"Cashless: China's Digital Currency Revolution" and "Innovation Lab Excellence"

Cashless is the first and only book that dives deep into the design and use of China’s new central bank digital currency. This represents a roadmap for our shared digital currency future and a long-term threat to US dollar dominance. 

China is changing the very nature of money and borrowing heavily from cryptocurrency to cement its role as the world’s financial technology leader.

Cashless is written by the best-selling author of Innovation Lab Excellence, an award-winning expert in fintech innovation, career banker, and technology expert who has experienced China’s cashless revolution firsthand as a former US resident living in China. It reveals how:

●	China’s digital currency can help you better predict and navigate the cashless future coming to the US and the world
●	Your company may be tempted to use China’s digital currency to make cross-border payments
●	The EU, UK, Japan and India are developing digital currencies
●	Digital payment will change our relationship with money and promote financial inclusion

Cashless shows you the future. It offers a comprehensive analysis of China’s digital payment systems so that you can better prepare for the rise of digital currencies. 

It is a must-read for all business leaders and professionals looking for a decided competitive advantage.

Innovation Lab Excellence is a must read if you manage an innovation lab, work in one, or are a business manager engaged with one.  Available globally on Amazon, Innovation Lab Excellence is getting 5 star reviews from readers.

Best Selling Author

FinTech, AI and Innovation Consultant

Consultant to start-ups and established players in insurance and asset management.  I help them navigate the uncharted waters associated with the latest cognitive, AI, blockchain and analytic technologies.  Great at cutting through the hype to establish valid use cases with calculable ROI and long term business impact.  As an long-term China and Asia expert am also happy to help you explore how to bring your business to the East.  

Always looking for new clients and opportunities where I can make a difference.  If you have any recommendations, feel free to drop me a message on LinkedIn or email me at: richard_turrin@yahoo.com

Fintech, AI and Innovation Consultant

IBM’s Cognitive Studios Singapore is the regional hub that hosts more than 150 designers and digital experts   that provides next-generation services dedicated to digital reinvention and transformational outcomes. 
 
My role is to bring paradigm-shifting FinTech to the banking industry in Asia.  From Blockchain to AI Robo-Advisors, I applied the latest IBM technologies to real world problems faced by our banking clients. I also use the same vision to provide strategic direction to our sales teams throughout APAC so that they can better understand their banking client’s needs. I am a tireless evangelist for using technology to democratize access to financial markets. 
 
I served as the banking industry head at IBM Studios to reimagine banking, create a FinTech ecosystem, managed a team of 8 data scientists, and sell analytic financial solutions bringing in $50million in related sales.

APAC, Fintech Executive, IBM Watson, Design, Cognitive Studios

IBM risk analytics solutions enable the world’s most successful companies to make risk-aware decisions through smarter enterprise risk management programs and methodologies—driving business performance and better outcomes.
 
I was a Senior Executive responsible for IBM’s risk management and FinTech business and specifically staffing, strategies, product development, legal and marketing. I revolutionized the risk business by originating and structuring a partnership with Shanghai Wind Information to use IBM risk FinTech on Wind Info trading terminals throughout China. 
 
I was also the winner of the “Risk Technology Product of the Year” in the 2015 Risk Awards based on the unique hybrid cloud based system deployed at Wind that fully complies with China’s stringent data security laws. I also organized and spoke (in Mandarin) at multiple conferences including IBM’s first ever risk conference at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance.

Risk Solutions Executive

Hult International Business School

Hult International Business School is a global business school with campus locations in San Francisco, Boston, London, Dubai, Shanghai, Hertfordshire, and New York City.
 
I served as a professor bringing math and business analytics to life by using real world examples.  At Hult, I taught MBA Mathematics and Applied Finance to 115 students and delivered a special lecture series in applied finance.   I really enjoyed mentoring students and matching them up for jobs.

Professor / Lecturer

Changshu Lu Advisors

•	Advisor on outbound private equity transactions and capital markets consultant.    
•	Sit on the advisory board of a China based Series-B smarter cities thought leader

Private Equity Advisor, Financial Consultant

Derivative Fitch, Fitch Ratings,  New York

•	Performed “damage control” with 50 major issuers during the worst of the global financial crisis in a newly formed team.  
•	Sold synthetic CDO pricing software, participated in beta testing and worked with the coding team.

Structured Credit Sales

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

•	Founded team of 5 and originated $16 million in new credit risk management transactions.  
•	Developed new credit intermediation products for banks and insurers to monetize CBA’s AA rating.  
•	Evaluated new deals, managed legal team, and assisted in the quantification of the bank’s risk 
        exposures.

