The Future of Money - and what does that mean for you?

I am standing by the side of the road in Las Vegas pondering how I’m going to get to the airport. In an attempt to keep an eye on my expenses bill, I have decided to take the shuttle to make my late afternoon flight to Los Angeles, but when I arrive the driver will only take cash, and after scurrying inside to find a cashpoint, I discover my card has stopped working.

None of this would be especially significant if it weren’t for the fact I was in Vegas in the first place to speak at Money2020 – an event laser-focused on the future of money (disclosure: Money2020 is a sister company to WGSN).

If I’d had a dollar for every time I heard the words “cashless society” in the 48 hours I was there, I’d have been able to afford a private helicopter to the airport, and yet metres away from the conference stages, the concept of a cashless world was just a frown on an impatient bus driver’s face.

While at WGSN we spend a lot of time focused on the products, experiences and services consumers will want in the coming weeks, months and years, how they’ll pay for them is just as important and has been keeping me up at night ever since.

A cashless society sounds like a great idea in principle, and in our design-led, city-centric bubbles, paying with our phones or smartwatches isn’t exactly new news, but legislation – in the US in particular – could slow adoption, and with good reason.

Earlier this year, the state of San Francisco joined New Jersey and Philadelphia in banning cashless stores in an effort to protect those who don’t have access to credit cards – the legislature pointing to the 4,000 homeless on the city’s streets as well as the large numbers of low-income families in the state, and their need to safeguard them.

Brands like Amazon, pioneers of the cashless store, have responded quickly with its newest Amazon Go store in NYC accepting cash, and a promise that others will follow.

On the opposite side of this debate, and an argument I heard a few times at Money2020, is the need to protect small businesses as well as individuals. There are many that for safety reasons don’t want cash on their premises, and many more small start-ups who can be up and running almost immediately in a cashless world, but can’t even get off the ground if cash flow on their premises is needed.

But what does all this mean for you, as leaders of creative businesses? For starters, make it your business to understand the future (and the now) of money. “Brands like Amazon, pioneers of the cashless store, have responded with its newest Amazon Go store in NYC accepting cash, and a promise that others will follow” On one hand, we have the “neobanks” – the Monzos and Revoluts of this world – who are changing how younger (and some older) generations bank and track their spending. This visual tracking, and therefore conscious spending as a consequence, is predicted to have a huge impact on expenditure and is therefore important in itself.

Then there’s cryptocurrency and the new local crypto economy, where savvy consumers can ensure their expenditure goes to brands who invest back in the communities where they live, and on causes they feel strongly about.

I could go on. This is an ever-changing and exciting world, but in the relentless drive to the new and innovative, do not forget what’s gone before.

Governments are waking up to the impact of this fast-moving industry and changing laws to keep up with it. There is a responsibility for brands to keep pace, too.

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On my shelf - product of the week

While I might have just spent a week in California, I glimpsed the sun only momentarily through the window. In an effort to fake good health now I’m back in dark, rainy London, I’m applying liberal amounts of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder.

On the road - hotel pick

My trip to LA last week was my first visit back to the city since staying there as an au pair nearly 20 years ago. This time I swapped sleeping on my mum’s cousin’s sofa for the edgy cool of the Ace Hotel's Downtown outpost.

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