An electronic wallet is in everyone's back pocket. Every child is given a UPC wrist tattoo at birth, serving as personal identification for life. Bank cards have been reduced to magnetic chips worn as decorative jewelry, attaching on to watches, rings, and sunglasses. With the disintegration of large corporations and the fragmentation of financial institutions, decentralized cash systems threaten to obsolesce financial institutions completely. Credit Unions and banks have instead taken on the role of software developers and financial consultants, forming alliances with software and communication companies to provide services.
Most interaction is done on-line at home through electronic wallets and PIHs.
Living and working spaces are combined as an excess of commercial land has been re-zoned for housing. There are no more distinctions between cities and suburbs as people are organized by jobs rather than geography in communities of home and work. Amongst the banking employees, trustworthy security engineers and software developers are in high demand. Most of all, flexibility and service are instrumental to success. With innovative products, services, and a close connection to the community and to the individual, VanCity is one of the few financial institutions that can keep up with the individuals demands for flexibility and service.