Structured Credit Sales and Origination

IntesaBci

•	Founded a team of 5 to bring new risk management products and technology to the bank.  
•	Designed and built a Bermuda based reinsurer that generated $5 million in annual reduced capital 
        charges.  
•	Introduced weather derivative and tax efficiency trades to modernize the bank and bolster trading 
        revenue. 
•	Responsible for development and testing of proprietary trading computer codes.

New Products Marketing and Advisory

Paribas Capital Markets

•	Started new team of 7 while generating profitability of $2.5 million annually on new transactions.  
•	Formed a joint venture company with strategic partner AXA, to bring insurance linked securities to 
        market.  
•	Originated a $3 mil. risk management consulting IT project with PEMEX and supervised coding teams.  
•	Responsible for the negotiation and sale of $80 mil. in insurance linked securities.

Risk Advisory and Structured Product Marketing

American International Group

•	Lead new international team of 12 professionals generating $10 mil in sales and the first ever sold in Japan.
•	Represented AIG in special testimony at the House of Lords.

Director International Environmental Liability Risk Management

Best selling author of "Cashless" and "Innovation Lab Excellence" | Consultant | Speaker | Top media source on China's digital yuan and mobile payments | China AI and tech regs | FOLLOW ONLY NO CONNECTIONS LEFT

As a best-selling author and consultant, I combine my passion for fintech, AI, and innovation with my extensive experience in the banking industry and the Asian market. I wrote two No. 1 international bestsellers, "Cashless: China's Digital Currency Revolution" and "Innovation Lab Excellence," that provide insights, strategies, and practical solutions for the digital transformation of the financial sector. I have also been a top media source and speaker on China's digital yuan and mobile payments, sharing my firsthand knowledge and analysis of the world's most advanced cashless society.

With over 25 years of experience in risk management, structured credit, and debt financing, I deeply understand fintech and AI's challenges and opportunities for the banking industry. I have worked with start-ups and established insurance and asset management players, helping them navigate the uncharted waters of the latest cognitive, AI, blockchain, and analytic technologies. I have also led and contributed to multiple innovation labs and projects across Asia, applying the latest IBM technologies to real-world problems our banking clients face. I am a tireless evangelist for using technology to democratize access to financial markets and to enhance customer experience and value.

𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗| 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘀' $𝟭𝗧 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗪𝗜𝗙𝗧'𝘀 $𝟭𝗧 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘀
𝙕𝙚𝙧𝙤-𝙨𝙪𝙢 𝙥𝙖𝙮𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.

This is one of the best papers yet on stablecoins and how they work with easy-to-follow comparisons with SWIFT. 

That's what makes this paper a worthy summer "Weekend Read." 

Yes, stablecoins are a trillion-dollar opportunity, but most importantly, remember that payments are zero-sum.

Money moved by stablecoins is money not moved by SWIFT.

This is revenue taken directly out of SWIFT's pocket, as well as banks that are part of its network.

This is why stablecoins are so disruptive. They are the first mainstream, global system to challenge SWIFT's monopoly. 

They can only bring this disruption once they are better connected with banks. 

This is why you see Circle launching its new "Arc" blockchain: 

"Arc is designed to be a dedicated platform for stablecoin-related applications, including payments, foreign exchange, and capital markets."

Don't celebrate the demise of SWIFT just yet. 

It is far too big and important an organization to be dethroned, toppled or dismissed. 

Institutional transfers, especially on well-used transfer routes, are already cheap, and it will be hard for stablecoins to pull that business away. 

Personal transfers, particularly into the developing world, are ripe for stablecoin disruption. 

𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙:

↳ 2.2 The Cost of Being Fast, Prefunding

↳ 4.2 Owning The Stablecoin Stack

↳ 5 Bridging the Legacy Stack (Think Circle's Arc.)

↳ 6.2 Money That Finds a Way, P2P 

↳ Do these payments in 6.2 respect monetary sovereignty?) 

↳ See use and savings in SE Asia, where people pay too much for X-border transfers! Pg 53 &54

SWIFT should be concerned but not worried.

I predict that you'll read about a new version of SWIFT messaging for stablecoins in the coming weeks. 


♻️Repost to share to share with others so they get how stablecoins will cut into SWIFT's margins. 

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Richard Turrin

STABLECOIN'S ZERO SUM GAME WITH SWIFT

𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸'𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: 𝟮𝟬𝘅 𝗢𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀?
𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥

McKinsey lays out a compelling example of how an “AI factory” can be used for onboarding that promises a twenty-fold productivity “potential” increase.

While McKinsey is likely overselling the benefits, this is one of the better examples I’ve seen that shows GenAI agents’ important role in fighting financial crime. 

