Just before the Christmas holidays I wanted to take some savings from my bank account. After going online I noticed that I was not allowed to withdraw my own money, because my bank had changed from owner and apparently my postal address from 10 years ago (from a bank account that has already been closed for more than 8 years) was still in their records, therefore I first needed to ask a change of my address and I needed to ask for a soft key that would give me access to my bank account. I still don’t understand why they cannot give it to me automatically when they did the fusion. After waiting 2 weeks I still did not receive anything. I called them back and the guy on the phone just told me that nothing had been done yet, but they would now prepare everything so in about 3 to 4 working days I would receive the necessary documents so I could finally get access to my savings. For him it was not an issue. It was just the way they work. At the time that I am writing this article, I am still waiting for Santa Claus to bring me access to my own money. Do you find this correct? I certainly don't. Next Christmas I will give Rudolf a navigation device because he has significantly lost his way.

How is it possible that in these modern times we can be in contact with the other side of the world in a second, but it still takes ages before we have access to our own money due to the hierarchy and security protocols that still exist in the actual financial world. For me it’s inconvenient to have no access to my money for a few weeks, but imagine this is your only money and you can’t rely on your partner to pay for your housing and the food for your children. In this case you’ve got the risk to lose your home and you are obliged to beg for food during this moneyless period.

Today we do our own transactions online and withdraw our money ourselves from an ATM machine without interaction of an employee of the bank and yet we pay the bank a large fee to hold our money and let us wait several weeks to grant us permission. This is truly unacceptable.

A while ago I was listening to a speaker who was talking about innovation on the workfloor and how this would affect the jobs that exist today. I saw the word blockchain on the screen and noticed that I have never heard of this before and I really did not knew what it was. Somebody explained it to me briefly. I was completely intrigued. The coming days I looked it up and started reading about blockchain and bitcoin. A new world opened up to me and a true fascination was born.

This revolutionary technology makes it possible to securely manage your own money and send it instantly to another person in the world without needing a third party to approve your actions. No waiting during bank holidays, no closing hours, no high fees, no more asking for approval. Just having the freedom to control your own finances.

After the financial crisis in 2008 I already lost faith in this bureaucratic financial world with his exuberant bonuses, misleading promises and lack of carefulness. Today I know we are standing at the beginning of a new financial era. With more possibilities to collaborate, innovate and engage on a global level, regardless of your nationality, origin or location, the future looks promising.

Goodbye banks! Welcome cryptocurrency!