The future of money: three ways to go cashless

Non-cash payments are on the rise all over the world. How digital technology has changed the way consumers shop in three important markets: America, China and India.

How London became the dirty money capital of the world

Russian oligarchs and companies have been investing in London for two decades, encouraged by British politicians of all stripes, but critics say the 'London laundromat' cleans dirty money from Russia and across the globe. 

The FT examines why it took Russia's invasion of Ukraine to put the issue in the spotlight and whether new sanctions and measures to tackle the problem go far enough.

Why CBDC's may not be such a good idea

Samson Williams sets out 3 reasons why CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) may not be such a good idea.

• 96% of current currency is already digital.
• Digital Currencies, as conceptualized under CBDC would be programmable and “programmable” money is a problem.
• Cash is King.   

Read the full article HERE. 

Here comes official e-money

Technology has changed everything. Bitcoin has moved from being a gimmick to a supposed “financial asset”. The stock market, once the preserve of the specialist broker has become the stomping ground of the digital day trader, and have become a real force on Wall Street. China’s digital payments giants are being closely pursued by America’s PayPal. With its 392 million users, PayPal has become a force in its own right.

Now, a new development, barely noticed on the murky frontier between technology and finance could become the most revolutionary of them all. The government digital currency.

Imagine if people could deposit directly with the central bank; conventional lenders would be completely sidelined.

Government digital currency or “Govcoins” are a new manifestation of plain old fashioned money, those coins and notes we all know so well.

“Govcoins” not only promise to make finance work better, they have the potential to upend the financial system.

The last decade has seen a revolution in banking and payment systems. Experiments abound.

Read the full story HERE.

 

Resistance to Peer to Peer Payments is Waning

Resistance to Peer to Peer Payments is Waning:

• Resistance to P2P services is waning, as many of the reasons for not using these services appear to be losing popularity.
• The largest overall reason in 2018, “I don’t have a reason to use P2P”, has declined from 47% to 36% in 2020.
• In 2019, 42% of consumers “prefer to use cash” than P2P services. Not surprisingly in a pandemic environment, that sentiment dipped to 30% in 2020.
• From 2018 to 2020, 8% of consumers reported they “don’t know how to use these services.”
• P2P services are increasingly being used to share costs with others, pay bills and pay for things in-stores.
• In 2020, 23% of consumers used P2P to split a bill, up from 17% in 2018 and 2019.
• For the last 3 years, one in five P2P consumers used the service to buy a gift.

Free Webinar - COVID-19 and the Payments Industry

In just a couple of months, the COVID-19 virus has changed the world. How we work and how we live has changed and probably will never be the same again.

Last May we presented a short Webinar on the effect that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the Payments Industry and we looked at some possible future outcomes in the areas of banking, fintechs, the cashless society, mobile wallets, online shopping, customer behavior and more.

You can now watch this webinar FREE - Register now - just click HERE

What does a cashless future mean?

From The Economist

Many countries are going cashless at great speed. What are the advantages of ditching hard cash and what are the dangers?

What is the settlement-gap?

The settlement gap - the delay between a payment being made and it reaching its destination, or, put simply, the inability of a platform to facilitate instant payouts is a real problem for the gig-economy. Cash-in-hand transactions are a major factor in trade services. Without the ability to digitally replicate them, gig-economy platforms do not necessarily add enough value and incentive to ensure loyalty from their users.

Read more HERE.