It also tracks with early reports from fraud detection expert Mastercard, which is also claiming big gains. 

Mastercard says that the use of GenAI has doubled the speed at which it can detect potentially compromised cards. 

That’s huge. 

This use case, at a leading multinational bank, shows how an “AI factory” saves hours in client onboarding when each human runs a team of four agents.

Each of the four agents has a different task, and its output is checked individually by humans:

↳Extracting client data from sources, including websites, annual reports, and company filings, and structured it into an initial KYC file. 

↳Looking up the company in the government register, validated the country of incorporation and noted the registered shareholders and directors. 

↳Ownership structure analysis, including identification of ultimate beneficial owners. 

↳Politically exposed persons and sanctions screening.

A team of twenty humans would access a “factory” of eighty agents.

This is a great use case, and it does a great job of showing the potential of agents working in conjunction with humans who have the final say. 

If it works half as well as McKinsey claims, it is a major improvement over manual onboarding. 

Best of all, the system will only improve. 

To attain these gains, McKinsey correctly claims the need to “rewire” the entire domain, including customer journeys from end to end. 

That means think big.  

This is far more than automating individual steps within an existing journey.

I love use cases like this, and McKinsey is at its best sharing successful projects like this! 

♻️Repost to share these big Agentic AI gains with others

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Bank's AI Factory: 20x Onboarding Gains? 

𝗠𝗜𝗧 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿: 𝟵𝟱% 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗔𝗜 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴
$40𝘽 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝘼𝙄 𝙝𝙮𝙥𝙚—𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙮

MIT’s NANDA initiative’s new report reveals that despite $30–40B in enterprise investment into GenAI, 95% of organizations are getting zero return. 

Shocked?  Don’t be! 

GenAI was hyped by big tech and consultants as “AI made easy,” but the reality is far different.

Only 5% of integrated AI pilots are able to turn out significant value, while the vast majority remain stuck with no measurable P&L impact. 

There is also a tremendous misallocation of resources ongoing, with 50% of GenAI budgets going to sales and marketing, while back-office automation often yields better ROI.

The research is based on 150 interviews with leaders, a survey of 350 employees, and an analysis of 300 public AI deployments. 

Interestingly, the divide between success and failure isn’t driven by model quality or regulation, but seems to be determined by approach. 

This means it's not all GenAI's fault!

According to MIT organizations, companies that have successful GenAI implementations share a common approach: 

↳They build adaptive, embedded systems that learn from feedback. 

↳The best startups crossing the divide focus on narrow but high-value use cases, integrate deeply into workflows, and scale through continuous learning rather than broad feature sets. 

↳Domain fluency and workflow integration matter more than flashy UX.”

Last week, I wrote about how most AI pilots were “innovation theater,” and MIT’s sarcasm about flashy UX supports this observation! 

GenAI implementation is anything but “made easy,” but the reality is that many companies are sabotaging their efforts. 

Companies have a shared responsibility for their GenAI pilots failing. 

They need to adopt an innovation mindset to succeed with GenAI.  

It’s not at all clear that many can, and this will define the divide between the AI haves from have-nots.

♻️Repost to share XXX with others

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MIT SHOCKER: 95% of GENAI PILOTS FAILING

𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙆𝙀𝙉𝘿 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿| 𝗔𝗚𝗜’𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲: 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?
We are entering a "wild frontier" that will reshape geopolitics.

Rand looks at eight potential scenarios for our shared artificial general intelligence (AGI) future to show how it will shake up geopolitics and the US-China divide.

All eight make for an entertaining read (check out the grey boxes), and while some of these scenarios are downright scary, a few allow for AGI to thrive across the globe.

The most likely scenario is that AGI isn't controlled by one nation and distributes power to a broader set of nations, depowering both the US and China!

But is AGI the "Rise and Fall of Nations," as the report title suggests?

My take is that it will not, as a nation's success depends on far more than AGI.

Here's why:

↳𝗔𝗚𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. While it may have next-level ideas, humans will still be responsible for building them and be limited by their technology and infrastructure.

↳𝗔𝗚𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆. If OpenAI were to succeed in developing AGI tomorrow, wouldn't they monetize it? Would they be forced not to let others use it? Unlikely!

↳𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁. Access to AGI can't be stopped, and the concept that one nation will win the game over others in a zero-sum game is not realistic.

So, where is our AGI future headed?

My take is that we'll be in a new "Wild Frontier as in Scenario 3.

Once AGI is let loose, it will be impossible to control, and Rand sees this as "chaos,"

I see AGI empowering many nations to do more with what they've got!

