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When Markus, a German engineer, visited Shanghai for the first time, he was amazed by how effortlessly people paid for everything with their phones—from street food to high-speed trains. Back home in Berlin, he tried to go cashless for a week, only to hit roadblocks: his favorite bakery only accepted coins, his landlord demanded a bank transfer, and a taxi driver refused his card.
"Why can Chin...
When Sarah, an American expat in Shanghai, first witnessed her landlord refuse a bank transfer and insist on a stack of 100-yuan bills for her apartment’s annual rent, she was stunned. "Why cash in 2024?" she asked. The landlord smiled and said, "It’s just… more real."
This moment reveals a paradox: While China leads the world in mobile payments, cash still holds power in high-value transaction...
When British tourist Emily visited China for the first time, she experienced a "payment culture shock" in Chengdu’s Kuanzhai Alley. She wanted to buy a stick of tangyou guozi (a local snack), only to find that the vendor only accepted WeChat Pay and Alipay—no cash box in sight. Later, at a milk tea shop, she watched customers scan QR codes to pay effortlessly, as naturally as breathing.
This le...
Zimbabwe's financial sector entered uncharted territory with the April 2024 launch of ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold), marking the nation's most ambitious currency reform in decades. This gold-backed monetary system introduces unique challenges for businesses handling physical cash.
The new ZiG banknotes (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 denominations) feature revolutionary design elements tied to the c...