sponsored in part by -- tech companies have gotten so good at parting you from your money, you'll barely notice when they take more our reporters from the tech blog pando and dill on sweeney this week on "press here." >> good morning, everyone, i'm scott mcgrew, when my son was

young, he was about 3 and shop lifted and didn't know you can't just take a banana and let your dad stroller you out of the grocery store. soon you'll be able to take all the ban bananas you want. the grocery store of the future will see your banana or whatever you put in the cart sean charge you for automatically, just roll and go. this is the way uber works. think back to the very first time you used uber, how odd it felt to just step out of the car and leave, no cash changing hands. recently the golden gate bridge went to automatic tolls and the company that allows you feed the meter with the smart phone is working on new technology for parking garages with no gates or tickets, just drive in, drive out, no stopping.

ceo of seattle based pay by phone, wants to make it easier for you to part with your money. joined by dillon sweeney and sara lacy of panda. thanks for being here. we're talking about friction, aren't we? this concept if we can reduce the amount of pain between what i want to do and the payment, i'll do more of that thing, right? >> that's absolutely right. if you look at parking as an example when people united states the pay by phone mobile application. you see transactions that are 40 to 50% higher than people using change or credit cards because it's easier to top off remotely as an example when you go park. if you're in starbucks having coffee and realize you'll chat for another 30 or 40 minutes, just click a button and continue your parking session. >> does the city hate you lose so much money on fines and fees, saved me several thousands of dollars a year. i thought the reason they required quarters and have like half of your passenger seat with

quarters because they want to charge me huge fines. >> most cities actually do try to do the best they can as far as the good of the constituency. so the fines are not something they want to perpetuate. some see it as a large revenue source and concern but fu fundamentally, you don't have to deploy devices and -- >> quarters, et cetera. >> there's a lot of stealing it's called shrinkage where you see 20 to 30%. >> paying for a car in quarters. from that perspective, city saved on capital costs and increase their revenue base. >> this is just for parking now, correct currently we only do parking in north america and europe he have one tolling service where pay by phone is cool where folks cross the

bridge and if they don't have a toll tag they get an alert that says do you want to use your pay by phone to pay for tolling and license plate is effectively your identity and if you say yes they can across seemlessly. >> in the uk you're doing the concept i go into a parking garage it is cool, i can park and leave and eventually i get a bill by pay by phone i don't have to stop and do the ticket. there could be a whole world where i go through my life and like bills me later. >> that's exactly like. in fact in the case of the uk, at the london underground you drive into the lot, basically takes a snap of your license plate as you exit it's the same thing. you don't even xr to pull out your phone. >> there's a lot of potential for sticker shock, people who got in an uber kind of drunk, got their bill and realized how

much they are spending on uber or lyft. it kind of terrifies me to think about teenagers who are running on my account, going through a grocery store throwing stuff in a basket and not really thinking about what the bill you're racking up. >> that's true -- >> download gs apps to their phones. >> i signed up for girl scout tickets once, just because you signed the form. >> there was a point in which you got a paycheck, somebody mailed you or handed you a paycheck and you went to the bank and it's all direct deposit and you use a cash card. i rarely carry cash at all. already i'm somewhat divorced from the idea of cash. i don't -- i still pay attention. >> there are studies that show the more abstracted you are from cash, the more willing you are to pay for things. >> which i think would be -- >> tokens or gold coins or whatever, right? >> exactly, we all pay more for

transportation than we did and more on parking? >> that's correct, the tolling services and parking services, many of these urban mobility services and bike rental is another one. and folks use it for parking as well as biking and even busing. >> it's so funny the more we go down this road, you get really used to. if if you go to new york and take a cab -- wait a minute, i'll leave my house there are so many places if you live in a neighborhood where they have your card on file. i feel like half of the time i don't need -- i need an i.d. more than a credit card when i leave the house. >> that's right, your identity in the case of pay by phone can be your license plate number or phone number. really that's what your account is. you take that abstract that to the grocery store or any of a number of things, that's how you ultimately end up paying. >> how does the privacy of the license plate work out? that you know -- it's in great britain but that you know who --

how did you get permission to do that. >> when people sign up to park, we have to know what their license plate is for for enforcement. >> they tell you. >> okay, that's correct, the consumer tells me. >> you're not going through -- >> no data mining. >> similar to a fast track card. a transponder will reader if it can and if not a picture by license. >> in like san francisco, isn't someone like fast track better positioned to do this than you guys? >> a lot of it comes down to the old technology and ability to engage with the consumer. in many of these cases if you look atraditional parking operators and tolling operators et cetera and say what's your relationship with the consumer, we wave good-bye to them as they pay their money. no way to engage with the consumer. we have a platform, there's a 49ers game this weekend and parking rates are going to change and therefore that's much valuable from that perspective.