This is fundamentally good for everyone.

👉 Will AGI help nations do more, or am I too optimistic?

♻️Repost to help others know that our shared AGI future is not zero-sum!

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Rand- AGI and the Rise and Fall of Nations

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘀: 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?

A hidden threat to financial sovereignty unfolds.

Stablecoins are a double-edged sword: one edge potentially helps residents in emerging nations, while the other destabilizes their economies, creating greater risk.

Financial sovereignty isn’t a topic that comes up much with stablecoins, but it should.

It is loosely defined as the effective control exercised by the governing authorities over financial and monetary systems within their jurisdiction.

Financial sovereignty is something crypto has long challenged, and stablecoins are poised to attack.

It is such a big problem that even wealthy jurisdictions like the EU are worried about the US dollar stablecoins replacing the Euro.

Loss of financial sovereignty in emerging nations is even more devastating.

We mostly hear about how stablecoins can help with financial inclusion in emerging nations.

It’s a compelling story, but one that often fails to offer much by way of details.

Stablecoin users need a smartphone, a local exchange to convert cash, electric, signal, and the ability to pass US-style KYC/AML if they touch US stablecoins.

How exactly will an unbanked person in an emerging economy go about acquiring all these things?

Some may certainly have access, but it is hardly universal.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘕𝘋𝘗 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧-𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘊𝘉𝘋𝘊 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯!

Note that when discussing nations like Nigeria, a big user of stablecoins, there isn’t a lot of discussion of taxes paid or who is using them.

Most stablecoin use is by the relatively affluent, giving them an economic benefit that the poor simply don’t have.

So yes, stablecoin users don't worry about hyperinflation, but what about everyone else?

Yes, I consent that they can be helpful with low-cost remittances, a well-established use case that is mostly done under the table.

The problem with all these unregistered money flows is that they starve emerging economies of the money they desperately need.

This makes fragile economies less stable, not more.

♻️Reposters, you are the best! Share so that others understand stablecoin's double edge! 

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Want to see more? 
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STABLECOINS: OPPORTUNITY OR CHAOS FOR EMERGING NATIONS

𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 $17𝗕 𝗔𝗜 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗺: 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗨𝗦-𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲!

𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩?

AI is vital to Africa’s future and will foster inclusion, create jobs, and drive digital and economic growth.

To get AI, however, sub-Saharan Africa will need to walk a geopolitical tightrope, balancing the shifting dynamics of US-China relations.

The estimated market size for AI in Africa in 2025 is USD 4.5 bn, with a stunning forecast CAGR of 27%  which will result in a market volume of USD 17 bn in 2030.

Africa’s demographics, with a median age of digitally friendly 19, make these numbers more likely than most.

Poor connectivity and access to energy are well-known problems in the region. 

Still, there is another, and that is that China and the US are competing over Africa’s AI infrastructure.

The US is starting at a major disadvantage as China’s Huawei makes up around 70% of 4G networks across the continent, where 4G adoption will reach 50% by 2030.

The cost of its AI is another problem for the US.

A recent “Economist Impact” survey showed that 72% of emerging market respondents couldn’t afford the high price tags of Silicon Valley’s AI.

This is why China is looking to leverage its open source LLMs like DeepSeek or Alibaba’s Qwen on the continent.

This doesn’t mean that Africa is lost to the US. In the north of the continent, NVIDIA is building major AI factories in Abu Dhabi and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯? 

1) Will OpenAI’s new open-source models, and NVIDIA chips make the US unstoppable?

2) Can China continue to be Africa's tech supplier? 

3) Will African gov'ts play both sides off of each other, to their gain? (Yes!)

All of these scenarios deliver the AI Africa needs.

👉 Comment and like!  

♻️Reposters you are the best! Share with others and help them understand Africa's dilemma. 

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AFRICA'S $17B AI BOOM

$𝟳𝗧 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗚𝗜: 𝗪𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗜 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴!
Unsustainable AI hype has a human toll.

We’re on the road to AGI, but took a wrong turn by the insistence on ever-increasing expenditures that AI revenue streams can’t support and society can’t sustain.

Back in February, Sam Altman boldly proposed spending $7tn to accelerate AI. 

Those are big numbers for a company that lost $5bn last year on $3.7bn in revenue in 2024 and predicts another $8bn burn in 2025.

But it isn’t only OpenAI, Anthropic burned $5.6bn in 2024, predicting a $3bn burn in 2025.  Will it break even as it predicts by 2027? 

Others, like Microsoft, Meta, and Google, are harder to analyze as they roll their numbers in with other profits, sustaining their AI investment.

