Let's rethink what should money be
It’s not the question of money, but that of currency. At one point cacao beans and peppercorns were used for trade, then came the printed sheet of cotton paper, and now most of the time they are just numbers on a screen, increasing and decreasing as we make transactions.
We are now at that junction of complete change of what money is, and how it should be used. With Facebook’s introduction of Libra, this change could get further accelerated. According to Nik, a FinTech and financial inclusion enthusiast, with a decade of work across mobile payments, online lending, credit and micro-finance, it could “redefine how we view money,” but it’s too early to tell and “it could be a complete failure.”
He recommends: “we should be asking ourselves: how does money work today and how should it work?”
“Money is an anachronistically analog part of everyday life. The last 25 years saw the digitisation of most services businesses, from communications (email) to bookstores (Amazon) to taxis (Uber). Yet, even with the rise of FinTech and significant innovation in consumer finance, money itself has remained curiously unchanged.”Nik Milanovic
The world is facing a dilemma with the advent of blockchain and cryptocurrency—and governments are becoming vary. UAE is already testing the blockchain technology and recently the World Economic Forum set up a special council.
Every change has pros and cons. While there are many reasons money shouldn’t change from what it is currently, as there are many structures, rules and regulations in place to protect people’s fiscal interests, blockchain could bring a lot more transparency and trust into the system, given it is properly regulated.
Is “money too sensitive and critical to allow for” disruption? Read more about Nik’s thoughts on money here.
