Money. The fuel that powers the world.
Despite being widely accepted and commonly spoken about, it remains shrouded in mystery. Humans interact with money daily, yet know so little about it.
Money means different things to different people. Some perceive it as a means of exchange and for others, it is a measure of growth and progress.
While we may differ on our perception of money and the value we place on it, there are three universal truths about it:
- Money is not static. Money constantly moves. Whether you save it in a bank or hide it under your bed, the value of money changes over time. In finance and economics parlance, we express changes in the value of money using concepts such as inflation, NPV, IRR, etc.
- Money is never enough. The very construct of money and our insatiable nature as humans means there is always an intrinsic urge to make more of it. The more money we make, the more we discover ways to spend it, leading to an unending cycle.
- Money has a personality. It can be unpredictable and slippery, depending on how it is handled. Our ability to control money determines whether it becomes an accelerator or an inhibitor of growth.
The mobile nature of money means we always need to maintain or grow its value. Because it is never enough, we need to always figure out how to earn more and its personality makes it necessary to control it. To unlock growth, you need to either create opportunities to earn money or borrow it.
The fulfilment of the above needs and the opportunities they represent is what led to the emergence and evolution of institutions we now know as banks.
The fundamental principles of banking have remained constant over time: store money for person A, lend it to person B, use the profit from it to support person C and the cycle continues. However, the advancement of technology, shifts in socio-economic realities and evolution of human needs have made it increasingly difficult for financial institutions to truly evolve with money and deliver services that adequately address the multidimensional needs of the customer.
For individuals to experience sustainable financial growth, they require the right knowledge and access to intuitive tools that will enable them to understand the fundamentals of money, and how to take control of it.
Money needs a new meaning and we all need to build better relationships with it.
By fundamentally considering these first principles, we will gain a new set of perspectives around money and apply a different set of approaches, some of which are:
Money must be easily accessible. Access is at the heart of value creation. Money needs to be able to move between people seamlessly and instantly irrespective of the social and economic status of the sender and recipient. To foster growth for people, the concept of money needs to be inclusive and the barriers that stand in the way of their access to it must be eliminated.
People need to understand money. Everyone needs to understand money. This understanding will help them connect to the fundamentals of it and how it moves. While financial advisers exist, they are more accessible and available to the wealthy customer cluster. Financial insights need to transcend mere obligation to accessible, intuitive and human-centered services. This approach places focus on the growth of the user and ultimately creates value for all.
Money can be controlled. With understanding comes the ability to make the right financial decisions. If people are empowered with the right tools, they can build habits that enable them to take complete control of their financial life and future.
Every dealing with money should result in growth. Growth lies at the intersection of access, understanding and control. When financial services are built with humans at their core, they provide a firm foundation upon which people can build to unlock the potential of money as an enabler of growth.
Everyone can be better with money, and this is why we built Eyowo.
After years of experimenting and discovering the evolving needs of humans around the subject of money, vis-a-vis technology and the state of society; we have built a bank that is inclusive, enables control and unlocks human growth. We have succeeded at giving a new meaning to money and we are on a journey to helping people to build an improved and healthy relationship with it.
We envision a future where this new meaning of money will inspire players in the financial services industry to innovate and enable growth for all.