There’s something deeply troubling about these numbers and the underwhelming launch of GPT-5 which should ring alarm bells. 

It showed that the days of easy gains on GenAI intelligence are over, and with hallucinations still plaguing all models, investors should be more cautious.

Sadly, they are not.

Altman is like the Pied Piper to a band of investors who can’t see through the scam or the environmental and human toll this investment would bring.

Why does Altman get a pass when he says:

"Theoretically, at some points, you can see that a significant fraction of the power on Earth should be spent running AI compute." "And maybe we're going to get there."  

Consider how absurd that statement is when 10% of the world’s population, 675-770 mn, still doesn’t have electricity. 

So will we get AGI?  

Yes, likely, and it will be a great moment for humanity, but at what cost? 

How many should be denied basic services in order to divert capital to fulfill the dreams of Silicon Valley?

Our singular pursuit of AI is unsustainable. 

♻️Repost to share our expensive pursuit of AGI with others

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$7T for AGI: Wrong turn in AI spending! 

𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀’ 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗔𝗜 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗺: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁!
𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴

GenAI is giving banks and other companies hope that they can finally cash in on monetizing data just like big tech, making data privacy far worse. 

We are about to enter a new era where GenAI will suck up our data in ways that would make Facebook envious.  

While it sounds nice when companies say they are using it for "personalization," the reality is “you are the product” and it's coming to your bank.  

Data monetization is a potentially big revenue source for companies.  

86% of “business leaders” say they have at least one underused asset, and in 28% of businesses, that underused asset is data.  

Let’s face it, your bank may have data, but they are terrible at monetizing it, with the exception of credit card data, which has had years to develop.

Now, with GenAI’s ability to extract and manipulate data for insights, more banks are going to try to monetize their data far beyond "personalization" and turn it into a gold mine. 

According to McKinsey, all companies need a “data monetization strategy,” which means using data:

↳to generate quantifiable economic benefit by SELLING it to third parties, 

↳deploying it internally to improve business outcomes, or 

↳creating new data-driven products and services.

Most of us are resigned to the fact that with Google and Facebook, “we are the product.” 

Few of us like it. 

Privacy is non-existent now, how will you feel when our bank sells your data like Facebook? 

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BANKS GENAI DATA BOOM: YOU ARE THE PRODUCT!

🔥RED HOT 🔥 Tech War: China's Quest for AI Independence

The U.S.-China tech war is in full swing, with NVIDIA chip embargoes, rare earth export bans, and escalating superpower rivalry that is impossible to ignore. 

AI is now a major player in geopolitics, with the perception that domination of AI will lead to the rise and fall of nations. 

Attributing this amount of import to AI is an overstatement, as rising economic, social, and political clout depends on far more than AI. 

Still, it’s a catchy theme that gets investors to spend and opens government coffers. 

Unsurprisingly, China is pursuing a path of AI self-reliance in everything from AI chip development, where it lags, to LLM models like DeepSeek, where it competes among the world’s best.  

To achieve self-reliance, it is engaging in a “whole nation effort” which involves significant state investment, ambitious policy goals, a push for widespread AI adoption, and even primary school education. 

Interestingly, many perceive a “whole nation effort” as uniquely Chinese, as a child of the US space race, I can tell you it is not.

I remember well the US’s "whole nation effort” to go to the moon, and I became an engineer because of it.  

What I am seeing in China today with AI is very much reminiscent of that time.  

Whole nation efforts also involve “industrial policy,” which in China’s case includes heavy government investment in chip making to make it independent.

These investments raise howls from free marketeers in the West, who seem to have forgotten the $1 trillion in 2018 dollars invested in going to the moon.

Curiously, the space race is also not perceived as US industrial policy, even though it advanced technologies across aerospace from jetplanes to microchips and Velcro.  

Meanwhile, Trump states that "America is going to win the AI race,” as did Biden before him.

The problem is that no one knows where this race’s finish line is.  

Who wins? And what is the prize? 

Does the nation that has the smartest AI or achieves artificial general intelligence first win? 

This is where this whole race analogy breaks down.  

There is no AI race.  

This is a competition that will never end.

Given enough time, China will succeed in building independent AI systems.  

A whole nation effort can’t be stopped.

What the world is watching for isn’t a race, but which nation will best implement AI to solve societal problems.  

What we are all waiting breathlessly to see is how AI can make our world a better place. 

Both nations can be successful without winning!

Thoughts?

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TECH WAR:  CHINA'S QUEST FOR AI INDEPENDENCE

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘀: 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗞𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?

𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘜𝘚-𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘈𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯.

On the beach? Today's art shows how different going to the beach was in 1895! I hope wherever you are, you are enjoying summer.

