What is the future of money?

The future of money is that it will not be based solely on debt as it becomes clear that the possibilities of defaults create inherent instabilities in monetary bases. For debts that do remain as parts of monetary bases, the monitoring and control of how likely they will be repaid will become much more important.

Points. I envisage that there'd be a wallet in the cloud which could be accessed through different devices like Mobiles, Cards & Computers. This wallet would contain information about various items which have an inherent value, like Cash in various Accounts Air Mileage Points Shopping Points Values of other tangible assets That way the wallet would suggest the owner the most efficient way to complete the transaction and automatically update the wallet. All this, not so far away.

Some people say that this would be the future of the money: http://www.thevenusproject.com/ (no future at all for them in this new utopic society).

Are you uninspired by the trajectory of our global economy? Subject to demoralizing employment? Underemployed? If you are any of these you are among the vast majority of people on earth marginalized by an archaic conception of money. Those who enjoy personal freedom and influence at the top of our economic hierarchy are dwindling in number as corruption undermines inadequately constituted democracies around the globe.It’s under these conditions that we can expect the rise of a well constituted transnational bank; issuing a currency alternative to the commoditized currencies being passed around by self interested speculators.In the future we can expect a more successful currency to be:A currency that is not honored for its coercive power, but for its inspiring constitution.A currency that can not be created, destroyed, nor exchanged behind closed doors.A currency that subordinates self interest to our most talented social entrepreneurs.A currency that realizes the collaborative potential of every individual.A currency that is not a private treasure, but a public utility.

Facebook Credits will be the currency of choice worldwide for transactions online and offline. Your Facebook identity will double as a charge card that will earn you membership rewards and discounts at both fine establishments and everyday places you visit. All currencies will convert to Facebook Credits and vice versa. It will be the universal unit of exchange, and make Facebook the most valuable company in the world. PayPal showed the path. Facebook will walk the path.

I think money is (almost) obsolete and is on it's way out. In the not too distant future there will be no need for it. As the world becomes more automated the classic model of "work for wages" is dying. What happens when machines can and do produce everything we need? When machines can monitor and repair themselves or each other? When every house has a "replicator" (Google 3D printers)? Machines do not work for a pay cheque. There will be no need for money, and perhaps when possessions are no longer a symbol of wealth or success we will loose the desire for conspicuous consumption. When anyone can have a Rolls Royce will we all drive Smart Cars? The main obstacle to the new non-monetary society is the switch (revolution) from what we have now to what we could have. I have a feeling that those with the vast majority of the wealth (the 1%), will not give up their priviledges easily. Revolutions are seldom peaceful and the new machine based system will require a solid stable society to function.

The Future of Money is a book written by Bernard Lietaer, published by Random House in 2001, and currently out of print. It was written as an overview of how money and the financial system works, the effects of modern money paradigms, especially relating to debt and interest, and how it can work to everyone's benefit to solve a wide range of problems, especially with the use of complementary currencies.The book is meant to be written for the layperson, while bringing light to subjects that only relatively few are aware of at all levels of society. Lietaer gives examples of different currencies that have been used in the past or are being used today, and his assessment of the positive and negative effects they carry. He writes that while the modern money paradigm has both positive and negative consequences (e.g. that it induced industrialisation), these currencies can exist in complement at the local, regional and international levels, as well as there being currencies for various sectors, such as healthcare. Lietaer writes that in order to optimally solve problems and create a healthy society, the world needs a variety of currencies in our "toolbox", and that otherwise we are "painting with a screwdriver".

"Bitcoin: The Internet of Money" -https://twitter.com/aantonop

Money is what makes the combinatorics of trade workable.  With m items trading for n items pure barter would require m*n  transactions.  With a medium of exchange that is simplified to m + n.  In addition to which one can time shift money with instruments of credit.  In  order to expand a capitalist system needs "future money", i.e.  credit  to capitalize production which will in due course redeem the debts. Without money we would be living on nuts and berries   and what ever game we could hunt down.  Money makes industry and civilization possible.