Imagine a world where traditional banks never existed and where credit unions were the only financial institutions. A reality where the word “banking” was never in the American lexicon and the acronym FDIC stood for the Fire Department Instructors Conference. This is not a science fiction movie, nor the Twilight Zone, but rather a very possible reality in a spatial computing dimension that could redefine how credit unions do business. Just think, how would credit unions describe everyday transactions that are processed? What language would be deployed to shape the vernacular of a frontier yet to be pioneered? What is banking anyway and why would it find relevance among the next generations of potential members in the metaverse?
The word banking has its origins from the medieval French word banque that meant bench, the Italian banco meaning table, and/or the German word banc also meaning bench or counter. The common denominator was simply a physical furnishing facilitating the exchange of money. Historically, the Bible recorded in Matthew ‘s Gospel that Jesus went into the Temple and “overthrew the tables of the moneychangers” where financial transactions took place. There, the problem was not the exchange of money, but rather the predatory nature of the business transacted that He characterized as thievery.
That said, gone are the days of the bench or table where “banking” transactions once occurred. This then raises the question about the word’s place in our modern-day society of digital and mobile financial services. Maybe instead the term “vaulting” could be used and in the metaverse it may provide greater relevance to conducting financial transactions than banking that relates to a table or bench exchange. Despite the Fed reducing reserve requirements for banks to zero percent in 2020 thereby lessening the amount of cash kept in vaults, credit unions are still mandated to maintain certain levels of liquidity in their vaults to meet members’ currency needs. This credit union difference based on safe banking principles could be implied in the coining of the term “vaulting.”
Prior to the advent of the internet, who would have thought the word “hamburger” would be associated with a three-line stacked icon that when clicked would provide a menu of website options? Or the term “emoji” that represents an array of animated faces expressing human emotions? Who would have thought the term “surfing” to actually mean the process of browsing the web? What does the word “Bluetooth” have to do with wireless connectivity? Where did “tweets,” “posting,” and “reels” originate? What we do know is that these digital terms came from the minds of forward thinkers, visionaries if you will. The language of the internet and the unexplored metaverse is a canvas for the inventive mind to explore and discover.
Undoubtedly, the credit union movement was born out of necessity and has a history that is inherently reactionary. It was created as a response to the social ills of predatory lending, the lack of access to capital, and the discriminatory practices of redlining. However, credit unions can no longer sit idly by and wait for banks or other institutions to define their future. Instead, there must be a proactive approach in attracting the best and brightest minds. The Filene Institute is one organization taking that innovative step in the right direction and toward the future. Thought leaders and innovators are invited to the institute as fellows to conduct research in the form of incubators and labs to “identify, test, and scale the best solutions” for credit unions. Credit unions must also be intentional in forging partnerships with fintech companies to provide their members digital and mobile online solutions.
Finally, credit unions must go a step further by imagining themselves in a world where banks did not exist. A world where there are “trust accounts” instead of savings accounts, “procurement cards” in lieu of credit cards, and “merit returns” instead of dividends, to envision a few. A space where gamification can also be leveraged to promote financial literacy. The metaverse is the undiscovered country, a new frontier for cooperative financial engagement. Credit unions in the metaverse can represent a revolutionary leap in digital innovation with the ethos of people helping people and member-centric services. Poised to lead the way in adapting new spatial computing landscapes, credit unions can ensure their members will benefit from the latest advancements in financial services.
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