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The Cashless Revolution: China's Reinvention of Money and the End of America's Domination of Finance and Technology
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 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.
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 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.
1 pages, Audio CD
Published October 4, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 21, 2022
I wanted to pick up this book because two of my professors had visited China while I was doing my master's program. One, Mark Esposito, was talking about how embarrassing it was for him to take out physical cash and try to pay with it. Arn Howitt was another professor who does research on disasters in China, and using physical cash is a faux pas.
I was worried about personal liberty being curtailed like it is in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and there's not a ton of focus on what happens when people are pushed out of the banking system entirely as Offred is in the book. I still think that it is very well researched, and I am interested in reading what the author has to say in the future. I received a review copy from NetGalley and have left my opinion.
I was worried about personal liberty being curtailed like it is in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and there's not a ton of focus on what happens when people are pushed out of the banking system entirely as Offred is in the book. I still think that it is very well researched, and I am interested in reading what the author has to say in the future. I received a review copy from NetGalley and have left my opinion.
January 27, 2023
One of the best books on understanding China’s modern day payments ecosystem. Highly recommend.
July 14, 2023
Wow. In The Cashless Revolution, Chorzempa chronicles the rise (and subsequent aggressive regulation of) of Tencent and Alibaba’s prominence in fintech, with analysis, future predictions and recommendations for the US and other countries as they develop their own systems. As it’s primarily economic in scope, the information can be a bit dry (for anybody other than die-hard economics junkies); still, the narrative flow of China’s recent history of fintech development is just right for a wider audience. Chorzempa’s approach is comprehensive, each chapter underscoring a marker relating to past challenges and future risks. I learned a ton. So will you.
Important quotes:
• “The story of fintech in China is crucially important to understanding the future of finance and technology.”
• “…in some respects China’s data-protection regime sets a higher bar than even the famously strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)”
• “The US public should demand from our government and our companies that we shake off our complacency and continue to earn our reputation for innovation in technology in finance, striving to improve our financial system…”
4 stars. An extremely important book, chock full of policy suggestions and guidance on making sense of the future of fintech. Required reading.
Important quotes:
• “The story of fintech in China is crucially important to understanding the future of finance and technology.”
• “…in some respects China’s data-protection regime sets a higher bar than even the famously strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)”
• “The US public should demand from our government and our companies that we shake off our complacency and continue to earn our reputation for innovation in technology in finance, striving to improve our financial system…”
4 stars. An extremely important book, chock full of policy suggestions and guidance on making sense of the future of fintech. Required reading.
January 31, 2024
this book is written more like an academic Noval compared to an easy to read book like robert kiwaysaki. Was still very interesting about WeChat, Tennent, Alibbaba, Ali pay, ant, jack ma and pony ma. Biggest takeaway government involvement in investing yahoo invested a ton of money in Alipay so it could beat PayPal early days 2011-2013 then government didn’t like foreign investment in the financial system so Alipay separated from Alibaba and they got rid of the middle man They were investing through so yahoo essentially had nothing. Easy payments future is needs to get cheaper easier payments. China regulating its own biggest company and denying biggest ipo of all time regulations also wiped a trillion dollars of total China tech market. Social credit only based on bad loans super apps can limit access shutting people’s access off to modern life. - same thing can happen if u get banned from social media because fintech is on the same platform as your social media so if your banned from one your banned from both. Book stresses power that comes from convince with super apps when everything is built in including mini apps like restraunt menus, social media, ride share, trains and shopping.
May 4, 2023
A detailed, well-documented history of fintech in China. The author writes clearly, making this quite readable despite what could be dry content. This is a good window into the Chinese approach to economic regulation, and also gives a clear example of how path dependence is such a critical factor determining societal change. I don't know that the book made quite the bold claim its subtitle suggests; it was more measured, and responsibly so. But there are no concrete recommendations about the way forward. Perhaps that wasn't the goal but it left me wondering, "So what do we do?" Unfortunately, there aren't many answers being offered in the public discourse right now.
The last two pages have a compelling if not chilling example of how super-apps could ruin people's lives. I think that example highlights their risks to society, more than anything else in the book. That could be a starting point for thinking about how big is "too big."
The last two pages have a compelling if not chilling example of how super-apps could ruin people's lives. I think that example highlights their risks to society, more than anything else in the book. That could be a starting point for thinking about how big is "too big."
June 2, 2025
Book in a sentence: the 20-year history of how China revolutionized its finance infrastructure from cash to digital, and all the fintech that came with it.
Key Lesson Learned: first payments became digital, then a lot of finance services are available.
Key Lesson Learned: first payments became digital, then a lot of finance services are available.
February 25, 2023
Really interesting insights into a very different economic phenomenon.
March 19, 2023
Very good analysis of Chinas FinTech evolution. Very up to date.
February 17, 2024
Absolutely fascinating peek into China’s mindbogglingly rapid fintech revolution. Thorough and full of substance.
November 14, 2024
informative
July 20, 2025
Interesting
December 23, 2025
This reads more like an academic survey if the digital payments situation in China. Still, it is an excellent read.
August 7, 2023
When I lived in China, I basically went cashless. WeChat could do anything and everything for me. I was absolutely willing to exchange privacy- my data - for safety, convenience, and efficiency (loc 2819). So I was intrigued by this title.
The book traced how China so adeptly adapted foreign technologies to fit their needs. Initially, Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat had strong government backing in their efforts to provide user-friendly financial tools for the ready-to-launch Chinese public. Charismatic Jack Ma built an empire. And then with the innovation of 2014 electronic new year red envelopes, WeChat surged ahead.
I wasn’t as knowledgeable about ( or interested in) the Chinese fintech’s ventures into peer to peer loans. The process was unregulated and soon fell into an abyss of corruption. Alas. But this was emblematic of how fintech could so easily go off the rails. It was “issues of privacy, data protection, and market distortions “ (loc 3203) that have set the alarm bells ringing.
I dropped off Facebook with the Cambridge Analytica scandal (and we worry about Chinese data access?? Look what kind of US President Cambridge Analytica gave us!), but they have been desperately trying to tag onto the fintech train. Their attempt at setting up a virtual currency called Libra failed, but somebody’s going to do it soon!
I liked how the author was able to distill a positive take from the mire. “Innovation can thrive, even in technological laggards, through cross-pollination that adapts existing technologies and ideas” (loc 3593).
The book traced how China so adeptly adapted foreign technologies to fit their needs. Initially, Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat had strong government backing in their efforts to provide user-friendly financial tools for the ready-to-launch Chinese public. Charismatic Jack Ma built an empire. And then with the innovation of 2014 electronic new year red envelopes, WeChat surged ahead.
I wasn’t as knowledgeable about ( or interested in) the Chinese fintech’s ventures into peer to peer loans. The process was unregulated and soon fell into an abyss of corruption. Alas. But this was emblematic of how fintech could so easily go off the rails. It was “issues of privacy, data protection, and market distortions “ (loc 3203) that have set the alarm bells ringing.
I dropped off Facebook with the Cambridge Analytica scandal (and we worry about Chinese data access?? Look what kind of US President Cambridge Analytica gave us!), but they have been desperately trying to tag onto the fintech train. Their attempt at setting up a virtual currency called Libra failed, but somebody’s going to do it soon!
I liked how the author was able to distill a positive take from the mire. “Innovation can thrive, even in technological laggards, through cross-pollination that adapts existing technologies and ideas” (loc 3593).
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews