Index

• Aadhaar, 65, 95–97, 110–111, 135, 138, 202
• Acemoglu, Daron, 17
• Africa, 5, 38, 70, 120–121, 136, 175
• Agricultural Bank of China, 188
• agriculture, 17, 85–86, 104–105
• Alibaba, 31, 93, 115, 120–123
• Alipay, 120, 122, 137, 158, 163
• Amazon, 40, 45–46, 152, 162
• American International Group (AIG), 27–28
• Android Pay, 43, 161
• Ant Financial, 28, 31, 39, 45, 115
• anti–money laundering (AML), 172–173
• Apple, 25, 34, 44, 80, 150, 161, 163
• artificial intelligence, 7, 14, 19, 29, 36, 54, 59, 193–194
• Asian Development Bank, 88
• automation: of back-office functions, 68, 155, 193; impact on jobs, 15, 17, 19–21

• Bahamas: central bank digital currency, 184
• Baidu, 31
• bailouts, 27–28, 180
• BankAmericard, 144
• Banking, online, 33–34, 36
• banking sector, 2, 26, 34, 36, 91, 116
• banking system, 24, 27, 150, 174, 202; disintermediation of, 4, 190, 195
• Bank of Canada, 198
• Bank of England, 185, 187, 190, 198
• Bank of Japan, 186–187
• banks: lending habits of, 103, 118; regulation of, 150, 196
• Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), 79
• Bear Stearns, 26–27
• Betterment, 50, 54, 56
• birth certificates, 95, 135
• Bitcoin, 145, 195, 206; energy consumption of, 168–169
• blockchain, 30, 37, 46, 64, 73, 133; benefits of, 74, 76, 79–80, 132; data management, 193, 202, 205; global legal identification, 132; humanitarian aid, 133–134; smart contracts, 133
• Brazil, 109, 129
• bribery, 173, 203

• cashless society, 110, 142, 146, 184–185, 197
• cash vs. mobile payments, 159, 194
• cash vs. plastic cards, 156–157
• central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), 177, 180, 184–186, 189, 191, 195, 199, 206
• China: central bank digital currency of, 165, 188; consumer habits of, 31–32, 159, 167; and digital payments, 158; e-commerce giants, 31, 188; e-RMB, 165, 187–190; fintech investment of, 29; global influence of, 28, 31, 187; household savings rates, 91–92; online payment services, 8, 158, 187; privacy in, 159; rural population of, 120; state media of, 188
• Colombia, 90, 93–94
• commercial banks, 44, 117, 161, 190, 195
• corporations: historical rise of, 24; and taxation, 80
• corruption: impacts of, 130, 202
• Covid-19 pandemic, 162, 177, 187, 198–199, 206; acceleration of fintech trends, 8, 192, 197–198; and fintech adoption, 8, 186; and work from home, 206
• crowdfunding, 24, 39–41, 98, 140, 200
• cryptocurrencies, 3, 67, 155, 164; adoption rates, 165–169, 184; disruption of global economy, 173; and financial crime, 173; history of, 145; potential to bypass banks, 67, 195; regulation of, 172; tensions with governments, 173; as threat to banking system, 174, 195
• cybersecurity, 29–30, 74–75

• debit cards, 156, 161–162
• dematerialization, 68–69, 153, 156, 166, 202
• developing countries, 3, 5, 38, 86, 103, 111, 125, 204; barriers to fintech, 202–203; education, 87–88; fintech needs, 103, 111; growth of mobile services, 112; savings habits, 102; technological leapfrogging, 89; technological literacy, 94
• Diem, 145, 164, 168–169, 172–177; government response to, 173
• DigiCash, 145
• digital euro, 174, 181, 185
• digital wallets, 3, 9, 34, 74, 148, 157–158, 216; and humanitarian aid, 133; slow adoption in US, 157; and social welfare benefits, 110, 133
• digital yuan, 188
• Diners Club, 144
• distributed ledger technology (DLT), 132, 153, 177–184
• Dubai, 65, 71–72, 75
• Dutch banks, 35, 194

