When I see that the cheque is basically on its way out of existence in the UK — Boots, WH Smith, Asda, Morrison’s and now the London Underground are all banning the cheque for payment — I got to wondering about the future of money and currency. In the UK, I remember well when the cheque books used to be so popular. The reduced usage by the high street shopper, the higher processing fees and the greater fraud risks have all contributed to this stoppage. And then there is the concept of paper banknotes. The one pound bill is long gone; the fiver is under siege. Australia, New Zealand and Ireland have all created polymer coated (“plastic”) five pound/dollar notes. At first, it seems like the plastic note could be un-environmentally friendly, but then again, I don’t expect to see many fivers being thrown into the compost heap. And maybe the plastic bills last longer (10x longer say Australia) and people less of a need to wash their hands after touching a £5 note. But, surely, it is only a matter of time before all money becomes “electronic,” starting with more sophisticated credit & debit cards, but moving it beyond the i-phone to the i-got-it-all: phone, music, photos, contacts, email, internet, RFID and virtual money (as has already been developed in Japan and is in test in France). When you consider the advancement of the ‘mobile phone wallet’ (a handset with contactless payment capabilities that is now common currency for use in public transportation in many cities, like Oyster in London), it seems only a matter of time before money goes the way of the cheques. Any bets on when your wallet becomes one with your i-device?
The future of money… RIP up the Cheque

Minter Dial
Minter Dial is an international professional speaker, author & consultant on Leadership, Branding and Digital Strategy. After a successful international career at L’Oréal, Minter Dial returned to his entrepreneurial roots and has spent the last ten years helping senior management teams and Boards to adapt to the new exigencies of the digitally enhanced marketplace. He has worked with world-class organisations to help activate their brand strategies, and figure out how best to integrate new technologies, digital tools, devices and platforms. Above all, Minter works to catalyse a change in mindset and dial up transformation. Minter received his BA in Trilingual Literature from Yale University (1987) and gained his MBA at INSEAD, Fontainebleau (1993). His books include Heartificial Empathy, Putting Heart into Business and Artificial Intelligence, bowed in December 2018 and won the Book Excellence Award 2019 as well as being shortlisted for the Business Book Awards 2019. It's available in Audiobook, Kindle and Paperback. He is also co-author of Futureproof (Pearson, Sep 2017) and sole author of The Last Ring Home (Myndset Press, Nov 2016), a book and documentary film, both of which have won awards and critical acclaim. Minter's latest book, You Lead, How being yourself makes you a better leader, published by Kogan Page, won the Business Book Award 2022 in the category of Leadership. It's easy to inquire about booking Minter Dial here. View all posts by Minter Dial