Behold a Pail of Milk
The Future of Banking, Currency, and E-commerce
II finally know what distinguishes man from other beasts: financial worries. – Jules Renard
1000 BC
Nama needs milk, but
she doesn’t own a cow or
goat. She grabs a couple of
cabbages from her garden
and an empty pail, and
heads to the market. She
finds a man who will sell
her milk in exchange for the
vegetables.
everyday among bank
accounts, and products are
delivered without any oral
or paper communication
between buyers and
sellers. Sometimes these
products are purchased and
delivered without anybody
participating in the deal,
such as the investor who
automatically buys more
shares of a stock when it
reaches a certain price.
Products and services can
be accessed, compared,
purchased and used through
net works by people around
the whole world. No cash,
no checks, not even a little
worry.
Money—especially for
students—is very often
nothing more than a piece
of paper, or more likely,
a number on a screen,
until they exchange it for
something that fulfills
a need or desire. We can
think of countless examples
in which the modern
student has no choice but
to participate in the new
ways of commerce. Even if
you send your application
for graduate school by
postal mail, you probably
paid the fee with a credit
or debit card. If you cannot
find a specific textbook,
you can buy it online (after
comparison shopping, of
course) and have it delivered
the very next day.
2010 AD
Nama’s out of milk. Surfing
the Internet from her
laptop, she finds a delivery
service that sells milk from
a nearby farm. She places
an online order and charges
it to her credit card. A few
hours later, a carton of
milk reaches her doorstep.
A month later, Nama logs
into her credit card account
online and authorizes a
payment from her primary
bank for amount due.
2050 AD
Nama loves video games.
She also loves that she
earns points when she
wins, which she can put
toward the purchase of real
goods, ordered online, and
delivered to her front door.
Technology has
changed the way we do
business. Millions of
dollars are transferred
has drastically altered
the way we buy and sell
and consume. This issue
explores this new monetary
landscape from three
directions: banking,
currency, and e-commerce.
