What happened at the banking group and the extent of the repercussions of the systems failure have been shocking as the extent of our dependency on money transfer has become clear, ranging from being able to feed a family to obtaining bail money to getting married, for example. Unless virtual funds can be moved about electronically, much of everyday life stops: life runs on money, which is ironic since most of that money is illusory without a tangible foundation anyway.
The failure of one bank has caused chaos and great distress to many, and I have been thinking about how it would be if the other banks were similarly affected, and all money was frozen – no cash, no use of credit cards, no movement of funds, no investment transactions. It would be hugely inconvenient but also a most interesting situation to see how each of us reacted and what leadership was offered to us to see us through it safely.
Meanwhile, it is extraordinary that it is taking so long for RBS to resolve a purported issue to do with a software upgrade, and ever since I first heard about it I have been wondering if we have been told what the bankers want us to believe or whether the explanation is more concerning. Malicious intent can be enacted in many ways. Whatever the cause, there are lessons for us all in what occurred at RBS and not just about computer safety and security: our dependency on money and banks bears scrutiny too, but I wonder how many people will bother to look, or indeed to change.]]>
