This is a book about payments, and how they are evolving, from centralised to decentralised and everything in between, and the new opportunities they present.
In the world of payments, we are experiencing an inexorable move towards decentralisation, standardisation, and automation. New business models have emerged, existing ones have evolved, and some have disappeared, whilst regulation struggles to keep pace. As the puzzle becomes more complex, each player not only needs to understand where they fit in, but how they can remain relevant in a fast-evolving and extremely competitive industry. This book takes the reader through the fundamentals of the various decentralised payment ecosystems. From blockchain to smart contracts and DeFi, jargon is debunked, and myths are busted. For each concept, a simple framework is used, enabling comparison: mechanics, economics, risks, and the future outlook. It gives the reader a unique classification framework of virtual assets and explains the regulatory landscape. Drawing on real-life examples, the book weaves together the underpinning principles, legislation, and key stakeholders.
As a follow up to Understanding Payments, it is a must-have reference book for the evolution of payments. It provides practical applications, offers insights into the key disciplines, and equips anyone in the payments industry with an understanding of the key issues and opportunities.
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"She's done it again! Like her seminal first book, Understanding Payments - A Whistle Stop Tour into What You Thought You Knew, Neira Jones' "Beyond Payments" provides a comprehensive manual on the complicated and often mysterious domain of decentralised payments. Neira takes us on a wild ride through the ins and outs of this ever-evolving world and she does so in a fun, thoughtful and imminently approachable manner. For fans of her first book, you'll be happy to know that Neira's delightful characters John and Suzie make a return, as do her tremendously helpful figures and tables!" Tiffany Anzai Hill, Director & Senior Commercial Counsel, APAC & MEA, Nium
"The world of payments is changing and changing fast. Can you keep up? Some are asking what's happening and others what's happened. Neira and I, and some others, ask: what's happening next? This book gives you some clues to the answers. Read it and learn." Chris Skinner, CEO, TheFinanser.com
"I came away enlightened, informed and intrigued. Enlightened, because the clouds lifted from a previously misunderstood topic. Informed, because I can now understand the origins of these new models, technologies and mechanisms and appreciate where they fit in. And intrigued, because despite the authoritative explanations, I believe we still don't know for sure where these innovations will take us - but I have a much better idea than most." Tony Craddock, Director General, The Payments Association
"It's payments Jim but not as we know it !" Having nailed the world of bank and card payments in her last book, Neira has done it again in "Beyond Payments" - taking the fast evolving and ever more complex world of digital payments and decentralised finance, and again breaking it down into the fundamentals of how things work, who makes things work and why. She assesses and summarises the challenges involved, illustrating the flow and providing real life examples, and always in her very readable, fun style. Like many of us Neira has a passion for "payments" and her genuine interest and enthusiasm shines through. If Understanding Payments was a must read for anyone wanting to understand our current payments world, then Beyond Payments is an essential for anyone wanting to understand the future world of payments." Jeremy Nicholds, Managing Director, Judo
"Neira Jones has done it again. Her first book on payments laid out the fundamentals and the complexity of payments. In Beyond Payments she elucidates how blockchain technology and digital and virtual assets might change the way we and those institutions that make money - central banks - understand representations of monetary value and payments. A must read if you want to understand evolving field of blockchain technology, who runs it, and how assets can be exchanged and traded using this technology." Stanley Skoglund, Partner, Minerva Partnership Consultancy
"Beyond Payments is a must-read for anyone involved in the payments industry. As a brilliant continuation of Understanding Payments, Neira masterfully simplifies a complex and evolving field, making it both engaging and highly accessible. This book is essential for professionals looking to deepen their knowledge and stay ahead in the rapidly changing world of payments." Mike Chambers, Northey Point
"Well, what I can say this is the book to educate, demystify and get excited about the new way of transacting. If you have ever wanted to know more about the world beyond payments, you will not be disappointed. Neira's expertise shines through, with thorough research whilst ensuring it stays relevant and easy to follow. Well done my dear, can't wait for the next book too!" Claire Pearson, Head of Technical Operations, Fnality International
