Money is Disappearing. Fast

It was a sign of the times. I remember the first time I used my bank ATM card instead of money to pay for something in a grocery store. I wasn't really comfortable with it. I'm still not comfortable with using my debit card instead of money, but I've gotten used to it.

Good thing, too, as the world spirals to a cashless society.

It is possible at this time to pay for just about everything via debit or credit card on online automatic withdrawals. It isn't necessary to carry money at all.

Smart Cards are already widely in use in Europe and in parts of the United States. They can be used just about anywhere.

A Smart Card is much like a credit card except that it has built-in microchips which contain personal data. Everything from medical information to monetary amounts can be stored and updated on these cards. One quick scan by a compatible reader and your information is in the system.

AC Nielsen projects that only 10% of transactions in the United States will be conducted in cold, hard cash by the year 2020.[1]

Whether it takes 25, or 30 or even another 50 years to reach, there will come a point in time when there will be one global currency issued in "credits" or "points" rather than in dollars. These credits or points will have another terminology such as EURO or whatever terminology the powers that be come up with.

Everyone on the planet will be issued a Smart Card or something similar to a Smart Card. Who knows? It may be mandatory at that point that all people have a microchip implanted in their skin that contains all personal information, including the number of credits available to them to exchange for goods and services.

At this point in time, governments are readying the world for the new money revolution. The United States Government has a "Government Smart Card Handbook" available for download (in PDF or Word document) at the U.S. General Services Administration website. The tome is 262 pages long. [2]

The Smart Card Alliance has a deluge of information on this technology, enough to keep a person reading for days.

Like it or not, the day is coming when there will be one global currency. And it won't be on paper.

Sources:

[1] Fast Company
[2] ID Management