The Mark of the Beast is coming…or is it here?

Because of what I do, I have an interest in technology and technology trends, particular those that relate to financial services. Some of the things that are currently going on have got me thinking…

We are seeing a convergence in payment systems, wearable tech and biometrics that somebody could foresee in the Bible 2000 years ago. Gulp! In Revelation 13:15-18 it references the ‘Mark of the Beast’ as something that forces people to wear something in order to buy or sell, read here:

“It (the second beast) also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.”

As I hear daily of the innovations in new technologies that enable the consumer to purchase (tap to pay for example, or the iPhone 5S with its biometric reader) so it seems we have arrived in this future that has been foretold. We may all be about to inadvertently adopt the “Mark”…As I say, I am not religious and am not remotely worried about Beasts etc., but I do think that there is cause for concern over this trend.

So…there is an absolute logic as to why things like wearable tech will become digital wallets and converge with biometrics to become key authentication tools (for example very recently wearable tech was released that can use your heartbeat as identification and authentication). The more you use the body, the more secure a system becomes and the more convenient it becomes for the consumer. But the flip side is we become more traceable. We are trading security and convenience for traceability.

Traceability…the NSA debacle demonstrated that ‘big brother’ is listening, but the scary thing is it hasn’t really bothered most people, including myself for that matter. Yet governments and agencies can see what’s going on with any individual, regardless of the device or platform they use (terms & conditions become inconsequential), we’ve clearly tipped into the ‘big brother’ world. Wearable payment solutions and biometrics offer those that are listening another rich seam.

I think we all assume (probably rightly) that our governments are decent people; even if they are, there is no guarantee that will always be the case. We are heading towards an era where things are more embedded into us and know a lot more about us and our movements. I’ll be keeping a watch on this space, will you?