Kristin R. MoyerDavid Furlonger here. In December 2007 we introduced the concept of The Future of Money: The Future of Money and discussed the relationship of various forms of money with the banking and payments systems. Thirteen months later and the Future of Money is seen in a very different economic light. While the notion of complimentary currencies has been around for years and is still seen as a viable (if local) alternative to Fiat money, they haven’t been seen as tools to fight recession for probably 70 years. According to last weeks Economist [Will old-fashioned scrip make a comeback?], there is a suggestion that traditional scrip may gain greater use and attention. The time value decay of scrip forces spending, something that several economists, and governments, believe is the only way to get out of the current economic mess.
While such initiatives may have limited and somewhat local applicability, attention is currently focused solely on the physical manifestation of such monetary alternatives. In the virtual world, other dynamics are introduced (e.g., easier transferability, local and regional applicability, lower administrative burdens/costs, etc.).
How virtual scrip would be administered and whether it could offer a positive fillip to tough economic conditions is way beyond the scope of this blog. However, governments and potentially corporations are likely to try almost anything to try and resuscitate the market – especially if conditions get worse. It is therefore not inconceivable that IT execs will be faced with having to manage alternative forms of currency in the applications they manage. A quick review of the efficacy of messaging standards, interfaces, accounting and business logic, payment processes, device and system configurability is therefore in order in the event that hard drives start printing ones and zeros that have alternate meanings and value.
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