Inspired by a discussion about what might replace Federal Reserve notes as the circulating medium of exchange in a post-financial crisis America…
I’ve been wondering what could be the equivalent in the U.S. should the dollar currency lose its value. The obvious took some time to come to my mind, probably because I’m not a big user of it myself: gasoline.
[From Guillaume’s blog » Blog Archive » Gasoline as money]
…I’ve come up with a few ideas for the 2009 agenda. So far, for the key sessions, I was thinking about topics that will be central to the sector next year…
Cigarettes as a Reserve Currency — Marlboro Light Touch Regulation
Barter Markets based on Vegetables — The Swede Miracle
Mattresses as Non-Bank Stores of Value — The Princess and the 1p
We Are All North Koreans Now — From Branchless Banking to Bankless Banking
For the discussion panels, what about…
The Workers Control the Means of Non-Production
EMV Migration in Iceland — Cod instead of Chips
The U.S. Payments Scene — Buddy can you spare $700 billion?
Money Management Tips from Zimbabwe
…and of course that old favourite of central banks everywhere…
The Fascist Nature of Monopoly Capitalism Makes Revolution and the Dictatorship of the Industrial Proletariat a Historical Inevitability.
Look forward to hearing your suggestions.
These opinions are my own (I think) and presented solely in my capacity as an interested member of the general public [posted with ecto]
Dave, I really hope none of these subjects will be relevant in 2009, including the one I reported on in my post on gasoline…
On a more serious note, a subject I’d like to suggest is how marketing programs and loyalty cards can be leveraged to accelerate the adoption of contactless payments.
Thanks for the excellent suggestion Guillame. I don’t know if you heard the podcast I made with Vivotech on this subject, but driving contactless adoption is definitely going to be important next year.
Dave,
What about the potential impact of faster payments as a potential catalyst for mobile phone based P2P payments in Europe?
Also I think you might want to look at how pre-pay airtime is increasingly being used as an informal currency both domestically and for international transfers.
Also the use of the mobile phone to deliver the “last mile” of financial services across the developing world using cash handling agents equipped with secure apps on mobile phones.
Simon
[Dave Birch] Thanks Simon.