This is the first post in a series of speculative articles on emerging and recent trends, called Thinking Out Loud. Enjoy!
Summary
As net and cloud based technologies develop, companies and banking institutions will move away from physical currency and payment methods and towards a unified, social-security-number-styled personal identifier for customers. Whether this personal identifier is memorized, integrated into mobile devices (like Apple Pay), tied to a service (e.g., Google Wallet), or embedded in an implantable RFID chip, a person and their financial identity will be inseparable.
Implications
This trend has the potential to revolutionize several industries, similar to the way Bitcoin is revolutionizing net currency. In areas where Bitcoin is used, international boundaries are eliminated. Persons in Europe are able to seamlessly perform commerce with customers in the Americas without the need to consider exchange rates and using a common, international currency. Similarly, a unique financial identifier could level the playing field, eliminate cash transactions, and dramatically increase the need for net security. Stick-em-up style robberies (in banks and stores) will be virtually eliminated, but will be replaced with other, and more sophisticated, financial crimes. Currently, identity theft is extremely prevalent. Once the trend towards a unified, unique financial identity tied irrevocably to a person’s very existence begins, identity theft becomes a much more serious problem. Alongside the development of the technology to support this unified financial identity, there will be a massive boom in businesses based on private net identity protection. Net security brands will cooperate with businesses and individual users to promote their particular flavor of identity and transaction protection.
Impacts
For commerce- and financially-based transactional businesses, movement towards this new payment system will mean an increased demand for recognizable net security brands. Outside of the technology used to facilitate this new transaction methodology, businesses will likely need to partner with net security providers. For small businesses, a proprietary system will likely be insufficient since identity pirates will be able to overcome net security measures with near-viral efficiency. Dedicated cyber security businesses will likely be the only ones capable of preventing and fixing fraud. This partnership will likely come at an expense to small businesses, something that small business owners should plan for in their long-range business pro forma.
Update:
The future is here:
Corinne’s Portfolio 