Has there been any country that's experienced real, honest to god hyperinflation (not just "high" inflation... I'm talking about Zimbabwe-scaled hyperinflation) where debit and credit cards were able to be used nearly everywhere, with pervasive internet access and realtime price information readily available to consumers?
Traditionally, the biggest real-world daily problem for people living in a country with hyperinflation hasn't been rising prices per se... it's been the need to spend substantial amounts of time every day babysitting their money. Depositing every cent they don't need right this instant so it can compound along with inflation. Withdrawing suitcases and wheelbarrows full of money to go shopping. Lines at the bank and panic-buying.
On the other hand, if your free cash were in a checking account paying 4,100% APR to counteract the ~4,000% annual rate of inflation, and you were able to pay everything from parking meters to mortgage payments via debit card or electronic funds transfer (with nearly-instantaneous funds clearing... something that's been technologically possible for years), it would represent a MAJOR shift from traditional hyperinflation. Your biggest problem would be less a matter of logistics than just trying to keep prices straight.
Hyperinflation could also present lots of interesting new business opportunities. If gas prices were increasing by dollars per day (along with everything else), how much would you pay (in current dollars, of course) for a program that takes advantage of your PDA phone's internet and GPS, to query the prices of gas at nearby stations and use their observed rate of price increases to figure out which one is the most cost-effective to visit, taking drive time into account?
By the same token, what impact would the availability of applications like that have on the hyperinflation itself? In the past, one thing that fueled ongoing inflation was the perception that everyone else was increasing prices, too. If you (as a business owner) literally knew from second to second how prices up your entire supply chain affected your costs, you knew how much your competitors charged, and (most importantly) your CUSTOMERS knew how much your competitors charged, too... well... that changes the rules quite a bit.
For the first time in history, we might get to see what happens in economic conditions that would traditionally spark hyperinflation, but with consumers armed with the kind of realtime pricing information that has never before existed to exert downward pressure even as costs increase.
Among other things, businesses like Amazon.com (if they can keep their shipping costs under control, possibly by merging with someone like FedEx or UPS) would be in a SPECTACULARLY good position to profit from hyperinflation, because consumers could directly compare prices in stores to online retailers, and instantly lock in their prices upon payment.
Food for thought
Traditionally, the biggest real-world daily problem for people living in a country with hyperinflation hasn't been rising prices per se... it's been the need to spend substantial amounts of time every day babysitting their money. Depositing every cent they don't need right this instant so it can compound along with inflation. Withdrawing suitcases and wheelbarrows full of money to go shopping. Lines at the bank and panic-buying.
On the other hand, if your free cash were in a checking account paying 4,100% APR to counteract the ~4,000% annual rate of inflation, and you were able to pay everything from parking meters to mortgage payments via debit card or electronic funds transfer (with nearly-instantaneous funds clearing... something that's been technologically possible for years), it would represent a MAJOR shift from traditional hyperinflation. Your biggest problem would be less a matter of logistics than just trying to keep prices straight.
Hyperinflation could also present lots of interesting new business opportunities. If gas prices were increasing by dollars per day (along with everything else), how much would you pay (in current dollars, of course) for a program that takes advantage of your PDA phone's internet and GPS, to query the prices of gas at nearby stations and use their observed rate of price increases to figure out which one is the most cost-effective to visit, taking drive time into account?
By the same token, what impact would the availability of applications like that have on the hyperinflation itself? In the past, one thing that fueled ongoing inflation was the perception that everyone else was increasing prices, too. If you (as a business owner) literally knew from second to second how prices up your entire supply chain affected your costs, you knew how much your competitors charged, and (most importantly) your CUSTOMERS knew how much your competitors charged, too... well... that changes the rules quite a bit.
For the first time in history, we might get to see what happens in economic conditions that would traditionally spark hyperinflation, but with consumers armed with the kind of realtime pricing information that has never before existed to exert downward pressure even as costs increase.
Among other things, businesses like Amazon.com (if they can keep their shipping costs under control, possibly by merging with someone like FedEx or UPS) would be in a SPECTACULARLY good position to profit from hyperinflation, because consumers could directly compare prices in stores to online retailers, and instantly lock in their prices upon payment.
Food for thought
