How Would You Like to Pay?

"In the end, How Would You Like to Pay? is of interest less for what it says about the future (the author makes no predictions -- which, given the Isis debacle, seems prudent) than for how it encourages the reader to pay attention to nuances of the present. It's a primer of the anthropological imagination -- and a reminder that money is too important a matter to leave to the economists." -- Scott McLemee * Inside Higher Ed * "This little book is the exact size it needed to be to explore the array of new payment methods, currencies and other money technology innovations that have erupted over the past decade, alongside with more accessible and cheaper smartphone, tablet and other communications and computing technologies.... Entering electronic money contracts without understanding the problems and solutions they represent is risky both for the isolated farmer in Kenya and for a Silicon Valley executive, so both would benefit from this book." -- Anna Faktorovich * Pennsylvania Literary Journal * "As an anthropologist, Bill Maurer has spent the past two decades researching the cultural and social dynamics of money. In his latest book, he manages to condense his life's research into one gripping, bite-sized read that is accessible to a diverse range of readers from the artist and software programmer to the financial regulator or economist." -- Scott Burns * The Independent Review * "Maurer's latest book is a . . . highly accessible introduction to the complex topic of payment systems. Written in an engagingly informal style accompanied by eye-catching photographs, it is an excellent teaching resource that will surely become a standard feature of reading lists in undergraduate courses in economic anthropology and the anthropology of finance and money." -- John Cox * Anthropological Forum * "Maurer's volume is beautifully produced and pocket-sized, with lots of sharp illustrations in full colour and generous spacing.... Maurer's book is for anyone interested in the future of money. That is a lot of people. It aims to surprise readers by approaching money in ways that are at once counter-intuitive and familiar." -- Keith Hart * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute * "Bill Maurer's short, pocket-sized, succinct, lively, and sharply clear book on a vast and varied topic-the history and practice of monetary payments, worldwide-works like a skillfully cut gemstone. Keep turning, keep noticing new facets of the complexly brilliant entity that is money, as perceived and crafted for accessible view by an expert in reaching a wide and varied audience." -- Jane I. Guyer * Journal of Anthropological Research *

Bill Maurer is Dean of the School of Social Sciences; Professor of Anthropology, Law and Criminology, Law and Society; and the Director of the Institute for Money, Technology, and Financial Inclusion at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of Pious Property: Islamic Mortgages in the United States and Mutual Life, Limited: Islamic Banking, Alternative Currencies, Lateral Reason.

Acknowledgments vii Introduction. Who This Book Is For 1 1. Disruptions in Money 17 2. What Is Money? 37 3. Two Scenarios: A Day in the Money Life 51 4. The Evolution of Money 63 5. Use Cases for Money 79 6. What's in Your Wallet? 95 7. What Can You Do with a Mobile Phone? 107 8. Airtime 119 9. Monetary Repertoires 129 For Further Reading 145 Index 153