• eBay, 33, 80
• e-commerce, 33, 109, 114, 120, 162, 176, 203–204
• education, 15, 21, 50–51, 71, 81, 86; and economic growth, 50, 88, 126; and poor households, 87; and rural populations, 92, 98
• e-governance, 66
• Estonia, 7, 65–66, 74–75, 205, 207
• ETFs (exchange-traded funds), 53–54
• European Central Bank (ECB), 147, 174, 187
• European Central Bank Governing Council, 185
• European Union, 22, 32, 66, 78–80, 140

• Facebook, 145, 152, 173–176, 205
• Facebook Messenger, 175–176
• farmers, 25, 89, 101, 103, 120, 123
• Federal Reserve, 8, 13, 28, 185
• fiat currencies, 164, 172
• financial inclusion, 1, 6–7, 22, 39, 55, 88, 90–96, 98–101; and bank stability, 138; and economic growth, 105–107; and poverty, 117
• financial services, 1–2, 45–46, 131; access to, 3–4, 22, 88, 105, 202; in developed countries, 37; ecosystem of, 137, 204; in emerging markets, 7, 37, 88, 99, 103–104, 114, 137, 145; and fintech innovations, 4; and individual needs, 103, 107–108; online, 5, 33, 113, 192; regulation of, 44
• fintech: adoption rates, 112, 114; ecosystems, 38, 139, 202, 204; in emerging economies, 113; government-to-person applications, 134; and reducing corruption, 95, 110–111, 134–135, 189, 204; start-ups, 45, 141
• fintech revolution, 1, 5–6, 38, 52, 162, 164
• Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), 79, 202
• France, 16, 206

• Germany, 147, 160, 171
• Gini coefficients, 84–85
• globalization, 5, 81–82, 164
• gold, 143–144, 164
• Goldman Sachs, 26–27, 121
• Google, 25, 42, 44, 95, 160–163, 166
• Google Pay, 145, 154, 176
• Govcoin, 74
• Grameenphone, 37

• HelloPay, 124
• Hong Kong, 13, 112–113
• Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), 188
• households, low-income, 87, 89, 92–93, 97, 101, 104

• identity authentication, 64–65, 95–96, 132, 138
• India, 106, 112, 135; elimination of banknotes, 110, 147; fintech adoption rates, 112; income inequality, 84–85; low-caste populations, 104; mobile phone users, 112; pensions in, 135; poverty in, 83–84
• Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), 50, 61–62
• Indonesia, 39, 84, 88, 108–109, 112, 199; unbanked population of, 100
• Industrial Revolution, 16, 24–25, 192, 200
• inequality, 5, 11, 81, 85–86, 88, 90, 127, 129; and access to financial services, 3; and access to investment products, 4, 60, 62; caused by tax evasion, 79; in developed nations, 20; in emerging economies, 85; and fintech revolution, 5, 88, 90, 98, 200; of income, 50, 84–85, 88, 126; and millennials, 50; reduction efforts, 67, 97, 196; and technology, 81
• insurance companies, 1–2, 26, 30–31, 104, 201
• insurtech, 29–31
• interest rates, 14, 72, 179, 186
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 77, 144, 173
• internet access, 87, 98, 122, 185
• Internet of Things, 36, 46, 68, 71
• investment banks, 26–27
• Ireland, 206

• Japan, 185
• John Maynard Keynes, 16
• Jumia, 7, 99, 120–122

• Kenya, 100, 102, 116–117, 140, 203
• Kickstarter, 40–41, 200–201
• Know Your Customer (KYC), 97, 132, 173, 190

• Latin America, 82, 93, 144
• Lehman Brothers, 26–27, 186
• Libra, 145, 173–174
• Luxembourg, 66, 80
• Lyft, 50, 154

