“China is profoundly important, fintech is profoundly important, so how they come together will have much to do with how the global financial system plays out. The Cashless Revolution is a very valuable and important summary of the relevant issues.”
—Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University, and former secretary of the treasury
“A comprehensive, highly readable look at China’s cashless revolution: what went right, what went wrong, and how we can learn from China’s experience as we strive to modernize our own payments system.”
—Sheila Bair, former chair of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
“In this superb account, Chorzempa chronicles the breakneck speed in the development of the fintechs in China, starting from their humble origins as payment add-ons in e-commerce to all-seeing big techs that later incur the ire of the authorities, all within the space of ten years. Chorzempa’s sure grasp of the political economy provides much-needed context to understand current developments. The Cashless Revolution is a must-read for any serious observer of digital innovation and of China.”
—Hyun-Song Shin, Bank for International Settlements
“Chorzempa brings us an extraordinary look into the future of money and with it, the future of both global power and daily life. Having taught himself Mandarin and immersing in Chinese life, he tells the incredible story of the rise of China’s powerhouse fintechs—their reining in by the Chinese government, and the dilemmas now facing all the world in seeking to harness the leveling power of technology while protecting privacy and averting state power on a scale never seen before—enabled by financial technology. Equal parts business chronicle, social and political analysis, and storytelling, The Cashless Revolution is one of those rare books that opens readers’ eyes. The world will never look the same.”
—Jo Ann Barefoot, CEO and founder, Alliance for Innovative Regulation, and former deputy controller of the currency
“The Cashless Revolution is a fascinating analysis of how Chinese entrepreneurs, despite setbacks along the way, transformed Chinese finance from a low-tech backwater to the world’s largest and most-advanced market for digital finance.”
—Nicholas Lardy, author of The State Strikes Back
“China is at the forefront of digital financial innovation, from mobile payment to online investment, and from digital lending to central bank digital currency. While rapidly transforming the financial structure, Chinese fintech also created immense new challenges for the policymakers. The Cashless Revolution offers an authoritative analysis of this very dynamic new financial sector—what happened, which factors contributed to the dramas, and where it will likely head.”
—Yping Huang, Peking University
“[T]he book is an authoritative, comprehensive and thoughtful account of a remarkable episode in technology and finance that offers lessons for the United States as it seeks to encourage innovation in finance without putting consumer or financial stability at risk.”
—Washington Post
“Based on the author’s experience of living in China during the period when the country’s fintech industry underwent its most dramatic advances, The Cashless Revolution: China’s Reinvention of Money and the End of America’s Domination of Finance and Technology establishes Chorzempa as a leading light on the subject, whose views are bound to carry significant weight in financial capitals—deservedly so.”
—Centre for International Governance Innovation
“The days of hard cash may be numbered. Having invented paper money more than 1,000 years ago, China is now leading the charge into credit-card free online payments… Martin Chorzempa’s The Cashless Revolution engagingly describes this state of affairs and, along the way, presents a cautionary tale, since dozens of countries around the world are contemplating the launch of their own digital currencies.”
—Wall Street Journal