What exactly is a smart bank note and why would we ever need one? That is the question answered by Franklin Noll in a recent post on beincrypto.com, a

Expert suggests smart bank notes could be used as future money

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2021-05-26 04:00:05

What exactly is a smart bank note and why would we ever need one? That is the question answered by Franklin Noll in a recent post on beincrypto.com, a news website specializing in cryptographic technology, privacy, and financial technology.

Noll is far from a techie. His company, Noll Historical Consulting is an authority on the history of money, and has worked with the U.S. Treasury, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, and the International Monetary Fund. He is considering the implications of what he calls the inevitable transition from traditional cash to payments by smart phone and similar devices, and his answer is the “smart banknote.”

A smart bank note would be a hybrid, one that, whether paper or polymer, would look and function as a traditional note, but with an embedded chip and electronic ink. With these, it could also communicate with an electronic network. It could then be used to make electronic payments and after being used that way, could be recharged and continue to circulate as a traditional note off-line if desired. Noll proposes that these smart notes would slowly replace regular currency.