{"id":6503,"date":"2021-06-30T08:48:14","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T08:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmoneyreview.com\/?p=6503"},"modified":"2021-08-02T10:01:20","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T10:01:20","slug":"pay-attention-to-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmoneyreview.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/30\/pay-attention-to-payments\/","title":{"rendered":"Pay attention to payments"},"content":{"rendered":"

We should all pay attention to what\u2019s going on in payments, because changes in the technology of money transfers are going to affect all our lives.<\/p>\n

In the latest New Money Review<\/em> podcast<\/a>, Gottfried Leibbrandt and Natasha de Teran discuss their new book, \u2018the Pay Off\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Leibbrandt is the former chief executive of SWIFT, the messaging network that supports trillions of dollars a day in global money transfers. De Teran is SWIFT\u2019s former head of communications.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gottfried Leibbrandt<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Natasha de Teran<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to keep up with what\u2019s going on in payments. Technology is dismantling payment barriers while governments are erecting them.<\/p>\n

Cash is on the way out and cryptocurrency and BigTech are fighting their way in. The Europeans are heavily regulated, the Americans are still hooked on paper cheques and the Chinese are leading the way in new payments technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be very hard-pressed to make any predictions\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Changing the way we pay changes everything, say Leibbrandt and de Teran, because it touches so many aspects of what we do.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technology, the plumbing [of payments] is changing faster than ever before. I\u2019ve been in the industry for thirty years and I can say it\u2019s never changed as fast as it does right now,\u201d Leibbrandt says in the podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would also be very hard-pressed to make any predictions on where things will be five years from now,\u201d he goes on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s this incredibly important part of our lives that we never stop to think about,\u201d says de Teran.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t really discussed outside the world of payment nerds. But the payments system is as important, if not more important than the rail and transport systems or the electricity grid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe changes in payments will change things like who\u2019s in charge, where your data is kept, what purchases you can make and how credit is extended,\u201d Leibbrandt says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a mind-boggling pace of change\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something the average citizen should know about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the changes in payments tech lie seismic shifts in global economic power, say the co-authors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve gone from one third of the global population having access to financial services to two thirds in just seven or eight years,\u201d says Leibbrandt.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that is thanks to the penetration of mobile technology. It\u2019s a mind-boggling pace of change.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, payments innovation raises serious concerns about cybercrime, financial inclusion and consumer protection, says de Teran.<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast<\/a> to hear Leibbrandt and de Teran talk about:<\/p>\n