The Future of Money

[urbanlibertarian]

Interesting article from wired.com about new innovations in online payment, billing, invoicing and payroll.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/02/ff_futureofmoney/all/1

Note: It's pretty long and interrupted by graphics.

[heights unknown]

What I've read is that the next step for money or financial transactions in the not too distant future is first a universal Card that has all of your personal info on it (a chip within it) that contains your driver's license, social security info, health info, banking info, and other personal info relative to life experience (college, school, education, legal infractions, prison info, jail info, etc.).

After this, in a time that has not been determined, is an implanted microchip in which no one will be able to buy or sell unless it is implanted.

"HU"

[samiam]

Mark of the Beast

[Captain Zissou]

Mark of the Beast

I agree.

I'm no conspiracy theorist or doom and gloom Christian, but I view the microchip the same way.  There are already instances all over the world where the microchip is used as an identifier.  I read that an elite social club in Europe uses the microchip to scan in its members at the door.

[Jason]

But still with the right know-how one could change their personal information to become anyone they want.

[hooplady]

I dunno, they've been talking about universal smartcards forever.  I had a beta version sometime in the late 80's...what happened?  At this point I would think they'd go straight to registering your personal DNA signature for identification.

[hooplady]

OK, I just read the whole article and I'm incredulous.  Digital money has just recently been invented?  Are there no Wired employees old enough to remember that they were writing about this very subject in the first years of the magazine's existence (in the now-distant early '90s)?  Hello, CyberCash, eCash, Carnegie-Mellon's white papers, nanocurrency, giro payments, Nicholas Negroponte?

Man, I wish I still had the presentation I did on this subject as a grad student...when PowerPoint was the Next Big Thing.  Apparently I'm so old I'm new again.

[Captain Zissou]

But still with the right know-how one could change their personal information to become anyone they want.

I agree.  How many times would we see people getting jumped just to have their microchip removed?  I assume it would be in combination with a fingerprint or retinal scan. 

[Jason]

Although I understand that electronic money is the future (hell, its the prestent) and is something I've fully embraced, I don't see it as being more secure than cold hard cash.  With a wallet full of money someone would have to send a small swat team to yank it from my cold dead hands.  With e-money all you need is some pimply computer nerd to sneak through a firewall and transmit the $ to his secret Klingon encoded Swiss bank account.  Hell, people get enough information to swipe identities and money from our trash!

Micro-chips, smart cards, or whatever they come up with next will still be able to be explioted in some way.

[urbanlibertarian]

The main point of the article is the advent of person to person, person to business and business to person money transfers via internet in a way that mostly bypasses banks and credit card companies at about one third the cost.  It will be much needed competition for the current financial structure that will force it to be more consumer and business friendly and charge lower fees.  Just another way that the internet and open sourcing is making us freer and more prosperous.  Read the article.

[Bostech]

Read the article again.

In future fees paid to banks/CC will be replaced with fees paid to PayPal or similar services while "new" system will be more convenient then CC and give you chance to spend your money faster.
Nothing revolutionary,just another way for big boys to take your money.

[Sportmotor]

Mark of the Beast

Yup.


Although it will be fun cracking the chip and changing the info. I want to be on the front line for that