Mobile wallet, separate out the payment functions from the DeFi functions

Feature Request
1

I dunno what’s going on with mobile wallets these days but it’s all a bit messed up.

Some history…

ZenCash started out as a payments coin and then pivoted and rebranded to Horizen (stupid name) as a generalized blockchain project. Look where it is now, didn’t get very far did it?

Dash, so far, remains a payments coin but wants to do other things. The bizarre thing is, the star of the show - “Dash Direct” - is a separate app that launches the wallet when needed. Isn’t that a bit backwards, wouldn’t you want spending and rewards inside the wallet?

Beam started out as a payments coin and then, like all other projects, decided that DeFi was too big an opportunity to miss. Not saying you’re wrong, but wtf is it dong in a mobile payments wallet? Oh sure, get you some nerdy cred, but now no one thinks of Beam for payments!

You need to go back to your roots by having two apps, one targeted for payments, savings and rewards, the other one for the DeFi nerds. When I say payments I mean spend, save and earn. If a dapp fits into the payments space then it should be seamlessly worked into the wallet with no mention of the words “DeFi” or “dapp” etc. Governance, NFTs, LPs and so on should not be in a payments wallet, though you can link / launch to them.

There are very few payment focused projects out there yet this is the bread and butter of any economy. Your average consumer doesn’t instantly jump into DeFi, we are weened into it. Make spending, saving and earning super simple and addictive. Make it social, including private messaging. We can sell them DeFi later when they are ready.

I love beam but, I am sorry to say, the team behind it is too nerdy and not enough business leaders to balance things out. This was made clear to me when beam decided to test the governance to reduce the price of CAs. Anyway, back on topic, your average Joe outside the crypto world has no clue what a CA is or how to value it.

By doing all these other things, you dilute the value of beam as a currency.

3 Likes
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This proposal has a point and is probably worth thinking about.

Maybe this could also be solved by just “hiding” all the DeFi stuff and making it visible only if the user actively switches it on. The switch should be easy to find.

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I like the idea.

One small question, if it also includes “savings and rewards” where is this coming from if not for DeFi?
Or would the idea be to abstract away all the complexities? As this is how CEX sometimes do it - but think that this is a little complicated to do (not technically but from a transparency pov).

Also strong disagree on the “dilutes away from beam as a currency”, I think it adds to it, in a way that doesn’t put users at risk to issues via 3rd party service providers (although other risks etc come with it ofc).

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Unlike bitcoin which has the “hodl” mentality, real money - and therefore a real economy - is something you earn, save and spend. Say, for example, the wallet shows me local merchants where I can spend. And spending at these merchants may give me rewards - beam back. And the merchant is earning from the customer.

So the wallet experience must be limited and tailored to this end. A customer focused experience that excludes all the nerdy stuff. Obviously, all of us here like getting deep into this stuff, but how to get beam into the hands of all our families and friends that live normal lives as teachers, nurses, trades people and so on? So I say, the experience needs to be weened into them. They start with a wallet that lets them earn, spend and save with all the next level stuff going into other apps.

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I would like to further expand on this thought.

I love listening to Beam Spaces and it’s clear - to me at least - that development and social engagement is keenly focused on DeFi. This is good and I am not knocking this, but a part of me yearns for community and teams that are almost entirely focused on the payment side.

I can get my head around payments. Newbies can get their head around payments, shopping and rewards. But DeFi is a whole other level for most people. The people you want to capture for widespread adoption are not versed in the nuances between blockchain projects. They are doctors and teachers and painters and farmers.

I think I am expecting too much and asking for too much change, but it would be great if beam could build out such a channel.

1 Like