First we need to understand a bank and the service it provides. Essentially, a bank’s role is to extend money in the form of credit. Imagine the global monetary system as a network; banks are the nodes in that network where the ‘rubber meets the road’. In the best of cases, a bank will be able to extend loans and hold deposits and this security and trust enables an economy to grow. This is a win-win scenario. Or is it?..
Consider the bank itself. It is probably a private entity with investors who want to earn a return on their capital investment. Where will that profit come from? Don’t forget the friendly (or not-so-friendly) bank tellers and other employees who work at a bank branch. Where do their wages come from? In fact, those profits and expenses come directly out of the pocket of the depositors – the very people the bank is designed to service!
Now, we started off by recognizing that credit/money are essential for commerce in 2018 right? Then why is criticizing banks? Shouldn’t we (the users of money) just take our lumps and keep our mouths shut? No.
I think we can do better and technology enables us to do much better. What if we can directly connect borrowers and savers and export the tricky issue of trust to a public blockchain? What if we can organize the provision of credit efficiently in an economy without a physical bank building? I believe all of this is possible and more.
Look for more from the new steem account , which will cover these issues and more in the coming weeks.
A Big shout to the team over in Accra, Ghana working to make this vision a reality for the shared prosperity and financial freedom of all. For those who don’t know – Accra may just go down as the next Silicon Valley...