Future of Money: Currencies, Transactions and Lending
Timeframe: January 2010 - March 2011
University of Houston, Strategic Foresight Masters Program
Updated: April 6, 2011
Research Overview
How is information technology changing the physical and cultural way we borrow and lend money? What form will our money take? As many game worlds create their own currencies, will these virtual currencies ever be widely traded and transacted in the “real world”?
This forecast will look at technological and cultural changes in financial money lending, alternate and virtual currencies and how money will be exchanged in 2025. The focus will primarily be in consumer and small business arenas within a global marketplace. It will not include comprehensive corporate lending practices and governmental fiscal policies.
Key Take Aways
- Technology is transforming transaction processing. E.g. especially with mobile technologies. By extending currency/payment possibilities as well as "payment" processing systems.
- Alternate and complimentary currencies are entering an active experimental phase. I posit this is an emerging phenomena to counteract our current extreme efficiency model as described in Lietaer's article below.
- Virtual currencies (gaming e.g. WoW, Linden, Facebook) are in early phases, and I have identified a key variable that shows the success of such currencies. Time banks and other alternate currencies success also falls under this potential key variable.
- The state of lending and borrowing is undergoing some dramatic shifts commensurate with shifting cultural mindsets.
Background Research
Highly relevant and interesting, but not exclusive. A detailed bibliography is forthcoming.
- Lietaer, Bernard. "Is Our Monetary Structure a SystemicCause for Financial Instability? Evidenceand Remedies from Nature" Journal of Future Studies
Scenarios
Please note: not all scenarios are publicly available at this time (Nov 2010)
- Future of Currency (Spring 2010): Alternative Currencies Consortium
- Future of Currency (Spring 2010): Novenify: Life Extension for the Human Intelligence
- Future of Currency (Spring 2010): ACC Call for Participation
- Future of Transactions Scenario (Fall 2010): The Value Exchange
- Future of Transactions Scenario (Fall 2010): The Dischordians
- Future of Transactions Scenario (Fall 2010): Dinner with Friends, circa 2020
- Future of Transactions Scenario (Fall 2010): The Mobile Wallet
- Future of Transactions Study (Fall 2010): The Survey
Updates
April 6, 2011
Interested in learning the top level results? I am available to speak to your group. This research has been shared at:
- Web 2.0 Expo, March 2011
- Austin World Future Society Meeting, March 2011
- Future of Money and Technology Summit, February 2011
Jan 13, 2011
(sent via email to research update mailing list. Email Heather to request to be added to this list.)
Thank you for participating in my survey studying The Future of Transactions in October-November 2010. The response was beyond my expectation with more than 220 participants completing the survey. I wanted to give you a brief update on the state of the research. This week (Jan 13, 2011), I have completed the majority of my 1:1 interview with almost 20 people.
