87% of C-suite executives expect business
risks to increase as a result of changes to the global monetary
system
MENLO
PARK, Calif. and LONDON, Nov. 6, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- Executives expect a cashless future as soon as 2028
and are preparing to embrace a new, digital currency future,
according to the results of a new survey global consulting firm
Protiviti conducted in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The survey is part of the
newest installment of VISION by Protiviti, the thought
leadership series that focuses on the future of money through 2033
and beyond. An executive summary of the survey results is also
available.
The survey found that executives are preparing for the
extinction of paper and coin money. Nearly a third of executives
expect this shift to happen in the next five years, and 85% of
executives expect it will happen within a decade. Leaders know that
this shift will change the global economy permanently and, in turn,
how businesses operate. Most business leaders (87%) are
anticipating that digital currencies like Bitcoin,
Ethereum and Tether will have an impact
on their business over the next 10 years, but the scale of its
impact is still uncertain.
"Every business should be thinking about the future of money and
the implications for their operations," said Cory Gunderson, Protiviti executive vice
president, Global Solutions. "While it's easy to take for granted,
the transition to a cashless society and the ongoing transformation
of the global monetary system could cause significant disruptions
for business operations worldwide. Leaders need to be thinking of
ways to get ahead of the curve and prepare for the unknowns so that
they can best serve their customers and clients. Now is the time to
start planning for these shifts."
Digital Currency Poses Risks, Executives Are Prepared
A transition from cash to digital currencies poses risks: 88% of
executives say they expect at least a moderate increased business
risk to accompany changes to the monetary system, and about half of
those quantified the risk as moderate.
When it comes to the specific risks, customer and client privacy
comes to mind for most executives. An overwhelming majority (89%)
of business leaders say they are concerned about their ability to
protect customer and client data in a digital currency-based
future. With new technologies expected in the next 10 years to help
secure data and decrease fraud and financial crime,
there is a potential for lowered risk, but 61% of executives still
say that they expect that crime, fraud and corruption
will be prevalent in financial transactions over the next 10 years,
raising concern for both businesses and their customers.
"While digital currencies offer the promise of improving access
to and lowering the cost of global money transfers, much more work
remains to be done from a fraud and security
standpoint to increase user confidence," said Mike Brauneis, Protiviti's global financial
services industry leader. "Contrast crypto transfers
to mainstream banking and credit card transactions, which benefit
from decades of development in regulatory frameworks and insurance
schemes that limit consumers' liability for unauthorized
transactions. Price volatility in many digital assets has created a
further barrier to adoption as a reliable store of value.
Although there are many promising innovation efforts underway to
address all these challenges, we think the lack of global
regulatory coordination in this area is going to extend the
timeline for solving them."
Despite the fact that extinction of paper money will likely
disrupt traditional financial systems, two-thirds (64%) of
executives are comfortable embracing digital currencies in the
future, and the same number of all global executives say that their
companies are somewhat prepared for a significant disruption in
monetary policies and structures.
Executives Are Still Confident in the U.S. Dollar
One risk that executives are not worried about is a change in
the world's reserve currency. Nearly four in five (79%) of
respondents believe that the U.S. dollar will still be the world's
dominant medium in 10 years' time. The shift to a cashless society
will uproot the global monetary system, but the U.S. dollar is
expected to provide ongoing stability.
Although innovative digital tools including blockchain and NFT
are gaining popularity as a method to reduce risks, emerging
digital currencies do not hold the same weight with business
executives. When asked what currency might replace the U.S. dollar,
the majority of executives (58%) opted for the euro, while less
than 5% selected Bitcoin.
"I think it's safe to say the U.S. dollar is here to stay for
the foreseeable future, at least according to the global business
leaders we surveyed," said Dr. Vlad Mykhnenko, Associate Professor
at the University of Oxford, and
co-author of the report. "As the survey findings show, new,
digitized currencies will continue to gain popularity, but
executives remain extremely confident the dollar will remain the
world's reserve currency over the next decade."
The study surveyed 251 board members, C-suite executives and
other business leaders across North
America, Europe and
Asia-Pacific about the future of
money, currency and value exchange. Survey data was collected
between July and September 2023.
More information about this survey will be discussed at a
webinar, "Exploring an Uncertain Future of Money," on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. More information
and registration information is here.
Learn More About the Future of Money – 2033 and
Beyond
The survey report, "Executive Outlook on the Future of Money
2033 and Beyond" is available for complimentary download at
VISION by Protiviti. The site also features additional
content developed by Protiviti around the future of money,
including:
- Will the end of cash mean the end of privacy, too? The
Economist's Swarup Gupta
explains
- Cash out: Why execs need to stay vested in digital currency
developments around the globe
- Former Charles Schwab Investment Management CEO Evelyn Dilsaver talks AI, crypto
and future of financial services
- The future is digital but fraud, volatility could
cripple crypto, says Allianz Trade executive
About The University of
Oxford
Established in 2018, the Global Centre on Healthcare and
Urbanisation (GCHU) at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, brings together leading and
influential thinkers in an interdisciplinary approach embracing
evidence-based healthcare, sustainable urban development, and
education, and provides a collaborative forum for organisations
active in these disciplines. The GCHU asks vital questions on the
role of cities in healthcare and wellbeing to better understand the
impact and consequences of urbanisation, trains and informs the
next leaders in healthcare and urbanisation to nurture the highest
standards, and undertakes research and scholarship at the
intersection of healthcare and urbanisation to inform
recommendations for future practice.
About Protiviti
Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that
delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach
and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the
future. Protiviti and our independent and locally owned Member
Firms provide clients with consulting and managed solutions in
finance, technology, operations, data, analytics, digital, legal,
HR, governance, risk and internal audit through our network of more
than 85 offices in over 25 countries.
Named to the 2023 Fortune 100 Best
Companies to Work For® list, Protiviti has served
more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 and
nearly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies.
The firm also works with smaller, growing companies, including
those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies.
Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half
Inc. (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a
member of the S&P 500 index.
Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public
accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements
or offer attestation services.
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SOURCE Protiviti