So I gave the waiter the international sign for the check please in the bar last night,
by writing the wavy signature in the air.
I then realised this sign is as outdated as taping something
or setting up the video recorder.
It’s a 20th century hangover.
It's the sign for signing a credit card slip, and yet now we have Chip & PIN and other things on the way.
I then wondered what sign I would give instead in the future.
Maybe hold my mobile in the air and wave it left and right?
That makes sense but maybe that will be gone soon enough.
Maybe the sign within the next few years will just be a
finger.
A finger that biometrically confirms the yes or no for the payment.
Whatever the sign will be, I think we will find out tomorrow
at the future of money session.
This session is debating the big ticket disruptions to banks
and whether these new models of business are really disruptions or just
evolutions of change.
I’m looking forward to it and will now sleep, comfortable in
the knowledge that the international sign of the wavy signature in the air is still
understood everywhere and wondering what the waiter would do if I stuck my
finger up instead?
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...