Financial Times, Best Books of 2022: Economics The startling picture of how China’s revolution in finance and technology is changing both Wall Street and the way individuals manage their personal finances. The future of finance – the way Wall Street operates and how individuals manage their money - is on the verge of upheaval. And the force underlying the change comes from China, where finance and technology are being merged into a system with consequences that resonate far beyond China’s border. The changes of this global revolution in finance and technology - fintech - will be as powerful as those wrought in social media, retailing and advertising by giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Twitter, which have overturned how we shop and communicate. China reinvented money with lightning speed, transforming a backward, antiquated cash-based finance system into one centered on super-apps created by technology giants Alibaba and Tencent. More powerful than anything available outside of China, they allow their billion users to pay, borrow, invest, buy goods and services, travel, chat (and far more) all fused together in one mobile phone application. Think Facebook, Google, Twitter, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, J.P. Morgan Chase all rolled into one app. We in the West need to understand China’s cashless revolution for reasons ranging from the macroeconomic to issues of personal liberty: The cutting edge of finance is now in China, forcing major financial firms in the United States and the West to figure out how not to be left behind.. China’s cashless revolution is also a harbinger of our future if we let the genie out of the bottle and allow big tech to become big finance. As money goes digital and central banks around the world consider launching digital currencies, we may have both immense convenience and a frightening concentration of power that could violate our privacy, stifle competition, increase financial risk, and give big firms or the government more control over our financial lives. And, once this genie is out of the bottle, the struggle to put it back in may be impossible.

Financial Times, Best Books of 2022: Economics The startling picture of how China’s revolution in finance and technology is changing both Wall Street and the way individuals manage their personal finances. The future of finance – the way Wall Street operates and how individuals manage their money - is on the verge of upheaval. And the force underlying the change comes from China, where finance and technology are being merged into a system with consequences that resonate far beyond China’s border. The changes of this global revolution in finance and technology - fintech - will be as powerful as those wrought in social media, retailing and advertising by giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Twitter, which have overturned how we shop and communicate. China reinvented money with lightning speed, transforming a backward, antiquated cash-based finance system into one centered on super-apps created by technology giants Alibaba and Tencent. More powerful than anything available outside of China, they allow their billion users to pay, borrow, invest, buy goods and services, travel, chat (and far more) all fused together in one mobile phone application. Think Facebook, Google, Twitter, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, J.P. Morgan Chase all rolled into one app. We in the West need to understand China’s cashless revolution for reasons ranging from the macroeconomic to issues of personal liberty: The cutting edge of finance is now in China, forcing major financial firms in the United States and the West to figure out how not to be left behind.. China’s cashless revolution is also a harbinger of our future if we let the genie out of the bottle and allow big tech to become big finance. As money goes digital and central banks around the world consider launching digital currencies, we may have both immense convenience and a frightening concentration of power that could violate our privacy, stifle competition, increase financial risk, and give big firms or the government more control over our financial lives. And, once this genie is out of the bottle, the struggle to put it back in may be impossible.

Cashless dives into the design and use of China's new central bank digital currency.

A cutting-edge look at how accelerating financial change, from the end of cash to the rise of cryptocurrencies, will transform economies for better and worse. We think weÕve seen financial innovation. We bank from laptops and buy coffee with the wave of a phone. But these are minor miracles compared with the dizzying experiments now underway around the globe, as businesses and governments alike embrace the possibilities of new financial technologies. As Eswar Prasad explains, the world of finance is at the threshold of major disruption that will affect corporations, bankers, states, and indeed all of us. The transformation of money will fundamentally rewrite how ordinary people live. Above all, Prasad foresees the end of physical cash. The driving force wonÕt be phones or credit cards but rather central banks, spurred by the emergence of cryptocurrencies to develop their own, more stable digital currencies. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies themselves will evolve unpredictably as global corporations like Facebook and Amazon join the game. The changes will be accompanied by snowballing innovations that are reshaping finance and have already begun to revolutionize how we invest, trade, insure, and manage risk. Prasad shows how these and other changes will redefine the very concept of money, unbundling its traditional functions as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value. The promise lies in greater efficiency and flexibility, increased sensitivity to the needs of diverse consumers, and improved market access for the unbanked. The risk is instability, lack of accountability, and erosion of privacy. A lucid, visionary work, The Future of Money shows how to maximize the best and guard against the worst of what is to come.

For ages, money has meant little metal disks and rectangular slips of paper. Yet the usefulness of physical money -- to say nothing of its value -- is coming under fire as never before. Intrigued by the distinct possibility that cash will soon disappear, author and Wired contributing editor David Wolman sets out to investigate the future of money...and how it will affect your wallet. Wolman begins his journey by deciding to shun cash for an entire year -- a surprisingly successful experiment (with a couple of notable exceptions). He then ventures forth to find people and technologies that illuminate the road ahead. In Honolulu, he drinks Mai Tais with Bernard von NotHaus, a convicted counterfeiter and alternative-currency evangelist whom government prosecutors have labeled a domestic terrorist. In Tokyo, he sneaks a peek at the latest anti-counterfeiting wizardry, while puzzling over the fact that banknote forgers depend on society's addiction to cash. In a downtrodden Oregon town, he mingles with obsessive coin collectors -- the people who are supposed to love cash the most, yet don't. And in rural Georgia, he examines why some people feel the end of cash is Armageddon's warm-up act. After stops at the Digital Money Forum in London and Iceland's central bank, Wolman flies to Delhi, where he sees first-hand how cash penalizes the poor more than anyone--and how mobile technologies promise to change that. Told with verve and wit, The End of Money explores an aspect of our daily lives so fundamental that we rarely stop to think about it. You'll never look at a dollar bill the same again.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 In the early 1990s, when I was working in Beijing, I saw how the internet was the future of finance. A billion Chinese people now have an abundant choice of investments, loans, payments, and a host of conveniences, some of which surpass what is available in the United States. #2 Chinese tech companies Tencent and Alibaba were able to overcome the payment issue by building their own systems, which they then integrated into their platforms to offer a full range of services. #3 China’s fintech industry was a product of political support, which allowed tech companies to break through the moat surrounding state-owned banks and disrupt them. #4 Chinese tech companies Tencent and Alibaba were able to overcome the payment issue by building their own systems, which they then integrated into their platforms to offer a full range of services.

