWS cloud services contributed 11.7% of revenue and 59% of profits for Amazon. According to Microsoft’s financial report, since the Q3 quarter of fiscal year 2020, revenue from the smart cloud business has become Microsoft’s largest source of revenue for three consecutive quarters.

Of course, before the cloud business brought huge returns, it was also a terrible “golden beast”. Only after a huge investment can manufacturers “lie down and make money.” From the official commercial use of Amazon AWS in 2006 to 2015, it took nearly 10 years to turn around. year. Alibaba Cloud was founded in 2009, but it achieved breakeven for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2020, and it took about 11 years from a huge loss to a balance.

Gu Fan, general manager of cloud service product management for AWS Greater China, once said that it took nearly 10 years for AWS to achieve its first $10 billion in revenue from scratch, and it took 23 months for the second $10 billion increase. The third $10 billion increase took 13 months.

Huawei hopes to avoid excessive capital investment and emphasizes the construction of application ecology. Ren Zhengfei pointed out in his internal letter at the end of last year, “We can’t simply take the same path as Ali and Amazon. We don’t have that much money. They have endless amounts of money in the US stock market. How do we develop, we must find a way out. , Rather than simply imitating.”

In China, BAT Internet vendors, three major operators, Huawei Cloud, Kingsoft Cloud and other vendors gathered in the cloud computing track. A cloud computing-related practitioner told Sohu Technology that compared with other vendors, Huawei’s advantages lie in sales capabilities, key customer relationships, hardware coordination capabilities, and a top-to-bottom ecosystem.

Through the growth process of Amazon and Alibaba, we can see that cloud is not a “quick money” business. From its exposure to cloud computing in 2011, to its formal entry into the public cloud in 2017, and to the further improvement of its strategic position today, Huawei has not disclosed the revenue of its cloud business to the public.

It is foreseeable that Huawei Cloud still has a long way to go in the process of increasing software revenue and optimizing the industry mix.