Yahoo Finance Why There Will Be Many Winners in the War on Cash
In this segment from MarketFoolery, host Mac Greer and Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser and Taylor Muckerman open the mailbag and pull out a listener request to briefly explain one of Moser's favorite trends: the war on cash.
Among the questions they touch upon: What's propelling it, and why won't the newer digital platforms push out legacy plastic?
A full transcript follows the video.
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This video was recorded on July 16, 2018.
Mac Greer: Guys, let's keep it on the subject of cash, cash money, and bust open the Fool mailbag. We have a great email from Eric Wallace. Eric writes, "Hey there, can the gang of Fools explain a little more about this so-called war on money? MasterCard, Visa, PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) owns Venmo. Everyone loves some Venmo. My wife uses Venmo. Everyone but me, for now, uses Venmo. How does all this fit in?" Eric goes on to ask, "How is PayPal/Venmo not going to crush the rest? Do we need all these cards aside from the mileage and benefits cards?"
Jason Moser: It's a good question. I think the initial way to approach something like this is to view it as not being a zero-sum game. It's not a market where there is going to be just one winner. That was the purpose behind the basket. When you look at this market opportunity --
Greer: The Jason Moser War on Cash Basket. [laughs]
Moser: Sure. You said, it not me. I'm going to maintain some humility here. I think it was more about, a number of these companies, identifying their position in the value chain, and then recognizing their competitive strengths.
Greer: And what's in the basket?
Moser: People are probably sick of it at this point. You're going to get sick of it next week, too, because next week, the basket's actually a year old, Mac. It's MasterCard, Visa, PayPal and Square. The basic idea is, buy all four companies in equal amounts and just let the basket go. That way, you're not trying to pick just one winner. You can pick a lot of winners.
To the point on PayPal -- I like PayPal a lot, don't get me wrong. Actually, in the basket thus far, since inception, while Square is outperforming them all, MasterCard is outperforming PayPal. It's worth noting, too, that all four companies are outperforming the market individually, so it's done well.
I think the basic idea behind the basket was, instead of trying to pick one winner, try to pick a few of the companies that we know are really leading the way. If you can put your money down on four winners, maybe that's a risk-friendly way to get exposure to the space and participate in what I think is one of the bigger long-term trends out there, and that's this move away from cash toward more electronic payments.
Taylor Muckerman: War on cash, not war on money.
Moser: Very good point.
Jason Moser owns shares of Mastercard, PayPal Holdings, Square, and Visa. Mac Greer owns shares of Square. Taylor Muckerman owns shares of PayPal Holdings and Square. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Mastercard, PayPal Holdings, and Square. The Motley Fool owns shares of Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