Next week, I will be heading home to Italy for Ferragosto and family time. I will publish throughout August, but expect shorter editions until September.

The lead stories today are about stablecoins’ impact on financial sovereignty and the explosion in payment fraud.

Neither of these topics gets the attention it deserves, and they are critical to our new stablecoin-driven real-time payment (RTP) world.

Financial sovereignty will severely impact stablecoins' ability to bring inclusion to developing nations, but you would never know it from hype filled stablecoin reports. 

As to payment fraud, fraudsters are faster and more innovative at using AI than banks are at stopping them using the same AI!

By some estimates, RTP fraud is increasing by 25% annually!

Next, we have a good news, bad news story with bank adoption of AI.

↳Good news: regional banks are better adopters of AI than the largest “megabanks.” Surprised? I was.  

↳Bad news: bank GenAI adoption is a lot slower than advertised!

The next three stories all focus on the geopolitics of AI and the China-US “techwar.” 

The stories show how the techwar is impacting Africa’s AI development, why China wants AI independence, and what is at stake with artificial general intelligence (AGI).

You can't talk about deploying AI in Africa, Asia, or the developing world without walking a tightrope between the clashing superpowers. 

Implementing AI now has real geopolitical ramifications that can't be avoided. 

For today’s bonus read, I look at which nations will win when AGI becomes a reality.  

Thanks for reading!

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Thanks for reading the “Cashless” newsletter, an insider’s view on Asia’s fintech, CBDC, and AI for anyone striving to understand “the Asia Century.” 

Open article: Stablecoins: Saviors or Sovereignty Killers for Emerging Nations? by Richard Turrin • 4 min read

Stablecoins: Saviors or Sovereignty Killers for Emerging Nations?

🔥SCORCHED🔥 GenAI in Banking: Regionals Surge, Credit’s Holy Grail Eludes, Adoption Slow

McKinsey with a great paper that shows banks’ slow adoption of GenAI, with regionals leading the charge.

Bank's quest for the holy grail, the use of AI to determine credit, is also slow going. 

GenAI adoption at banks is not going as fast as the hype would have us believe.

The paper's first big reveal is that only 12% of all of the North American banks surveyed have actually deployed GenAI for any use case at all!   

Stunned? 

Don’t be. Banks are extremely conservative in their approach to GenAI. 

Now that isn’t to say that banks aren’t using GenAI, with 24% having “ad hoc” applications, like document processing.  

This counts as GenAI use, but is nothing to boast about. 

The second revelation is that regional banks have more GenAI adoption and development underway than megabanks.   

Now this is a paradigm shift.  

Megabanks like JPMorgan, Citi, and Deutsche may have been first off the line with AI, but the regionals have caught up and surpassed them!

This makes sense because the megabanks are even more worried about AI coming off the rails than regionals!

Credit is the holy grail of banks’ GenAI programs.  

The ability to use AI to assess credit is still considered the ultimate use of the technology.

For the final stunner, only 27% are at the piloting stage of using GenAI for credit decisioning, with no full deployments! 

Consider that Alipay launched AI-driven microcredit loans in China back in 2016!

Finally, 52% of leadership at banks proclaim that GenAI is a “priority.” 

That certainly is encouraging, but it is the results that count.

So far, results remain scarce, while hype dominates. 

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REGIONAL BANKS SURGE, CREDIT ELUSIVE, ADOPTION SLOW

𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗖 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 26% 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲!
𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘦𝘴

APAC has a big problem as a market leader in cross-border payments, with 26% of global transaction volume; it pays a disproportionate 50% of global payment revenues.

If ever there was a bad deal, this is certainly one.

The Singapore Fintech Association and LexisNexis sponsored a recent roundtable to talk about cross-border payment modernization, with results that were not what I expected.

The results of the meeting were surprisingly low-tech. 

No one is waiting for CBDCs or stablecoins to modernize payments miraculously.

Instead, the focus was on cross-border validation systems that would help customers enter the correct account numbers for transfers. 

This was voted the number one problem for error-free payments by a landslide.

As an example of how manual cross-border payments still are, one source cites that 55% of firms lose 4-5% of revenue per month due to manual tracking and reconciling transactions.

The top two concerns for participants were “keeping up with regulations” and “the threat of fraud.”

Interestingly, while the risk of fraud, particularly on real-time payments, is enormous in the region, the benefits of efficiency, reduced cost, and customer satisfaction outweigh the risks.

Meanwhile, for the biggest shocker, considering the fees APAC banks are getting, clients say transfer speed is their primary concern, with price coming in a distant third.

For now, the bad deal APAC is getting on payments isn’t going away. 

