Self-Improvement Atlas: The Personal Science Insights Podcast · Life Management Science Labs

Richard Holden: Money in the 21st Century | Self-Improvement Atlas #63

·51 min·3 clips

Richard Holden says cash will not exist “5, 10, 15 years from now.”

1. Self-Improvement Atlas: The Personal Science Insights Podcast centers this episode on Richard Holden and “money in the 21st century.” 2. Marie Stella interviews Holden, an economics professor at the University of New South Wales Business School and director of the Economics of Education Knowledge Hub. 3. The episode asks how money is changing and what that means for financial literacy, personal development, and everyday decisions. 4. Holden says the biggest misconceptions are that physical cash will still exist “5, 10, 15 years from now” and that digital money is just like debit or credit cards. 5. He argues that cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies can support Web3, smart contracts, and programmable money. 6. Holden frames modern money as “cheap, mobile, and digital,” and he says 2008 marked a turning point for all three. 7. He links cheap money to low interest rates after the 2008 financial crisis and notes that some European rates were negative. 8. He says mobile money includes tap cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and contactless payments that are already changing daily routines in Australia. 9. He says digital money includes central bank digital currencies, programmable money, and decentralized finance. 10. Holden says cross-border transfers from Australia to the United States can still take “three to five days” and involve costly exchange-rate spreads. 11. He points to a blockchain pilot program and atomic swaps as ways to move money in seconds rather than days. 12. He explains that atomic swaps solve the trust problem by activating a transfer only after receipt is confirmed. 13. He says this same mechanism could unlock transactions in places where counterparties do not trust each other. 14. Holden describes smart contracts as financial contracts written in computer code. 15. He says smart contracts can let people commit in advance and avoid later reneging after new information arrives. 16. He argues that future central bank digital currencies could power a larger app ecosystem around peer-to-peer transfers and off-the-shelf smart contracting tools. 17. The tone is conversational and explanatory, with Marie Stella asking follow-up questions and Holden using practical examples like coffee payments and airport currency exchanges. 18. Holden also uses household and professional examples, including his Ninja ice-cream maker, golf, Larry Summers, and Nokia versus Apple, to illustrate his points. 19. Listeners interested in fintech, economics, behavioral science, or cashless payments. 20. Listeners seeking celebrity-style banter or light entertainment only.

As heard by us

A clear look at how money moves, from everyday payments to atomic swaps, and why trust still matters.

Richard Holden makes a complicated subject feel manageable by sticking close to how money actually moves. He starts with a card tap at a coffee shop, then widens the lens to cross-border transfers, where time zones, trust, and reputation still shape everyday payments.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want money explained through everyday payment problems, from coffee taps to cross-border transfers.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Self-Improvement Atlas: The Personal Science Insights Podcast