As usual, the early signs of change are here already if only you take the time to look. Anecdotally I know of people in the UK that are so tired of carrying around coins that they are starting to give or throw them away. This is clearly a signal of prosperity but it’s also one of convenience. The average person now carries two to three times as much weight in their pockets and briefcases as they did two decades ago so personal weight loss programmes will soon have to appear unless someone invents a lightweight alternative or micro-payments become more widely accepted. Coins and banknotes could also disappear almost overnight for another reason. There has been a lot of talk recently about the consequences of a global pandemic but it appears to me that one important implication has been missed. Namely that bank notes and coins tend to be dirty so people will refuse to handle them if they think that they could be a conduit for disease. In Japan some ATMs already heat bank notes as a precautionary hygiene measure so in an age of anxiety ‘hot money’ could be a very cool idea.