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Chase just finished switching their "Quick Pay" infrastructure over to "Zelle", and now they're buying WePay. I wonder what they intend to do with it?
tl;dr - Their Incredible Journey (TM) ends at Chase
“WePay and its employees will operate as Chase's payments innovation incubator in Silicon Valley" Uh, oh. Does such a thing ever work?
It's pretty clear it wasn't the home run that so many set out for when founding a company. I do expect this is a good landing out of this for many, yet now there are new challenges to navigate.
Nine years is no short time to labor through, especially when you're taking a giant risk and giving up things that software engineers could easily get in terms of work/life balance at an AWS/Google/Microsoft. Yet, you set out to change something in a noticeable fashion.
I truly hope Chase gives you the chance to do that, yes it's a big company. But, in the spectrum of big co's in the financial space they seem more open to innovation than so many others so... best of luck with what's next at Chase.
“WePay and its employees will operate as Chase's payments innovation incubator in Silicon Valley" Uh, oh. Does such a thing ever work?
In the automotive world, everyone has a bet on self driving cars, for instance. Ford has Argo AI, GM has Cruise Automation.
For a contrast, look at Kodak. They pioneered the tech for digital camera sensors... and then did nothing with it, because they made money on film. Digital camera sensors killed film.
If you want a longer discussion on this, The Innovator's Dilemma is highly recommended. Here's a short summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUAtIQDllo8
I’m writing all this because I left with the feeling that he was a genuinely great guy and that he deserved success. I’m glad it has finally come his way!
Best of luck!
PS: stay away from bitcoin.
I had breakfast with Bill a few years ago in Palo Alto. It was clear pretty quickly that WePay wasn’t a good fit for us, but he still managed to navigate me through the competitive landscape and helped me figure out which product was right, pitfalls to avoid, regulations, etc. He even offered his help for the future, even though we were giving him zero business. I’m writing all this because I left with the feeling th…
Chase just finished switching their "Quick Pay" infrastructure over to "Zelle", and now they're buying WePay. I wonder what they intend to do with it?
Also, Zelle and WePay are in two completely different spaces. Zelle is consumer-to-consumer money transfer. WePay is a merchant payment processor.
Chase just finished switching their "Quick Pay" infrastructure over to "Zelle", and now they're buying WePay. I wonder what they intend to do with it?
WePay is about providing payments infrastructure to marketplaces and crowdfunding platforms (Lyft, GoFundMe, etc.). WePay are competitive with Stripe's Connect product (disclaimer: my employer). Braintree and Adyen also have similar products.
Congrats to the WePay folks. I hope this new chapter works out well for them!