This is in glaring contrast to the region's world-class domestic QR payment systems. 

♻️Repost to share how APAC payments are changing fast.
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APAC PAYS 50% OF GLOBAL FEES FOR 26% OF THE VOLUME

𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
𝘓𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥

Evident Insights’ AI Outcomes report shows mixed results for how fifty major banks are using GenAI to generate value and shows that “innovation theater” is rampant.

The report’s findings show that banks are full of use cases but trying to use GenAI in a way that won’t “break the bank.”

This means 85% of the use cases focus on internal use of GenAI rather than setting it loose on the more risky task of working with clients.

The biggest problem is that for all of the new use cases, only about one-third ever report an outcome.

As the author of a book on Innovation (Innovation Lab Excellence: Digital Transformation from Within), I can say with certainty that this figure is deeply troubling.

In fact, it smacks of “Innovation Theater,” where companies make a big show out of innovating with AI while being far less effective at producing results.

The show isn’t for fun. 

AI Innovation has real value.

Innovation can be a potent tool for management to wield to increase the perceived value of the bank.

This is why many banks inflate the number of their latest use cases to demonstrate that they are poised for the future.

Innovation pays, not just in the tangible new tech, but in terms of the opinion of the outside world.

Amplifying the extent of innovative achievement makes analysts, shareholders, and potential investors happy.

That an AI use case fails is not in itself a problem. Innovative AI use cases should have a high failure rate.

That 70% simply drop away, never to be heard from again, speaks to a bigger problem, and that is that many of these use cases were likely doomed from the start.

Innovation theater with AI is a real thing and a sickness.

Whether it can be cured depends on the bank.

♻️Repost to share why AI and Innovation theater go together with others

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INNOVATION THEATER IS ALIVE AND WELL IN BANKING AI 

𝗔𝗣𝗔𝗖 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟲% 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲!
𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴’ 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘈𝘐 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘣 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬?

Today's art by Monet shows a hot summer day not unlike the one you may be enjoying. I hope wherever you are, your summer is as peaceful as in the painting.

The lead stories today are about APAC’s stunningly bad deal in cross-border payments.

This story exemplifies why we need stablecoins, CBDC, or tokenized deposits to cut payment costs. APAC will gladly use any of them for a better deal.

The problem of high fees is exacerbated in APAC due to the high number of smaller payments, which generate proportionally larger fees.

While new innovative cross-border mobile payments may help some smaller SMEs, everyone else is left to the merciless fees of bank transfers.

With free digital services like Facebook and Google, it’s evident that “you are the product” that is sold.

That may have been the norm for big tech, but what if your bank does the same?

The greatest irony of all is that we will willing give banks the data!

When banks tell us additional data is required to build “hyper-personalized” products, few will say no.

Moving on, we look at banks’ use of “innovation theater” with GenAI.

Banks are making a lot of noise about their AI programs, but for many, it’s nothing more than theatrics, and there is less being done than you’d imagine.

For today’s bonus read, we look at a fabulous paper that shows how stablecoins work in direct comparison with SWIFT.

It’s a great read because it shows some great use cases where stablecoins can replace SWIFT to save a bundle.

To all subscribers, my heartfelt thanks for opening your inbox and being part of this journey!

👉 Until early September, I’ll be publishing shorter summer (Ferragosto) editions like this one.

♻️Repost to share these insights on APAC payments and GenAI's love of data with others

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Open article: APAC Pays Half of Global fees for 26% Cross-Border Payment Volume! by Richard Turrin • 4 min read

APAC Pays Half of Global fees for 26% Cross-Border Payment Volume!

🔥HOT SUMMER🔥 Stablecoin Shake-Up: Fragmentation, Risks and Retail Losses in Crypto's "Golden Age"

On the beach?  Today's art is a peaceful scene representing an idyllic summer.  I hope wherever you are, that August will be peaceful and slower-paced. 

For the newsletter business, this summer has been anything but peaceful, with stablecoin mania hitting in full force. 

Today I’m leading with three articles on stablecoins that show them in a rather negative light. 

Once again, I’ll say that I like stablecoins but hate the hype.  

What is becoming abundantly clear is that stablecoins are infinitely easier to set up than CBDCs, but have a host of problems that become thorny when trying to use them. 

Today’s articles look at fragmentation, risks to participants, and a stunning story about how retail investors will be left holding the losses when a stablecoin depegs.

If you ever needed proof that whenever you read about “democratizing finance,” what it really means is that “the little guy” will take the losses, this is it!  

Take a look, it’s a stunning story.

We also look at the Trump administration’s new report on crypto. While the rhetoric about a “golden era” and turning the US into a “crypto superpower” is absurd, the report isn’t bad. 

