The Coming Disintermediation of Money

I've written about the coming disappearance of cash and coinage, but the disintermediation of our financial system is likely to be opposed by banks and government--you know, the guys in government who baled out Wall Street, and the banks, governmental agencies and others who profit from the status quo--

Me, My Money, and My Devices | MIT Technology Review: " . . . Mobile payments, meanwhile, still seem to many an unnecessary complication. But the appeal of being in constant contact with your money—and information about your money—will prove irresistible. Back in the days when electronic devices were expensive, someone had the clever idea of giving dumb plastic cards to all of us and the more expensive card readers only to merchants. Now that we have a virtual card and card reader right in our pocket in the form of a smart phone, who will be content to carry a credit card we cannot ourselves read? Banks and card issuers profit from the status quo; Non-banks have stolen an early march on mobile payments in the United States. Google sees mobile payments as a rich new source of customer insight. For Apple, they have been central to building a vibrant developer ecosystem—you can buy an app with the press of a button. PayPal sees the opportunity to attach an account not only to every e-mail account but to every mobile number. The largest mobile payment program in the United States is currently run by Starbucks coffee shops. . . ."

I'll have more on this tomorrow.

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