Explained: How banks can lose $60 billion to cybercash highways

The Model 3 alternative may pose the biggest risk to the conventional money transfer business

The latest buzzword in the world of digital money is “Model 3”, a moniker for information highways on which funds will zip from one country to another. Banks ought to worry. Their cross-border transfers are both too slow and too expensive for retail customers. Competing against a superior road, lenders might lose traffic — and $60 billion in fees.

The monetary authorities of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa have come together with the Bank for International Settlements on Project Dunbar, which will explore the feasibility of a Model 3 expressway that can handle payments in multiple digital currencies.

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