>> how long can we can buy about n bananas? >> he's a pro. >> if you look at the movement of the industry, i think initially it's going to be with unattended retail, think about vending machines and little corner shops you have inside the hilton hotel and ultimately that will mig rate to the grocery store, hopefully the next three or four years. >> we appreciate you being with us this morning. thank you very much. >> making a dent in your car insurance with pay by mile and something that really might break the internet when "press here" continues.

welcome back. there's a relatively new phrase to break the internet, a phrase that refers to something that is so popular or so lurid it gets lots of views, i'm not above showing you an example. a photo spread with kim kardashian. it did not literally break the internet but there is something that could damage the financial model so many sites rely on it,

ad blocking and one of the most recent updates to the apple operating system. it began allowing ad blocking software on its devices. ad blocking does what it says it does, it blocks ads, lawrenceal brooigt one of the brightest in the world when it comes to mobile advertising. from working at quautro wireless and ceo and founder of session m. thanks for being with us. could it break the internet this ad blocking? >> it's unlikely to and ad blocking has been around for a long time and particularly a problem in europe when you think about more wired web based surfing, been using it for quite some time and it had some impact. here's there's uproar about the potential for what happened with ios 9 came out and the answer really -- the ticket to mobile has been no. >> why not? >> how is that possible? >> couple of reasons so far.

it's really just focused on predominantly the web based environment, the mobile web and not applications and vast majority of time, over 85% of the time is spent in mobile applications. >> even reading news though? >> i think from what we see in terms of the amount of ad dollars and percentage, it's really -- >> ad blockers can't get into my nyt now app. >>? not yet. there's rumors of them trying to do it and get on native apps in the google store and apple. that's not happening very much. the reality is it could have an impact down the line. also publishers aren't standing still either, if you have an ad blocker on, we're going to minimize content availability and not make it as good an experience as a consumer but i think it also -- one thing i like more as a bigger discussion around this, it brings into focus advertising really done in the right way?

and what are ways the companies need to think about building more direct connections with consumers as opposed to relying on standard ad placement. >> advertising on the internet is totally out of control. it's not done the right way and that's why people are so eager to employ ad blockers most don't have a problem with the idea that their ads don't support their free reading habits, they are tracking -- >> they cover up -- take up your bandwidth. >> is it better to have a world where it's sponsored content and native ads, that's the solution to a lot of this. refinery 29 says their solution is everything will be in stream and native. is that a better world? for someone like a women's lifestyle brand maybe not such a big deal. for someone like the economist or "new york times" is it more of a big deal? >> it does depend on the content and site. i think the challenge though is native can also become much like the prior for mat of having an

out of control experience and native is deceptive and not sure where it is. i think it's certainly a way that publishers can adapt and try to get around a more traditional placement. the big challenge is the traditional placements are largely ignored and that's an issue people don't like to talk about, only half a percent of people click and engage in traditional ad for. ma mats -- how do i actually speak to my customers directly and build that relationship where i'm able to provide them value and able to learn about them in a way they are opting into and it didn't feel like someone is watching my data. the big thing about ad blocking is the revenue is one thing but the data transfer is a huge thing. people talk about dads and not being able to serve ads but you don't necessarily know what people are doing on their ad community --

>> the new york times and economist, anything else i pay for, they give me such good insight. >> panda. >> i pay for that as well. enough good content i'm willing to pay for it. is there a way of building loyalty that isn't necessarily you give me great content, i give you money. what other models would work? >> it goes to back to value, loyalty and we're seeing this whole new age of loyalty being really important. look at companies like sephora or others who using loyalty to build that connection and value. there's successful package there. there's also a lot of value around relevancy and timelinest. if you are being given information based on your preferences, hopefully that drives your customer -- >> a change to people are more willing to pay -- i think it's

being driven by seamless transactions and mobile universe. i think it's a slow gradual thing and more of a younger demographic that's willing to do it. we turn on a subscriber model in june and it's less than six months and already pays for half of our operating cost of the business. >> people are not only willing to pay but willing to share more about themselves if they are getting value in return. that's a big -- when you're getting blasted with ads and banners and different things, you don't feel as good about that exchange as do if there's real -- we're seeing a shift from pure acquisition spending and retention marketing and more around the recognition it can be more expensive than it is to require a new one. we're in the early phases but you'll see retention marketing and loyalty, how do you provide value and some of that could be for a paid model to get somebody willing to pay. >> i wonder if there's any hope

at all for advertising supported media. can you see a future where publishers and advertisers that advertise on their sight show enough restraint that people are like, yeah, that's an acceptable tradeoff? >> i think that's the positive part of this discussion. people we're talking about it and other people are talking about it. there's now a recognition that the current approach is broken, it didn't work and consumers -- they are not going to sign up forever, i do think we can get back to more natural equilibrium and there could be different ways we see the models go. >> the ones all doing it well are buzz feed by refinery 29, companies doing heavy customs -- >> creativity as well. there are times when you watch a youtube preroll i'm watching this whole thing, this is really well done. >> you really do.

