It's 10 am in the morning of an already scorching hot day of summer and I'm sitting in a queue in front of a bank office. I have to pay back some debt (part of the "perks" of having borrowed money in the first place, but that's another story).
So I'm just sitting here, watching sweat slowly spreading out on the clothes of the people in front of me. It's hot. Very hot. And silent. Nobody talks, as if talking could make this ordeal last more. We're all silently waiting our turn in front of the almighty sovereigns of our petty economies: the bank clerks.
And as I look at the entire scene from the outside I feel a strange tickling in my stomach. It's like I'm in a movie. A vintage movie. It's like I'm seeing something happening 30 years ago, but, somehow, it's happening now.
Confused and intrigued, I leave the thoughts forming in my head flowing around, waiting for some consistence. And from this whirlwind of sensations and forms, a familiar person emerges: a postman.
I've been seeing postmen all my childhood. They were delivering papers, letters and invoices. I remember working for the post was seen as a very stable and desirable job.
Somehow, handing your deepest secrets to another person and trusting that person to deliver it to another person, in another city, seemed not only natural, but also safe.
Email And The Disruption Of Postal Services
Fast forward 30 years later. Introducing email. It's instant, it's secure, it's direct, no middle men involved (mostly, but you get my point).
In just 30 years the postman disappeared almost completely. I mean, there are still couriers and there are still some processes relying on the middle man, but comparing the sheer volume of email communication with paper letter communication is ridiculous. The "weight" of the postman in this chain is almost zero. And the volume of direct, peer to peer communication is unimaginably higher than 30 years ago.
Blockchain And The Disruption Of Bank Services
According to the Webster dictionary, a bank clerk is:
a person employed in a bank to deal with customers' transactions and undertake administrative duties.
As I was sitting in the queue, looking at the clerks, I tried to imagine how it would be to have them programmed. I tried to look at them as being transactions in the blockchain, not clerks. And I tried to imagine how my entire world will change as a result of this.
It would be instant, safe, secure and, most likely, anonymous. I tried to imagine how the volume and the types of transactions will explode, just as the number and types of messages exploded as a result of email. I was getting dizzy.
I don't think bank clerks will disappear completely, just like postmen are still covering some very specific use cases. But I do think the job of a bank clerk will become obsolete in maximum 5years.
It will feel so strange to have somebody else dealing with your money, instead of using your cryptographic keys and multisig wallets. It would be like handing your deepest secrets to somebody else, and expecting him to deliver them safely to another person, most of the time in another town. It's not that they may be ill intended and attempt to steal your money (although this will always be a possibility) but it's that we already have the technology to do that, cheaper, safer and easier.
-- Can I help you, sir? I suddenly heard the lady at the desk.
It was my turn.
-- Yes, I want to make 3 operations: an exchange and two payments.
-- Well, maybe you should take a seat, said the lady to the people after me. This may take a while...
image source: Pixabay
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me 
You can also vote for me as witness here:
https://steemit.com/~witnesses
If you're new to Steemit, you may find these articles relevant (that's also part of my witness activity to support new members of the platform):