Kindle just slayed RBI (for this month...)

[k-pad]

With all the subscription and auto-payment fiasco going around (Most of my reading subscriptions -- several scored at sexy prices -- died off just like that, with no consent from me, the user, thanks to our World Famous Central Bank) I now need to wait for this madness to be resolved before I can again re-subscribe to all that content, possibly at a higher price.

So, imagine my reaction when I got this message from Kindle!


So totally blown away by the idea and the thought behind it - there is a hurdle, but we shouldn't lose our subscription base, however small it may be. Cos, am sure Amazon has many more Prime users in India than Kindle Unlimited users.

Wish all other international service/content providers do the same for their Indian subscribers. Till the time WFCB pulls up its socks.

 

[k-pad]

With all the subscription and auto-payment fiasco going around (Most of my reading subscriptions -- several scored at sexy prices -- died off just like that, with no consent from me, the user, thanks to our World Famous Central Bank) I now need to wait for this madness to be resolved before I can again re-subscribe to all that content, possibly at a higher price.

So, imagine my reaction when I got this message from Kindle!
View attachment 63384

So totally blown away by the idea and the thought behind it - there is a hurdle, but we shouldn't lose our subscription base, however small it may be. Cos, am sure Amazon has many more Prime users in India than Kindle Unlimited users.

Wish all other international service/content providers do the same for their Indian subscribers. Till the time WFCB pulls up its socks.

Edit: There are a couple of more monthly subscription services of mine who, though they have not sent an explicit mail like this, have kept the account going despite money not being deducted.
Thought I should add that too.

 

[keith_correa]

Our head in the cloud intent is to be world leading but on the ground, policies are banana republic.

 

[arj]

Is Kindle unlimited not free with Prime anyway ?

 

[Spinekar]

Is Kindle unlimited not free with Prime anyway ?

No, it's not

 

[msankadi]

Our head in the cloud intent is to be world leading but on the ground, policies are banana republic.

What? India has made such great strides in the digital world over the last 5 years which are unheard of. I bet it is much higher than any other country in the world. It is good to be critical, but being critical just to be critical is not really worth it

Do you know how many fraudulent transactions will be saved by this authentication requirement?

 

[arj]

am sure @keith_correa meant it in a good way. banana is after-all one of the healthiest fruits..

There might be a risk of this going political so please do try and avoid that...

No, it's not

true..just i forgot i was paying for it !

 

[fLUX]

What? India has made such great strides in the digital world over the last 5 years which are unheard of. I bet it is much higher than any other country in the world. It is good to be critical, but being critical just to be critical is not really worth it

Do you know how many fraudulent transactions will be saved by this authentication requirement?

Purely from a Financial aspect unauthorized fraudulent transactions are dealt via disputes and chargebacks in every other country, customer is given an upper hand and refunded the amount always. Merchant needs to prove that everything was done properly via evident proofs else he loses the money plus extra while contesting the same(which he always does moment he contests).

This authentication requirement looks more stop-gap rather than a long term solution, a foolproof system supporting consumers needs to be put in place like other countries only then will things fall in place (customer service / support etc) as the same dispute/chargeback systems are applicable for almost 90/180 days post purchase. Just to state the ombudsman system in India is not as smooth and consumer oriented here.

However I very much agree we have taken tremendous strides in Digital world over last 5 years, but I would like to see us advance to the likes of US/UK in terms of digital payments offerings and industry structure.

 

[msankadi]

Purely from a Financial aspect unauthorized fraudulent transactions are dealt via disputes and chargebacks in every other country, customer is given an upper hand and refunded the amount always. Merchant needs to prove that everything was done properly via evident proofs else he loses the money plus extra while contesting the same(which he always does moment he contests).

This authentication requirement looks more stop-gap rather than a long term solution, a foolproof system supporting consumers needs to be put in place like other countries only then will things fall in place (customer service / support etc) as the same dispute/chargeback systems are applicable for almost 90/180 days post purchase. Just to state the ombudsman system in India is not as smooth and consumer oriented here.

However I very much agree we have taken tremendous strides in Digital world over last 5 years, but I would like to see us advance to the likes of US/UK in terms of digital payments offerings and industry structure.

No offense, I have been working in NA credit card and banking analytics for 15 years. In my humble opinion, the Indian banking and credit card system is actually well advanced and jumped one generation ahead of the US. We have chip,pin and sign for credit cards, while the US just shifted to EMV cards 2-3 years ago, that too is swipe and sign, not chip and pin like we have here (which is better).
Also, upi is revolutionary, it is very difficult to find anything close in the US market, maybe Paypal but that is a private company and much more expensive.

This is about technology and the advantage we have that people love to adopt new technologies in our country which is non-existent in other countries where people are still so resistant to change.

However, your point on customer first is completely valid. In our country, there is still a lot of scope for the government to fine companies for floundering the law and I hope I can see the culture to sue giant corporations in my lifetime (in my India)

 

[OM_2K19]

There might be a risk of this going political so please do try and avoid that...

+1
It's better to refrain from giving things to a political angle if the discussion is not political originally. The unnecessary political twist may make others uncomfortable. Jut my two cents.

