Maurer, Bill. 2015. How Would You like to Pay? How Technology Is Changing the Future of Money. Durham ; London: Duke University Press.
Bill Maurer, "How Would You Like to Pay", contributed by James Adams, STS Infrastructures, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 2 August 2018, accessed 21 November 2024. https://stsinfrastructures.org/content/how-would-you-pay
Critical Commentary
Book Abstract: From Bitcoin to Apple Pay, big changes seem to be afoot in the world of money. Yet the use of coins and paper bills has persisted for 3,000 years. In How Would You Like to Pay?, leading anthropologist Bill Maurer narrates money's history, considers its role in everyday life, and discusses the implications of how new technologies are changing how we pay. These changes are especially important in the developing world, where people who lack access to banks are using cell phones in creative ways to send and save money. To truly understand money, Maurer explains, is to understand and appreciate the complex infrastructures and social relationships it relies on. Engaging and straightforward, How Would You Like to Pay? rethinks something so familiar and fundamental in new and exciting ways. Ultimately, considering how we would like to pay gives insights into determining how we would like to live.