Instead of bashing RazerPay, we should focus on encouraging innovation

Photo credit: Razer, Jim Mattis. Montage by Tech in Asia.

There’s no doubt that a unified epayment system is the way of the future; its benefits for Singaporeans are unquestionable. The objective has always been to enable Singapore to be a cashless society, whether through Nets, PayNow, RazerPay, GrabPay, or other contenders.

The recent RazerPay proposal appears to have brought hordes of critics out from the woods, though. While many have praised Razer CEO Tan Min-Liang as an innovator who’s willing to step up to the challenge, the proposal and Tan himself have been heavily criticized.

As a founder, this sort of response is discouraging and makes me question the type of environment we are (or aren’t) fostering in Singapore. I’m not here to defend the RazerPay proposal. I’m here to urge everyone to look beyond the proposal, and at the message we send.

Here are some of the highlighted shortcomings of the proposal (to be clear, I agree with some of them):

1. Does RazerPay even bring any value to the epayments industry?
2. How does RazerPay measure up technically?
3. How successful can RazerPay be? Isn’t it just another wallet?
4. Aren’t there better alternatives, especially Nets since they are already dominant?
5. The RazerPay proposal doesn’t highlight anything new.

The personal criticisms include statements like:

1. “Tan’s just drumming up publicity for Razer’s IPO.”
2. “It’s simply a marketing ploy.”
3. “He was being cheeky and did not expect the prime minister to reply.”

Where is all the resentment coming from?

While being an armchair critic is easy in the digital age, it’s alarming how unkind and unconstructive some of the comments have been. (Not all are, of course, as some are educated and practical suggestions.)

If entrepreneurs are labeled wrong before we even try, how can we ever be right?

In this information age, Singaporeans should feel encouraged to take a chance, stand up, and try. We need to champion people who take calculated risks and reward those who take action. We need to stop being daunted by failure and censuring the risk-takers. When you do these, you break the spirit of entrepreneurship.

In their own way, every entrepreneur is trying. We know our chances of success are low, so please don’t add to this by shredding us to pieces. Otherwise, how do we dare to dream?

The right question: How can we be part of the solution? 

Yes, Razer has no experience in large-scale payment transactions and operations, and there’s no way to gauge the technical details of their proposal, as they’re not open for public consumption. But to deride the proposal when nothing evident was being done at the time? It’s unbecoming.

How can Singapore move forward with its epayments system?