At SWIFT's SIBOS this year, I'm going to be one of the key business owners of the Innotribe stream focused upon the “Long Now”, a theme I've blogged about several times before.
The Long Now is all about thinking for the long term, rather than the short term. It is about projects that foster long-term thinking, such as the 10,000 year clock. This is a time piece that is designed to run without interruption until the year 12,010. It will be a bit like discovering the Pyramids in the future, but in the form of a clock.
SWIFT have been inspired by these ideas, and have decided to encourage delegates at SIBOS to think about the Long Now for the financial industry. Obviously, the year 12,010 is a bit too far away but focusing down upon the year 2025 ain't so bad.
In the year 2025, if banks are still alive.
Oh, that's encouraging isn't it?
Actually, it is. Man will still be alive in 2025, and so will banks ... but not in their current form.
It will be different.
Different? How?
Well, that's the aim at SIBOS, to find out how bankers feel their business will change in the long term.
The team comprises myself and Sean Park as business owners. This role means that we will synthesise the input from the delegates into the vision.
Sean is a leading independent thinker on the future of financial markets, the author of The Park Paradigm, and the founding partner of Sixth Paradigm LLP.
Other team members include Dan Newman and Jodi Engleberg from the Value Web, an international non-profit association focusing upon transformational projects for a more sustainable, equitable world. They also facilitate sessions at the World Economic Forum.
There are also some great folks from SWIFT, including Mariela Atanassova and Konstantin (Kosta) Peric.
Thing is that Innotribe will be far bigger and noticeable this year at SIBOS and everybody is welcome to join in.
Where YOU can contribute today to shape this session is to help shape some of the BIG questions we are trying to answer, such as:
- When will we know that financial systems work?
- How will we know when financial risk is not an issue anymore?
- What will America and Europe be doing when the economic power balance has shifted to Asia?
- Can we confidently create a way of investing for the long-term instead of our net present value short term view of today?
- Can we foretell a future where a human right includes "to not be poor", and what happens to work, life and war if there is no poverty?
- If money is just a way of exchanging value, and it's all now digitised, can we create digital money without the need for real money? How do virtual exchanges and virtual currencies change the commercial infrastructure?
- Could we create a world where financial transactions are sponsored, for example by Google ads, so that they are free? If so, what is the role of a bank and how will it make money, if all financial transactions are free?
You see the kind of questions we are thinking about, and there are no limits so ... do you have any big questions you would like us to tackle?
Meanwhile, you will find me blogging more about this in the near future.
Watch this space.
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...