What is Payments Culture?

Declined. I tried again to swipe my Mastercard at the supermarket. Declined. “Kreditkarte geht nicht!” the cashier barked. “The credit card doesn’t work.” 

It was June 2007. I’d moved to Germany from the UK for an internship, and assumed I could just use my UK credit card until my salary came at the end of the month. 

I was wrong. 

In Germany, not a single shop, restaurant, or café allowed me to pay by credit card. I had money, yet couldn’t spend it. 

That summer in Germany was my first lesson in how money moves differently around the world

Over time, I realised that these differences are everywhere:

  • Japan is a hyper-modern society, but they still love cash. (though slowly changing)

  • Chinese tourists struggle to pay in London because their mobile wallets don't work the same way abroad.

  • In parts of East Africa, consumers leapfrogged straight to mobile payments without ever using traditional banking. 

Payments Culture is where we dissect these differences – because if you’re building anything related to fintech, finance, or tech, you can’t afford to ignore them.

Why subscribe to Payments Culture?

Most of what I write falls into three main areas. This is my mini-framework:

Payments Culture comes with:

  • Expert perspective from my 15+ years working in the industry 

  • Real-world stories that go beyond the headlines

  • Market intelligence you won't find in press releases

Here's what this looks like:

  • Every week, get one long-form email consisting of an essay rich in business intelligence, reading recommendations and curated insights.

  • Some weeks, additional content including personal essays and case studies.

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I’m always interested to hear from those who read Payments Culture.

Feedback, collaboration opportunities, or anything else - it’s all welcome.

You can email me, or you can connect with me on X (Twitter).

Thanks for reading! Matt

Disclaimer: Everything on these pages are my own thoughts and opinions and is not reflective of the views, or strategy, of any organisation I am, or have been employed by, or consulted for.

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Culture, strategy, and trends in fintech and payments

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Experienced fintech and payments operator based in London. Now consulting and writing Payments Culture here on Substack, which will help you understand how money moves, around the world. Also occasionally writing Indonesia in English.