The Future Of Money

From the gold standard to virtual tokens

- Megan Donnelly

Ding, your online pizza order goes through. Buzz, a notification alerts you to mobile payment. Your friend returned the $6 she borrowed. Today we can bank, spend, and keep track of money with apps on our phones. Ask your parents how they used to handle money in the days before the internet. There’s a world of difference. Computers and smartphones have changed our financial lives. What will happen next?

Money In, Money Out

In the old days, people brought cash or paychecks to the local bank. A teller would assist them with a deposit and give a paper receipt. Tellers helped people withdraw money too. With the invention of ATMs in the late 1960s, it became possible to withdraw cash without waiting in long bank lines. By the 1980s and 1990s, people could use these machines to do many basic transactions. Those included looking at balances, depositing cash and checks, and withdrawing money from checking and savings accounts.

Today, some people skip ATMs altogether. Technology has made banking even more flexible. Daniel P. Starceski, a certified public accountant (CPA) in Pennsylvania, explains that smartphones have changed how we bank. “Our bank statements update as we make purchases and we can view these statements on our phone. In the past, we would need to wait for the bank statement to come in the mail. Another way that smartphones have changed how we bank is the ability to deposit checks with our phones.”

Points of Payment