 

[fLUX]

No offense, I have been working in NA credit card and banking analytics for 15 years. In my humble opinion, the Indian banking and credit card system is actually well advanced and jumped one generation ahead of the US. We have chip,pin and sign for credit cards, while the US just shifted to EMV cards 2-3 years ago, that too is swipe and sign, not chip and pin like we have here (which is better).
Also, upi is revolutionary, it is very difficult to find anything close in the US market, maybe Paypal but that is a private company and much more expensive.

This is about technology and the advantage we have that people love to adopt new technologies in our country which is non-existent in other countries where people are still so resistant to change.

However, your point on customer first is completely valid. In our country, there is still a lot of scope for the government to fine companies for floundering the law and I hope I can see the culture to sue giant corporations in my lifetime (in my India)

None taken , agree we handle fraud preventions in a much better manner already. UPI also is very revolutionary overall. However my point was more on the fact that we are more risk averse in mentality , the pure reason being we are scared of getting scammed/digital platforms being used fraudulently (which happens a lot here , no doubts about that). I want that to change in a manner similar to US instead of adding more checks at cost of user convenience.

Tap to Pay/ Pinless debit all need very strong consumer protection , else can result in fraudulent transactions, what we have been doing is focusing on protection aspect entirely and adding checks to prevent fraud, but despite all that people give away pins etc and get taken for a ride. I want the post fraud aspect of it to develop to US/UK market. My work experience has been more towards the US/UK digital payments on merchant side, not much on Indian market and the consumer protection which I see there is what I always yearn for locally as well.

 

[arunlouie]

On the same issue MS did Xbox Game pass offering extra seven months free for one month fee. Thats 850 * 8 for 850.

 

[greenhorn]

US society and most of their industry is based on an underlying "trust but validate" approach, and it creates a lot of issues - porch thefts, fraudulent transactions etc, but still predominantly true. you can keep something in most locations in the US unguarded, and it will still be there when you come back. In India - we have a "suspect but authenticate" approach - the US approach cannot work - I once left my phone in my office cafeteria - My employer is a leader in the industry and most Indians have heard of it. Not a particularly expensive phone - Just a basic nokia feature phone. It was gone by the time i climbed up the stairs and realized it was gone. It was even switched off, so I was sure it was taken.

 

[gourav]

I kind of agree with having 2FA for financial transactions. Anyone with physical access to my card being able to transact has never made any sense to me.

Think about it. Anyone with physical access to my laptop or phone mostly doesn't have access to any data because it's all encrypted. But anyone with physical access to my card can spend my money with it!

Losing a card, or just the details, is no big deal. Every other month one company with my credit card data gets hacked. Because of RBI's 2FA, I can sleep with a peaceful mind that no one can spend my money even if they have my card details from one of these hacked databases.

The only thing I wish they did was work more closely with commercial organisations to make the transition smoother. They could give a 3 month transitionary time where both old and new systems are working and every company has to transition during that time. Only then is the old system done away with. This is a very common practice in other areas, not sure why it's not followed here.

 

[arj]

..

On the same issue MS did Xbox Game pass offering extra seven months free for one month fee. Thats 850 * 8 for 850.

and thats a fantastic option ! lots of games available free ..

 

[ssf]

I did not get billed in October for my Xbox Game pass ultimate. Forza Horizon 5 is being released next month. Hope the billing does not affect that. Microsoft says next billing in June 2022 !!

 

[arunlouie]

I did not get billed in October for my Xbox Game pass ultimate. Forza Horizon 5 is being released next month. Hope the billing does not affect that. Microsoft says next billing in June 2022 !!

Yes that is because for next 7 months it would be free. Microsoft has sent a mail also on the same.

 

[insane79]

On the same issue MS did Xbox Game pass offering extra seven months free for one month fee. Thats 850 * 8 for 850.

I already have a Game Pass subscription with 2 years still left & Microsoft increased it by 8 months & i was like OK

 

[venkatcr]

Sometime ago I paid $1 for sample subscription to a magazine/book offer. Within minutes after that transaction, the company (US Based) withdrew another $100 without my permission. So I am very glad RBI has introduced this new rule of user authentication for every transaction.

I subscribe to a number of domestic and foreign based services. All of them send me reminder notices well in time for me to pay. The issue with this is that you start believing the vendors and end up losing money now and then to an occasional fraudster. That will not happen now, thanks to RBI.

I am sure big guys such as Google, Amazon etc., will find a way out.

Cheers

 

[k-pad]

With all the subscription and auto-payment fiasco going around (Most of my reading subscriptions -- several scored at sexy prices -- died off just like that, with no consent from me, the user, thanks to our World Famous Central Bank) I now need to wait for this madness to be resolved before I can again re-subscribe to all that content, possibly at a higher price.

So, imagine my reaction when I got this message from Kindle!
View attachment 63384

So totally blown away by the idea and the thought behind it - there is a hurdle, but we shouldn't lose our subscription base, however small it may be. Cos, am sure Amazon has many more Prime users in India than Kindle Unlimited users.

Wish all other international service/content providers do the same for their Indian subscribers. Till the time WFCB pulls up its socks.

On the same issue MS did Xbox Game pass offering extra seven months free for one month fee. Thats 850 * 8 for 850.

This week, NY Times set Indian subscribers to 'Basic Access' (all site online access) and waived off subscription fee for one year/till the issue is resolved.