"Neira has done it again. Having thought that Neira had written the bible of payments with her first book, beyond payments will answer every question that a professional will require from anything relating to payments and the emerging markets that surround this. This book demystifies the many complex aspects of the payments industry enabling a less technical audience to get deeper into subjects they have avoided in the past or for specialists to be able to pick the book up and get to the chapters that they are interested in. As an executive that struggles to keep up with the pace of innovation and change in financial services and payments in general, beyond payments is the perfect reference book that I will regularly turn to to equip me with the knowledge to have an opinion with the background required across multiple subjects." Andy McDonald, CEO Cloudapps, Business Coach' Formerly at ACI worldwide, Retail Decisions, Moneybox, NCR
"I will always advocate that Bitcoin and Bitcoin alone is the only option for digital payments, however, Neira has done a masterful job of unpacking the complex and opaque landscape of digital assets and gives the reader a framework and mental model within which they can navigate the ever growing ecosystem." David Parkinson, CEO, Musqet
"In 'Beyond Payments' Neira Jones provides readers with a comprehensive guide to the fast-moving world of decentralised payment ecosystems. She provides a detailed and up to date review of blockchain fundamentals, smart contracts, cryptocurrencies, value tokens and central bank digital currencies amongst other topics, with examples of the various types that have been developed and implemented globally. Helpfully, the book includes clear explanations on how they differ, their applicability and implications. This book helps readers decipher often confusing jargon, debunk myths and delivers practical advice in an easy-to-read style backed up by original hand drawn illustrations. It covers next generation payment concepts in more depth than was possible in her initial book 'Understanding Payments'. A wide range of people will benefit from reading 'Beyond Payments' including those with a direct responsibility for payments and others with an interest in learning about the latest digital payment technologies. I have learnt much by reading this book, endorse it, and encourage others to make the time to read it thoroughly." Mark McMurtrie, Director, Payments Consultancy Ltd and Ambassador, The Payments Association
"Neira Jones' Beyond Payments is an insightful and compelling continuation of her previous work, Understanding Payments, providing readers with a comprehensive view of the rapidly evolving payment landscape. The book adeptly navigates the complexities of both centralized and decentralized payment systems, making it accessible to a broad audience, from industry professionals to curious newcomers.
She employs clear language and engaging illustrations to demystify intricate concepts such as blockchain technology, digital currencies, and the implications of decentralized finance (DeFi) and also addresses regulatory challenges and the need for a cohesive understanding among various stakeholders in the payment ecosystem. Neira reinforces the notion that knowledge is key to navigating this complex industry and highlights the implications for businesses and consumers alike, making this an essential read for anyone navigating the future of digital finance. It is structured to facilitate learning, with chapters that can be read independently, allowing readers to focus on specific topics of interest. Overall, Beyond Payments is well researched featuring practical insights and real-world applications and serves as a valuable resource for anyone looking to grasp the future of financial transactions." Janusz Diemko, CEO Xelopay, Angel Investor Mentor, Industry Enthusiast and Consultant
". . . Beyond Payments - from centralised to decentralised and everything in between . . . the title says it all! Compelling and compulsive reading, a truly invaluable resource and comprehensive reference work for anybody involved or passing through the ever evolving payments landscapes. Insightful and challenging, this is a 'must have' addition to your libraries." Ken Lipton, Chairman, Paycross
"Neira has written another "must read" reference book. She explains with unique clarity the fundamentals of various decentralised payment ecosystems from blockchain to smart contracts and dApps, from layer 2 to DeFi, from cryptocurrencies to CBDCs, explaining implications and opportunities. She provides also a simple framework for comparisons, which helps understanding the specific concepts/cases, a powerful methodology ready for broader application. With her continuous research and efforts, Neira makes important and complex concepts understandable to the community of professionals who are interested in developing the payment ecosystem (and not only) leveraging new technologies and infrastructure. If you haven't yet, get a copy." Flavia Alzetta, CEO, NED, Advisor