• Malaysia, 102, 106
• Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), 172
• Marx, Karl, 16
• Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), 21
• MasterCard, 144, 163, 169–170
• McKinsey Global Institute, 19
• mechanization, 17
• Mexico, 112, 114
• microenterprises, 123
• microfinance institutions, 97, 111
• millennials, 4, 10, 21–23, 48–49, 52, 148, 165; cultural traits of, 48; economic challenges of, 6, 10–13, 15, 49–51; financial habits of, 52; and fintech adoption, 53, 67, 148–150, 160, 165
• MobiKwik, 114–115
• money laundering, 43, 47, 73, 79, 144, 174–175, 189
• money supply, 73, 165, 174
• mortgages and financial crisis, 26–27, 196
• M-Pesa, 38, 112, 116–118, 140
• Myanmar, 88, 109
• MyBank, 95

• Nigeria, 106, 121

• old-age dependency ratio (OADR), 128

• Pakistan, 4, 108, 112
• Paycheck Protection Program, 55
• payments: and consumer preferences, 160, 167; contactless, 146, 157; cross-border, 153, 179, 184, 188; digital, 67, 109, 158, 161–162, 184, 194, 199, 203; mobile, 3, 38, 110, 145–146, 157–159, 194, 206; peer-to-peer, 155
• PayPal, 42, 160–163, 169, 206
• Paytm, 7, 39, 99, 114–116, 119, 137
• peer-to-peer platforms, 3–4, 25, 64, 66, 75
• pensions, 6, 12, 49, 125, 128; and elderly population, 128; in Europe, 12; and freelance workers, 49; and global population, 127; and rural and migrant workers, 129
• People’s Bank of China (PBoC), 137–138, 165, 187–188, 198
• Piketty, Thomas, 3
• poverty, 4–5, 7, 37, 67, 71, 82–84, 86; and financial inclusion, 90, 101, 117; global reduction of, 82–83
• poverty traps, 127–128
• privacy, 32, 37, 159, 167, 178–179, 187; cultural perspectives in China, 159; and data protection, 133; and Diem, 174; digital footprints, 140, 167, 187; and digital ledger technology, 180; versus convenience, 167–168
• productivity and technology, 17, 51, 88
• public services and fintech, 64–79

• QR codes, 116, 120, 138, 159, 176

• redistribution of wealth, 130, 203–204
• refugees, 134
• regulatory sandboxes, 140
• remittances, 110, 114–116, 205
• renminbi, 189–190
• robo-advisors, 7, 29, 44, 48–63, 108, 193, 201, 205
• rural populations, 92, 98, 104, 111, 120, 122
• Russia, 140

• Safaricom, 117, 203
• Samsung Pay, 145, 157
• Singapore, 71–72
• small businesses, 120; benefits from e-commerce, 120, 122, 159, 176; taxation of, 74, 76; underbanked, 4, 42
• smart contracts, 133
• social benefits, 12, 23, 68, 78, 95, 110
• South Africa, 69, 90–91, 112, 134
• Square, 161, 163
• stablecoins, 170, 172
• Stripe, 26, 39, 42–43, 161
• Sweden, 11–12, 65, 156, 177, 184, 199, 206
• Swift (international payment system), 30

• Taobao, 95, 122, 124, 158
• taxation, 66–67, 75, 78–79, 126, 202; and blockchain, 74
• tax evasion, 38, 67, 73, 78–80, 110, 146, 173, 189, 251n18
• Tencent, 31–32, 120, 163
• trade war of US and China, 146
• Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), 28

• Uber, 50, 115, 124
• Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), 97

• value added tax (VAT), 66, 206
• Venmo, 162
• Visa, 96, 144, 169

• Wagner’s law, 126–127
• Wealthfront, 54, 56
• wealth management companies, 49–50, 137
• WeChat, 32, 92, 136–138, 158, 176
• WeChat Pay, 120, 137, 158–159, 176, 190
• welfare state, 68, 126–127
• WhatsApp, 115, 163
• women: and financial exclusion, 4, 88, 92, 99–100, 103, 105, 112; and workforce, 17
• workers: freelance, 15–16, 49, 76, 200, 206; migrant, 105, 129
• World Bank, 87, 92
• World Economic Forum, 72
• World Food Programme, 134, 204
• World Wars, 13, 81–82, 144

• Zcash, 173