Currency Management

With the globalization and the currency unification the world is becoming a smaller place to trade and conduct business. Counterfeit currency, money laundering, tax evasion, drug money, terrorism funding, etc. are problems which will surge and will be difficult to counter in the near future, if steps are not taken now.

Solution I can suggest is as follows:
- Currencies to have some sort of codes (bar-codes, check-digits, etc.)
- Mobile Scanners (to verify the above codes) are made mandatory - in various forms like watches, pens, wrist-scanners, etc.
- When currency is issued to any individual X from any financial institution (FI), the currency notes be scanned by the FI and associated with that individual X. For large denominations a range to be taken i.e. the top note & the bottom note to be scanned.
- On receiving, the individual X scans the currency notes with his mobile scanner and accepts them. The currency notes then get linked to the individual X’s name and is logged in a central database.
- When the individual X uses these currency notes to buy or lend money, the other individual Y scans the notes with his mobile scanner and then these notes get transferred to the individuals Y’s name and is again logged in the central database. This process goes on as the currency passes various hands.

This will help to manage currency ownership and knowledge of actual possession at any point of time. The challenges are:
- The network between the mobile scanners and the central database.
The network can be online (where all data can transmitted on the fly. e.g. GPRS, etc.) & off-line (where each individual has a cradle where he docks his mobile scanner and the data gets synchronized with the central database over the internet)Getting all the countries to agree to invest in this technology