Written by Charles McManus, Co-Founder and Board Director, ClearBank, and Unicorn Council Co-Chair. The shift to digital money goes beyond mobile payments. It is about transforming outdated, intermediary-heavy financial systems into seamless, programmable and transparent networks. Digital money such as CBDCs, stablecoins and tokenised deposits offer 24/7 access, lower costs and greater financial inclusion. Innovators, institutions and regulators are driving adoption, but challenges such as regulation, interoperability and public trust remain. The future of money is inevitable (digital, efficient and democratised), whereby reshaping global finance for the modern age.