"I had the pleasure of reviewing Neira's previous book, Understanding Payments. I was blown away by the context and detail of the subject matter. Having just reviewed Neira's new book Beyond Payments again, I was impressed by how Neira crafted the subject in a manner that is both simple to digest and a compelling read simultaneously. There is no doubt that Neira's depth of experience in this field is outstanding, along with her unique ability to articulate to the reader in such terms that even inexperienced folks could digest the goodness of this book. Both payments experts and regulators can reference this outstanding piece of work along with Neira's previous book Understanding Payments as "Payments Industry Encyclopaedias"." Soteris Vasili, Chairman Vasili Advisory
"Neira's latest book has certainly helped me to understand better the new frontiers. Highly recommended for those who (like me) have come from the more traditional card and account-to-account payments world (explored brilliantly in Neira's first book), and who want to understand better the fast developing worlds of blockchain, CBDCs, etc. Her evident grasp of the detail combined with her very accessible communication style bring clarity to what can be a somewhat opaque set of topics!" Jim Wadsworth, GM, innovator & thought leader in open banking & payments
"I was honored when Neira asked me to review her second book, Beyond Payments, and was not disappointed with the read. Although the contents of Beyond Payments is still targeted for the largely uninitiated payments enthusiast, it, by necessity, gets more into the technology weeds, particularly when covering the broad and complex subjects of crypto currencies and blockchain. As was true with her first writing endeavor, Understanding Payments, her new offering helps the reader understand those and other challenging topics using easy-to-understand language mixed with a bit of humor and lots of examples. I was particularly impressed by the deep research that was required on Neira's part and the obvious efforts she made to provide the latest statistics, data, and news. Beyond Payments will, undoubtedly, become required reading for executives considering forays into digital payments of all types." Gary Yamamura, President, Edept LLC
"Neira's latest book, 'Beyond Payments' is a tour de force in the world of decentralised payment systems. Filled with helpful diagrams and detailed descriptions, this book is, at the same time both a primer and a deep-dive into what is still a relatively poorly understood area. Even though I have been advising companies engaged in decentralised finance for over a decade this is a book that I am going to keep near at hand so that I can reach into its capacious contents whenever I have a doubt." Rahul Matthan, Partner, Trilegal
"Another great achievement in explaining a complex matter and very useful addition to an otherwise undocumented subject matter." Alison Donnelly, Director, fscom
"In the complicated, continually evolving, and controversial world of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, DLTs, stable coins, and CBDCs, you could spend a lifetime trying to understand it. Neira has done an incredible job providing a well-balanced view with summaries, detailed explanations and fantastic diagrams. I've worked in this area for 15 years and thought I had a pretty good grip on it, I was captivated as I reviewed the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone working in financial services and Fintech, whether you're designing the next web 3 platform or just trying to understand what it's all about." John Davies, CTO, Incept5
"I found Neira's first book invaluable, and I can't wait to get stuck into book 2 - it will no doubt be a crucial resource for me and my team. Neira's knowledge and ability to make concepts and details accessible and understandable is a such a benefit to us all in the industry - thank you again for taking the time to create this important body of work." Paul Horlock, Chief Payments Officer,Retail and Business Banking (RBB), Santander
"Neira's comprehensive approach to payments present and future is a field guide for those joining our industry and a terrific reference for those of us who have been here a while." Dave Birch, Author, advisor and commentator on digital financial services
"Beyond Payments builds on its predecessor, Understanding Payments, offering readers invaluable perspectives into the rapidly evolving payments landscape. Drawing on her extensive experience and expertise, Neira has crafted a detailed guide that is essential reading for all payment practitioners. Both providers and buyers in the industry will find Beyond Payments to be an easily digestible user guide for navigating the future world of payments." Stuart Campbell, Head of Payments at TLT LLP
Neira Jones has more than 25 years' experience in financial services and technology, and advises and coaches organisations of all sizes on payments, fintech, RegTech, cybercrime, information security, fraud, and regulations. She also provides payment security expert witness services and is a Panel Member for the UK Payment Systems Regulator.