>> scott mcgrew needs a hobby. >> what's the best customer retention you've seen? not statistically, method. >> it goes back to i would point out loyalty that i was talking about too. a program like starbucks, very da data centric and understand and message and give value. companies that are doing that more than blasting out acquisition marketing. >> ceo of session m. we appreciate you being here this morning. car insurance per mile not per month. we'll talk about it "when press here" continues.

welcome back. when you pay $5 to watch this tv show or 49ers play the bears on fox, $5 just to watch a football game on television might be steep but when you consider the average cable bill is now $120 a month according to the group, if you don't watch a lot of tv, paid per show instead of per month might make sense but would you do it? recently car insurance companies have started offering paid per mile insurance. you don't pay a monthly bill, you're tracked per mile driven

around 6 cents a mile. for those who don't drive much, it is a huge cost saving. >> dan preston, i did not invite on to sell us car insurance, doesn't even own a car. paying per event, let's call it al acart. >> people see significant cost savings in places like san francisco where they are not necessarily driving much. what kind of people see cost savings. >> typically the average driver is driving 10,000 to $12,000 a year. anybody driving less than that for decades has been -- largely it's been unfair for low mileage to pay one flat rate for insurance. >> if you take a subsidy out, doesn't that affect everyone else's rates. >> they would pay more in the

end. >> the high mile aej won't use -- where would the money come from in. >> we would only be suitable for low mileage drivers and they are typically in cities because you have a multitude of transportation options, train, biking, uber, lyft. >> 60% nationally. >> drive less than. >> than the average. 60% of driverability average 12,000 miles a year. >> i lived in memphis, typical sprawling decent sized american city, i had a leased car and had to page penalties -- >> i've hauls 15,000 for the -- >> that's crazy to think 60% of people. is that many live in urban cities now. >> there's a trend of people driving less, if you look at the millennials right now, people

moving more and more into city. it's a general trend. very large portion of the u.s. ve in cities but you're right, in more suburban or rural environments you'll drive more. >> it seems like you can really focus -- for your marketing buck versus having a roll out to certain -- >> we don't do tv ads, we focus on putting bill boards and things like that on buses and trains, these are people where people are commuting, not taking the car to work and need the car on the weekend. we focus where we know people are driving less. >> it's not in my viewing area but you're about to announce you're expanding into -- >> new jersey. >> why new jersey? >> because of urban density of it? >> most densely populated state and a lot of people take the train into new york or whatever it might be, we're really excited about it and it's going

to be a great day. we've been moving more and more towards the east coast. this is a great -- >> in terms of the overall mindset of what scott was describing, i don't know if that i'm old and busy, the idea of having to think about how many shows i'm going to watch and is it $5 more and there's something that for me would create more friction. i would feel like am i going to take my car to napa with friends or try to get my friends to do it? even if it's not that much and i'm still losing money overall, there's a sense every time you do something you're paying. >> i think you have to make it very seamless and frictionless. the way we did this, made it so it was retrow active, you don't have to take a picture of the odometer. we have a device that plugs in. we've done some things to help out road trips and you don't pay for each mile. and i think to build a product that's successful and moves from a flat rate to something more pay as you use, you don't have

to make those kind of tradeoffs. >> it sounds like it always works too where the same thing applies that applies in the car insurance industry where you have low usage people subsidizing higher usage. maybe that applies to cable, more car ownership. >> what else would this apply to? we're currently paying per month but it would make a lot more sense if you paid per trip. can you think of anything? >> for cars there are a few different things. if you look, at, for example, the way you lease a car, you buy it as a package. it's still mileage and you can see it being priced per mile. you could see a world in which everything you do is user based -- >> that's like zip car essentially. >> it's interesting to watch the different technological innovations, instead of paying for every flight, pay us a flat

fee and you can knock yourself out and do what you want. and at the same time we're seeing metro mile, the opposite. netflix is the opposite of the example you're talking about. the fact i pay an amount, i pay for 10 or 15 years and now i get all of these amazing channels and part of it, that's part of why netflix is one of the best subscription based we've seen. >> it's on demand but for a giant flat fee. to sara's point, you did find when she said i drive less. there was a study that shows people do drive less. >> 6% on average when they switch from existing to metro mile. 6% less driving overall. if you have the choice to bike to work versus taking your car it makes it easier, you get a benefit for choosing the other option which turns out to be better in the end anyway. >> little social engineering. >> and low oil prices as people

are buying bigger cars and driving more often. there is no pain point in trying to save or take an uber or train. >> you don't see the benefit of driving less with insurance. but with this you may get that benefit. >> appreciate you being with us. >> press here will be back in just a moment.

that's our show for this week, from the man who wants to make it easier to park with your money is the ceo of pay by phone. and ceo and founder of session m and dan preston from metro mile. i'm scott mcgrew. thanks for making us part of your sunday morning.

damian trujillo: hello and welcome to "comunidad del valle," i'm damian trujillo, and today, carnaval returns to san francisco. plus, some folklórico dancing on your "comunidad del valle." male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin once again with family giving tree. it's such an important topic. with me on "comunidad del valle" is jonathan sanchez, who is in charge of some of the efforts there with family giving tree and hoping to get, again, more backpacks donated to our schoolchildren across the bay area. thank you so much for being here. jonathan sanchez: thank you for having me. damian: well, talk about this need and the efforts that you do to kind of provide for that need. jonathan: yeah, definitely, so currently, the need is we only serve 35,000 students. we served 35,000 students last year, but the overall need is over 350,000 students throughout the