The Pay Off: How Changing the Way We Pay Changes Everything

A great read that teaches you global economics in a simple language.

What struck my attention when I was scanning this book, before diving into it, was a statement on page 13 “Cash aside, all payments today are therefore digital debt entries recorded in a ledger system that was invented centuries ago; an antique practice made modern by dancing bits and bytes that animate digital ledgers deep within computer systems.” This statement spoke volumes and set the tone of the book which explores the past, current and future payment systems/mechanism with the new digital enablers on the horizon.The book provides several great snippets of valuable information for me chapter 14 ‘How to steal a billion: fraud and theft” was a nice read - where, regarding the Lazarus hack and Bank of Bangladesh, we read – “It sent a job enquiry emails, attached to which were CVs containing malware. This gave it a foothold into the bank’s systems from which to have a good dig around” was a snippet I enjoyed reading about.

To me it satisfies the criteria to deserve to be the next FT Business Book of the Year: compelling and enjoyable insights into an activity that merits more attention by the general public.

Insightful look into the world of payments, that was made enjoyable by good anecdotes and engaging story-telling.

FinTech is the current hot topic. And within FinTech what attracts most investment currently is 'payments or digital money'. I am surprised hardly any good books available to explain the working / history of payment industry. Authors have done an excellent job providing historical context, detailing the current landscape and a peak into the future of payments.