Sit back, close your eyes, and imagine a world where if you wanted to go somewhere to buy something… you had to carry around bags of gold, or worse, sheep. You read that correctly, finance wasn't always as easy as tapping a machine with your phone. Today I will take you on a journey through the world of Technology and finance becoming one! So buckle up as we teleport from abacuses to AI.
Before technology stepped in and set a storm through the financial world. People relied on stones, sticks, and if they were well off, the abacus. Move forward in time a bit to William Seward Burroughs, the man who made a huge change in the world in the 1880s by creating the ‘adding machine’. Which is known as the great-granddaddy of the modern calculator. This device was a deal breaker, allowing our accountant's fingers and toes to take a much-needed vacation.
"Before the adding machine, bank errors were in your favor only in Monopoly." - An Anonymous Banker
Move forward in time and you now enter the era of computers the size of your room! Not only were they the size of your room but they also had less processing power than your modern toaster. The 1950s introduced ‘mainframe computers’ to the banking industry. This made transactions faster and led to the first instances of 'computer says no' Following shortly after, in the 1960s ATM jumps in, a magical machine where money magically appeared, provided you had it in your account.
"ATMs were the first step towards making humans more machine-friendly." - A Vintage Geek
As the millennium approached, we jump into the era of the internet, this revolutionized everything. Including how we sobbed over our stock portfolios. In 1994, Online banking emerged, freeing us from the tyranny of paper statements. In the meantime, we were able to lose money on stocks with a level of efficiency never before possible thanks to electronic trading platforms. In the midst of these transformations, the emergence of fintech innovations has further reshaped the landscape of finance, ushering in unprecedented changes and opportunities.
"Online banking: where your money's just a click away from someone else's account." - A Cybersecurity Expert, Probably
We now enter the 21st century, the era that brought us fintech, the place where finance meets technology in an epic mashup, from mobile payments to peer-to-peer lending, and even crazier… cryptocurrencies. Thanks to blockchain, these days, money is not only digital but complex enough to make you long for the days of the good ole piggy bank.
"I miss the days when my financial security was determined by how well I hid my piggy bank." - Every Cryptocurrency Investor
As we approach the end of the time travel experience through the world of Technology in finance, we run into AI and machine learning. One of the biggest upsets not just in technology and finance but in the world since the internet. From predicting market trends with the accuracy of a weather forecast to offering customer service via bots, which unfortunately can't understand sarcasm. Who knew we would go this far? From hiding your gold bags in your jacket so no one stole it from you to trusting someone else with all your money.
"Artificial Intelligence: because humans were clearly doing a bang-up job." - An Overly Honest Tech Developer
If only we could time travel ahead of time and see the next big upset. For now, though we look towards the horizon, filled with AI to possibly robots deciding our credit scores, the vast journey of technology in finance shows no signs of slowing down. From the humble beginnings of looking for sticks to count to debating cryptocurrency on your phone from bed. The future promises a financial world that's more inclusive, efficient, and maybe a little too fond of algorithms.
So cheers to the future, where who knows maybe your financial advisor will be a robot, and your bank… a blockchain. But do not be alarmed, as long as there are numbers to crunch and money to maintain, there will always be new technology on the horizon. Technology is ready to make each and every person's financial lives a tad easier and maybe even, a lot more amusing.
"In the world of finance, technology is the only constant... aside from taxes, of course." - A Wise Person
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