Archive · 29 Sep 2026
Why Banks, Not Big Tech, May Shape Future Money
Western countries and China are thinking about who should lead the future of money.
They are placing their bets on banks instead of Big Tech companies.
Some economists are not convinced that technology will decide everything.
They say technology may help, but other factors could matter more when money crosses borders.
A new paper uses a story by Jules Verne to explain this idea.
In the story, Phileas Fogg travels around the world with Bank of England notes.
The money is useful because people in different places accept it.
This suggests that trust and acceptance may matter alongside technology.
Western countries and China are betting that banks, rather than Big Tech companies, will lead the future of money.
A new economists’ paper questions whether technology will determine how money works across borders.
The paper argues that technology may be important without being the decisive factor in cross-border money.
It compares the issue with Jules Verne’s 1873 novel, Around the World in Eighty Days.
In the novel, Phileas Fogg finances his journey using Bank of England notes accepted wherever he travels.
- Who
- Western countries, China, banks, Big Tech companies, and economists discussing the future of money.
- What
- A new economists’ paper questions whether technology will determine the future of cross-border money, despite bets on banks over Big Tech.
- When
- The economists’ paper is described as new; Around the World in Eighty Days was published in 1873.
- Where
- The discussion concerns cross-border settings; the specific location of the paper’s authors is not stated.
- Why
- To examine what makes money work across borders and whether technology, banks, or other factors will be most important.
Technology-led money
Institution-led money
Who will lead the future?
Technology-led money
The technology-focused view gives technological development a central role in determining how money works across borders.
Institution-led money
The West and China are betting that banks, rather than Big Tech, will lead the way.
What makes cross-border money work?
Technology-led money
Technology is seen as an important force in shaping cross-border money.
Institution-led money
Economists question whether technology alone will decide what makes money work across borders, pointing to the importance of instruments that are broadly accepted.
- Main debate
- Whether banks or Big Tech will lead the future of money
- Geographic focus
- The West and China
- Economists’ doubt
- Technology may be important without deciding what makes money work across borders
- Reference work
- Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days
- Publication year
- 1873
- Story example
- Phileas Fogg carries Bank of England notes that pass wherever he travels