The Immediate Future of Intermediation Will it Die? Should it Die?
The world we live in is a complex entity. In order to govern ourselves better, we have inadvertently created systems and institutions that have gradually amassed so much power that now we are being spoon-fed by them. These institutions are the “intermediaries” that keep us away from what is rightfully ours. Whether it be our money, our right to educate ourselves or our right to the resources of our planet, intermediaries of various kinds create hurdles in accessing them. Banks, other financial and non-financial institutions, business brokers, sales representatives and distributors are all various kinds of intermediaries.
It is high time that we gradually negate the influence of these intermediaries that have come to play a major part in our lives through the years. Today, we have the backing of technology at our disposal to create systems that are open and provide direct access to resources that we are eligible for. The blockchain technology does exactly that.
The primary reasons why intermediation will stop in the foreseeable future are manifold. Let’s discuss a few of them here.
1.High fees for services
This is an obvious reason most of us do not like intermediation. Whether it is a bank or any other non-financial intermediary, they are in the business to make profits, and these profits are made from the hard-earned money of people like you and me. For any and all kinds of service, they charge fees, sometimes exorbitant. We have no other choice but to pay these fees in order to avail of the services in the absence of any credible alternative route.
2. Opposing goals
Many a times, the intermediary does not work in sync with the aspirations of the customers and only worry about their “cut” or fees. For example, your long term aim could be to build a solid net worth from judicious investments. However, your broker, even though he is required to honestly guide you towards your goal, may only wish to earn his fees and commissions that may eventually erode your net worth.
3. Does not provide free and open access
Intermediaries, like education institutes, have sort of monopolized education and high quality higher education still remains the privilege of a chosen few. It is well known that education is the key to freedom and the world can only be truly free and prosperous with education. And yet, there is no open access to education for the majority of people around the world. Financial institutions levy limits on the amount of money you can transact and do not provide free, all-round access to your own money.
4. The original service provider never knows the end user
A manufacturer cannot truly comprehend the needs and feedback of a customer because of the chain of intermediaries between him and the customer. He has to rely on feedback from this chain to make tweaks in his products and services that can eventually make or break his business.
5. Losing control
Once you have created a product, you effectively lose control over how it will be finally delivered to the customer or end user.
As mentioned earlier, the revolutionary blockchain technology provides us with a safe, secure and robust system that does away with intermediaries as we see them. Digital crypto wallets are negating (or drastically limiting) the role of financial institutions, blockchain-powered educational systems are both rewarding content creators and opening up access to high quality learning material for anyone anywhere in the world. These are but a few examples of how blockchain technology can make intermediaries disappear.
Gaus.trade — Disrupting the automobile sector
The revolutionary blockchain technology has far-reaching influence over all aspects of human endeavor. It can create a trustless and borderless decentralized system that does away with the need for intermediation. Gaus Trade is a unique blockchain-powered platform that aims to do away with intermediaries in the automobile sector. They wish to create a system wherein the customer will have the ability to buy the automobile of his or her choice directly from the manufacturer at a massive discount of 20–30%.
The platform aims to do away with the large number of intermediaries that results in overpricing of vehicles and can also create a safe and secure payment system where money flows directly from customer to manufacturer without any misappropriation or loss. The entire platform will work through the Gaus token that will make the entire process of buying an automobile safe and transparent.
Parting thoughts
Third parties have vested interests and do not help the “’twain meet.” Doing way with intermediaries can help save massive amounts of time and money and bring the producer/manufacturer/creator closer to the end user. This will create transparency and a fruitful feedback mechanism leading to betterment of services and savings in time and resources. It is high time that intermediaries vanish from our system.