Crypto has been in regulatory limbo for far too long, and the recommendations do solve this and many other problems.  

I do, of course, find two major red flags that we all should watch carefully. 

My absolute favorite read of the week was the good news from the World Bank’s Global Findex Report! 

This report shows clearly the tremendous gains in financial inclusion made by mobile money and fintech.  

If you ever needed a “feel-good” story for fintech, this is it!  

Enjoy August, it passes too quickly!

Topics:

🔹Stablecoin Fungibility Threatens to Fragment Global Payments

🔹Stablecoin Redemptions: When ‘Democratized Finance’ Means Retail Carries the Losses

🔹Stablecoin Issuers and Enablers, Consider the Risks Before Taking the Plunge

🔹Crypto's Golden Age Hinges on a Dysfunctional US Congress

🔹Global Findex 2025: Mobile Money Drives 79% of Adults to Account Ownership

🔹Bonus Read: HBR: Driving Business Value with Agentic AI


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Stablecoin Shake-Up: Fragmentation, Risks and Retail Losses in Crypto's "Golden Age"

𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘂𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘀 $1𝗧 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜’𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽!

Payment fraud, including deepfakes and scams, is growing and may have cost one trillion dollars in 2024, and there is no secret weapon to stop it.

To put that trillion dollars of fraud in perspective, the World Bank estimates that total global GDP for 2024 was $111 trillion.

So, in round numbers $.01 is being stolen for every dollar we spend!

The growth of fraud has several primary drivers, and unsurprisingly, AI is at the top of the list.

AI is now a leading source of email, text, phone scams, and account takeover attempts.

It is so prevalent that AI deepfakes are behind most of the fraud in the top two dollar value scams in the US: investment and imposter scams.

AI isn’t acting alone and is aided by the vast amounts of personally identifiable information (PII)/account data for sale on the dark web.

As consumers, we are also part of the problem, as we want payments to go through the first time, every time. Disruptions aren’t welcome.

Part of this behavior is based on consumers assuming that if defrauded, they will get their money back and that financial institutions will pay.

This isn’t always the case, and real-time payments (RTPs), including stablecoins, allow little time for fraud detection and no likelihood of recoverability.

Stablecoins will need to overcome consumers’ hesitancy to use a system where fraud is likely and recovery is not an option.

RTP payment fraud increased by a stunning 25% over the past year.

There is no secret weapon to combat fraud, and some of McKinsey’s suggestions won’t gain them much consulting revenue.

That said, one of McKinsey’s suggestions is interesting and good for stablecoin adoption.

McKinsey suggests payment system diversification, even going as far as to suggest that payment providers embrace alternative payments, including digital wallets.

The logic is that diversification reduces fraud risk because no single system can generate too many losses.

With no solution in sight, payment fraud numbers can only go up.

If you think fraud is a problem now, wait till next year!

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PAYMENT FRAUD HITS $1T WITH AI'S HELP! 

𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮'𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘃𝘀. 𝗨𝗦 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻!
𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙


Thank you to Gabriel Custodiet and the Watchman Privacy podcast for the opportunity to talk about all the latest in payments in China.

This is a lively discussion and will not disappoint!  

We talk payments and privacy, and as usual, I drop a lot of "truth bombs." 

The differences between China and the US are far less than advertised.   

In the fun rant below, I make it clear how much I loathe US banks and cards that control all of our payments. 

I did tell you it would be lively!  

Say what you will about China, WeChat and Alipay are masterpieces worthy of emulation. 

And the e-CNY CBDC is still making progress.

No doubt it's slow, but it's not failing as some have claimed.

TIMELINE
00:00 – Introduction
1:30 – Guest background
3:20 – China’s rapid cashless transformation from 2010 – 2018
7:00 – Did China have a plan to create this cashlessness?
10:40 – What is the reality in 2025?
13:00 – What is WeChat like at the user level?
19:50 – Are Alipay and WeChat sandboxed?
21:25 – Scams on Alipay and WeChat
26:45 – How do foreigners use Chinese payment apps?
30:20 – How will China transition to a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
39:07 – Banks in China had to get on board
48:40 – Fees for Alipay and WeChat are essentially zero
50:50 – How often can Chinese use apps outside of China?
52:30 – Are Chinese allowed to use other payment methods?
55:05 – China data sovereignty
1:04:00 – Final thoughts

The Watchman Privacy podcast on 

Apple:  https://lnkd.in/gdvkQeCA


Youtube: https://lnkd.in/gd5G9_Wq


♻️Repost to share this lively and at times controversial podcast with others! 

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