This book examines the nature of retail financial transaction infrastructures. Contributions assume a long-term outlook in their exploration of the key financial processes and systems that support a global transition to a cashless economy. The volume offers both modern and historic accounts that demonstrate the constantly changing role of payment instruments. It brings together different theoretical approaches to the study, re-examining and forecasting changes in retail payment systems. Chapters explore a global transition to a cashless society and contemplate future alternatives to cash, cheques and plastic, featuring the perspectives of academics from different disciplines in conversation and industry participants from six continents. Readers are invited to discover the innovation in payment systems and how it co-evolves with changes in society and organisations through personal, corporate and governmental processes.

Kathy Caprino guides women to take the reins in their careers by identifying and overcoming the seven most damaging power gaps holding them back from the success they want and deserve. The business world has been forever changed by the important progress and contributions that women have made. Yet, with only 38% of manager roles and 22% of C-suite positions being held by women, women continue to struggle to achieve the reward, respect, and authority they have earned. In these pages, career, executive and leadership coach Kathy Caprino helps women conquer the seven destructive power gaps within the workforce, outline the key steps you can take to access greater positive power, and become the true author of your life. Through riveting real-life success stories of women overcoming these gaps, and proven strategies and solutions from more than 30 of the nation’s top experts in fields that are essential to women’s success, the exercises in The Most Powerful You will equip you with the strength to: See yourself more powerfully (Brave Sight) Speak more confidently (Brave Speak) Ask for and receive what you deserve (Brave Ask) Connect to your advantage with influential support (Brave Connection) Challenge and change negative behavior toward you (Brave Challenge) Be of service in more meaningful ways (Brave Service) Heal from past trauma and challenge (Brave Healing) Most importantly, The Most Powerful You will reconnect you to the thrilling dreams you once had for your life and empower you to take the necessary steps to reclaim that dream while making your positive impact in the world.

The Last Digital Frontier: The History and Future of Science and Technology in Africa. This book tells a long overdue and timeless story of the rise of mankind in Africa, uncovers inventions and innovations across the continent throughout time, and paints a forecast of its digital revolution in the 21st century and beyond.The book provides a compelling historic and forward-looking exploration of “the last digital frontier” of access and inclusion, Africa, and its potential to lead, host, and create the innovation breakthroughs of the future. Pre-order now: www.brianasingia.com About the Author: Brian ASINGIA “Technology is a tool for progress towards a better society.” - ASINGIA, @brianasingia ASINGIA, CEO DreamGalaxy Platform and DreamAfrica Consulting, has over 10 years involvement in the intersection of economy, business development, environment, technology and the arts, with a focus on Africa. He began his career at Wall Street’s The New York Stock Exchange where he started as a Business Analyst in Enterprise Architecture’s CORE Technology group and left as an Associate in the Product Management group. Through his work with startups and consulting, he has engaged governments, diplomats, educational institutions, and programs like Creative Lab Paris, Traction Camp by the World Bank, TED Residency by TED, and Entrepreneurs for Impact MBA by ALTIS, Milan (Tangaza University Business Model Winner 2016). He has spoken at or attended trainings and conferences such as African Billionaire Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur Network (TEF), Africa Trade and Investment Summit (ATIGS), Concordia, Ivy Business Schools, and alma mater networks including: Lafayette College, International House NYC (as a Shelby Davis Scholar) and the United World College (UWC) alumni community. ASINGIA believes Africans must seize this moment to capture and document the truth of their past, so as to learn and grow from it. He publishes The Last Digital Frontier and writes books and scripts for film and tv. Join him at www.brianasingia.com @brianasingia #AskAsingia

China’s new retail revolution will completely transform how the world thinks about retail and digital innovation. But is the world ready yet? In this book, the authors share an insider’s perspective on what is happening in China to reveal the future for global retail, and a clear framework to help you prepare. The book presents a number of real-world cases, based on interviews and first-hand consumer experience, to decode China’s retail revolution so that you can understand what is happening and why, and what it means for the rest of the world. Crucially, the book identifies five critical stages in the development of new retail that global retail executives need to grasp now: lifestyle commerce, Online-Merge-Offline retail, social retail, livestream retail and invisible retail. To help the industry get ready for this new, China-inspired paradigm in retail, the authors present a practical and simple framework – a ten-year strategic roadmap for global retail executives, which we call the “Beyond” the Value Chain Model. China’s new retail is not just about fashion, cosmetics, snacks, data-driven convenient stores and commercial live streaming. At a time when the world of retail is being upended, it offers inspirational lessons in innovation, purpose and agility for global executives across the entire retail spectrum.