The Pay Off: How Changing the Way We Pay Changes Everything - Gottfried Leibbrandt and Natasha De Terán

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 ISBN:978-1-78396-606-6

Verdict: 👍👍👍

What got 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.” 


The statement spoke volumes and set the tone of the book which explores the current and future payment systems and the entry of digital enablers.

 

While reading this book, my highlighter was not spared especially as it provides several snippets of valuable information all wrapped below the trade-off between liquidity, risk and the convention which acts as theme through the book around payment systems.

 

My favourite section was chapter 14 - How to steal a billion: fraud and theft.

 

Below are some snippets from the book which I found valuable.

  • “But then money and cash are bot the same thing – and cash costs more than money” p33
  • Re Lazarus hack and Bank of Bangladesh – “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”
  • “Swift now connects more than 10,000 banks in every country except North Korea” p141
  • “People change their spouse more often than their bank” p159
  • Chapter 21 The new oil?  Importance of data “If it’s free, you are the product” p179
  • “All this takes time, meaning that Bitcoin is not a convenient way to pay for peak-time tube travel or grocery shopping” p193
  • “Liquidity and risk will continue to shape payments, especially higher-value ones” p272 
If you work in the finance industry or are interested in the understanding the payment industry, I would recommend this book. 
I enjoyed the read, my first of 2022 and a great choice. 

 

 

 

 

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