the future of value

Sibos #2024 Swift Innotribe with James Lloyd Alvin Foo Shrawan (SK) Saraogi

My impression from the discussion.

If wealth is what ends up being reported on your balance sheet and income statement, then value is wealth plus - but what is the plus?

If the current status of the movement of money domestically for individuals and companies is instant, then international payment has some catching up to do, but payments are about the payments that show wealth and not value.  Yes there is value in fast(er) payments for some, but now it is here - who cares? Value changes, fast. Especially when everyone has the feature. 

What is more interesting is that unlike any point ever before in history, we can now pay with sovereign FIAT currency and a plethora of real and virtual tokens and alternatives.  Again there is some value in having choice and they will allow the flow of payments to happen, and wealth to be created but where is the value?

If banking set its problem to solve as “reduce friction”, this is largely done, but did it create value?  While the value of faster payments may diminish, we are starting to get exposed to the unintended consequences of frictionless payments, and new frictions.  Security was once crafted because of the lack of speed - the gates are wide open. 

However regulators need to turn some attention towards the interoperability of asymmetric money and the entire architecture(s) of money movement and not that just run by those with a banking licence. Currently we could easily end up with two systems, one operating in P2P land and one in B2C/ B2B land - which means value and wealth can get lost/ destroyed. Value is not more payment ways or quicker methods. So what is …

If value is plus - then does ESG/ CSR count, yes if it were not for greenwashing or fake news. However, how many of us have already or will choose banking or payment based on their purpose (published may not be actual), green credentials or doing the “right” thing.  How do you know if any of the claims of sustainability are true and does that count for more than saving or earning a few basis points?  Is value under charging (compared to the competition) and preventing fraud?  Maybe, but only in one lens. 

Gen Z, and the next generation are demanding better, but do they have sufficient influence yet to be able to change the strategic direction?

Perhaps we should ask:  Who gets to decide or determine what value is?  Customers, regulators, leadership and you ecosystem all have different opinions on what they perceive as value, along with what they see as value in others. 

Importantly where is the next value ideal if not payments … Well, a hot contender is AI.  Imagine we are in Dec 1993 again. The first browser is just about to be launched and there is no knowledge of what is about to unfold. Just as then we had not yet imagined what was possible.  In that context, we should see AI in banking and payments values are “as yet unimagined” - so this is now wild west and exciting.  We don’t know what the problem is - so we cannot create a solution.  This is what it feels like when you are on the edge of something new.  Just like falling in love, are you prepared to commit to making it work whatever the cost?

The future of value appears unknown and unimagined.  Let's go create …. together.    

Innes Macleod Leda Glyptis PhD Jennifer Sertl Brett King Tom Zschach Sergey Nazarov Ghela Boskovich 💯 Jim Marous John Egan Bradley Leimer Tan Bin Ru