Excerpts from The Tersebox Podcast :Episode 1Every click over the internet has an intent to either lead a user to a transaction or result in a transaction.The internet users have been handed over a consumption subsidy for very long to build the user base. Unlike the razor & blades strategy, where the subsidy on a complementary good has helped the manufacturer find a strong footing in terms of monetization, the technology companies of the world have been in a quicksand with whatever model they have tried. Recent outbreaks of data monetization have not helped their cause either.Ergo we can safely confer transactions is still a white space for the internet companies. There are category leaders in browser, search, social media, ecommerce, video on demand but there exists no platform that has captured the imagination of global population for being the de-facto platform for transactions.Let’s understand the form factors of the transactions that we all use in our everyday lives. It can be broadly categorized into the following three forms:- Cash- Cards (Debit & Credit)- Mobile Wallets (Prepaid or Mobile Banking platform based)A fourth option in the form of Crypto was slowly trying to fill in the white space, but due to the following reasons it became highly volatile which is unfavourable for any currency and hence lead to its downfall:- Gross negligence of the fact that currency is an economic and social concept more than a software stack.- Metamorphosis into a trading platform instead of continuing as a transaction platform.- Stringent Government regulations imposed through the regulated banking ecosystem. The government crackdown is a clear indication that we cannot create our own currency (remember regulations), and we can’t have a banking ecosystem-based transaction as every layer creates more additional cost of maintenance.So, does the digital native user need currency or an online version of something like that in the real world?Before we answer that we’d like to throw some light on what truly a digital native user wants or atleast has started to expect:- Borderless and ubiquitous reliability be it for communications, entertainment.- No barrier of admission, something which enables circumventing the tedious process of starting a bank account for transacting, should be simple and easy like signing up on GmailIf we have to create something which resonates with the above characteristics of user needs we will have to create a platform which is not an abstraction in the existing layer but something which blends with the existing ecosystem like an invisible hand. Here are two conceptualizations that can propel theidea and needs :- Usage based transaction model in place of a value transfer model- Access based economy, a shift from the ownership based economy we currently see around us.A usage-based transaction model owing to its characteristics of ‘no restraint of exchange’ can fit right into the white space that the internet needs i.e. a universal transaction platform.